ascae

Old Irish

Etymology

Stifter (2013) derives this from a Proto-Celtic *ad-kom-stāts, semantically justifying the coinage as originally referring to a person who stood alongside another "at (a matter)", hence being a rival over a subject.^[1] But this derivation would thus be at semantic odds with that of its close relative ad·cota (“to get”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈas.ke/, [ˈaskɘ]

Noun

ascae m

rival

Inflection

Masculine d-stem
	singular	dual	plural
nominative	ascae	ascaid^L, ascae	ascaid
vocative	ascae	ascaid^L, ascae	ascadu
accusative	ascaid^N	ascaid^L, ascae	ascada
genitive	ascad	ascad	ascad^N
dative	ascaid^L	ascadaib	ascadaib

Initial mutations of a following adjective:

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

The ending of the vocative plural ascadu has been taken over from the o-stems.

Quotations

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. 44^c9
Inna n-ascad .i. inna námat són as·berat bid cobuir dó in Día [dïa] forgéni ⁊ hi ru·frescachae. Híróin són immurgu.
Of the rivals, i.e. of the enemies who say that the God whom he served, and in whom he hoped, will be a help to him. That is irony however.

Mutation

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

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

References

^ Stifter, David (2013) “The Accusative Plural of Early Irish Dental and Guttural Stems”, in Pamela O'Neill, editor, The Land Beneath the Sea: Essays in Honour of Anders Ahlqvist's Contribution to Celtic Studies in Australia (Sydney Series in Celtic Studies; 14), Sydney: University of Sydney, →ISBN, page 194