boireann

From Middle Irish bairenn, from Old Irish bairenn (“large stone; rocky district”), from Proto-Celtic *barinā (“rock, rocky ground”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷr̥H- (“mountain”), from *gʷerH- (“to elevate”).

boireann f (genitive singular boirne, nominative plural boireanna)

1. rock
2. (geology) rocky country; karst

• (karst): carst m

• boireannach (“rocky; karsty”, adjective)
• féar boirne (“blue moor-grass”)

• → English: Burren

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “boireann”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “bairenn”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Matasović, Ranko (2009) Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 57

• bainionn, boirionn

By dissimilation from Old Irish boinenn (“female”) (compare Irish baineann).

• IPA^(key): /ˈb̥ɔɾʲən̪ˠ/
• (South Uist) IPA^(key): /ˈb̥oɾʲən̪ˠ/

boireann (comparative boirinne)

1. female, feminine
2. (linguistics) feminine

• fireann

• Edward Dwelly (1911) “boireann”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary]‎^[1], 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “boinenn”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language