ainimm

Old Irish

FWOTD – 14 September 2020

Alternative forms

ainim, anaim, anaimm, anim, animm

Etymology

The forms with unpalatalized /n/ are from Proto-Celtic *anaman, while the forms with palatalized /nʲ/ (as well as the feminine gender) have been influenced by Latin anima. Both the native word and the Latin word are from *h₂enh₁- (“breathe”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈan(ʲ)imʲ]

Noun

ainimm f (genitive anmae, nominative plural anmain)

soul, as opposed to corporeal body
- c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 3^d11
  ind ainim
  the soul
- c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 4^a27
  Is and didiu for·téit spiritus ar n-énirti-ni in tain bes n-inun accobor lenn .i. la corp et anim et la spirut. […] Is hed didiu for·théit in spirut, in tain guidme-ni inducbáil diar corp et diar n-animm iar n-esséirgiu.
  So it is then that the spirit helps our weakness when we have the same desire, i.e. body and soul and spirit. […] Then the spirit helps when we pray for glory for our body and for our soul after resurrection.
life
living creature, animal

Inflection

Feminine n-stem
	singular	dual	plural
nominative	ainimm, ainim, anaim(m), anim(m)	—	anm(a)in
vocative	ainimm, ainim, anaim(m), anim(m)	—	anmana^H
accusative	anm(a)in^N, anmuin^N, ainim^N, anaim(m)^N, anim(m)^N	—	anmana^H
genitive	anm(a)e	—	anman^N
dative	anm(a)in^L, anmuin^L, ainim^L, anaim(m)^L, anim(m)^L	—	anmanaib

Initial mutations of a following adjective:

^H = triggers aspiration
^L = triggers lenition
^N = triggers nasalization

Descendants

Irish: anam
Manx: annym
Scottish Gaelic: anam
⇒ Middle Irish: ainmide
- Irish: ainmhí
- Scottish Gaelic: ainmhidh

Mutation

Mutation of *ainimm*
radical	lenition	nasalization
ainimm (pronounced with /h/ in h-prothesis environments)	ainimm	n-ainimm

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in Old Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.