éicen

• écen

From Proto-Celtic *ankenā (“force, necessity”), whence also Welsh angen, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂neḱ- (“to reach, attain”). Cognate with Ancient Greek ἀνάγκη (anánkē, “force, necessity”), Old Armenian անքատ (ankʻat, “necessitous”), Tocharian B eṅk- (“take control of”).

• IPA^(key): [ˈeːɡʲen]

éicen f (genitive éicne)

1. force, necessity
   • c. 800–825, Diarmait, Milan Glosses on the Psalms, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 7–483, Ml. 14^d3

     cid écen aisndís do neuch as doruid co léir, ní sechmalfaider cuimre and dano

     though it is necessary (lit. “though it is a necessity”) to explain carefully anything that is difficult, however brevity will not be passed by

   • c. 845, St Gall Glosses on Priscian, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1975, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. II, pp. 49–224, Sg. 207^b11

     Cit comṡuidigthi la Grécu ní écen dúnni beta comṡuidigthi linn.

     Although they are compounds in Greek (lit. “with the Greeks”), it is not necessary (lit. “it is not a necessity”) for us that they be compounds in our language (lit. “with us”).

• Irish: éigean, éigin
• Manx: egin
• Scottish Gaelic: èiginn

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “éicen”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language