caisearbhán

Irish

Etymology

From Middle Irish caisserbán, from cas (“curly(-haired)”) + serbán (“oats”).^[1] By surface analysis, cas (“curly”) +‎ searbhán (“bitter herb”), from searbh (“bitter”).

Pronunciation

(Munster) IPA^(key): /ˈɡaʃɾˠəvˠaːn̪ˠ/^[2] (as if spelled gaisreabhán)
(Connacht) IPA^(key): /ˈkaʃəɾˠwaːn̪ˠ/^[3]; (Mayo) /ˈkaʃl̠ʲəwaːnˠ/ (as if spelled caisleabhán)^[4]
(Ulster) IPA^(key): /ɡæˈʃaɾˠəwanˠ/^[5] (as if spelled gais-searbhán)

Noun

caisearbhán m (genitive singular caisearbháin, nominative plural caisearbháin)

dandelion, Taraxacum genus

Declension

Declension of caisearbhán (first declension)

bare forms
	singular	plural
nominative	caisearbhán	caisearbháin
vocative	a chaisearbháin	a chaisearbhána
genitive	caisearbháin	caisearbhán
dative	caisearbhán	caisearbháin

forms with the definite article
	singular	plural
nominative	an caisearbhán	na caisearbháin
genitive	an chaisearbháin	na gcaisearbhán
dative	leis an gcaisearbhán don chaisearbhán	leis na caisearbháin

Synonyms

searbhán

Mutation

Mutated forms of *caisearbhán*
radical	lenition	eclipsis
caisearbhán	chaisearbhán	gcaisearbhán

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

References

^ Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “caiserbán”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
^ Ó Sé, Diarmuid (2000) Gaeilge Chorca Dhuibhne [The Irish of Corkaguiny] (in Irish), Institiúid Teangeolaíochta Éireann [Linguistics Institute of Ireland], →ISBN, section 49, page 48
^ “caisearbhán”, in Irish Pronunciation Database, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013–2025
^ Mhac an Fhailigh, Éamonn (1968) The Irish of Erris, Co. Mayo: A Phonemic Study, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, section 454, page 164
^ Quiggin, E. C. (1906) A Dialect of Donegal, Cambridge University Press, § 428, page 138