gearrcach

Irish

Alternative forms
  • geárcach, geárrcach (obsolete)[1]

Etymology

From Middle Irish gerrcach, from the root of gearr (“short”).[2]

Pronunciation

Noun

gearrcach m (genitive singular gearrcaigh, nominative plural gearrcaigh)

  1. nestling, fledgling (young bird)
  2. (figurative) infant
    Synonyms: naíonán, leanbh

Declension
Declension of gearrcach

First declension

Bare forms:

Case Singular Plural
Nominative gearrcach gearrcaigh
Vocative a ghearrcaigh a ghearrcacha
Genitive gearrcaigh gearrcach
Dative gearrcach gearrcaigh

Forms with the definite article:

Case Singular Plural
Nominative an gearrcach na gearrcaigh
Genitive an ghearrcaigh na ngearrcach
Dative leis an ngearrcach

don ghearrcach

 leis na gearrcaigh

Derived terms
  • gearrcach dearg (“a very young/unfledged nestling, a very young infant”)
  • gearrcach bhéal neide (“a pet (nestling)”)
  • is geal leis an bhfiach dubh a ghearrcach féin (“beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, literally “the raven considers its own fledgling white”)

Mutation
Irish mutation
Radical Lenition Eclipsis
gearrcach ghearrcach ngearrcach
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References
  1. “gearrcach”, in Historical Irish Corpus, 1600–1926, Royal Irish Academy
  2. G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “gerrcach”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
  3. Sjoestedt, M. L. (1931) Phonétique d’un parler irlandais de Kerry (in French), Paris: Librairie Ernest Leroux, § 98, page 55

Further reading
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