cnáim

Old Irish

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *knāmis, from Proto-Indo-European *kónh₂m (leg). Cognate with Ancient Greek κνήμη (knḗmē, tibia) and English ham.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [knaːβ̃ʲ]

Noun

cnáim m (genitive cnámo or cnáma, nominative plural cnámai)

  1. bone
    • 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. 4d15
      In Belzefuth: is béss didu ind lïacc benir il-béim friss, et intí do·thuit foir ɔ·boing a chnámi, intí fora tuit-som immurgu at·bail-side.
      The Beelzebub: it is the custom, then, of the stone that many blows are hit against it, and he who falls upon it breaks his bones; however, he whom it falls on perishes

Inflection

Masculine i-stem
singular dual plural
nominative cnáim cnáimL cnámaiH, cnámi
vocative cnáim cnáimL cnámaiH, cnámi
accusative cnáimN cnáimL cnámaiH, cnámi
genitive cnámoH, cnámaH cnámoH, cnámaH cnámaeN
dative cnáimL cnámaib cnámaib
Initial mutations of a following adjective:
  • H = triggers aspiration
  • L = triggers lenition
  • N = triggers nasalization

Descendants

  • Irish: cnámh
  • Manx: craue
  • Scottish Gaelic: cnàimh
  • ? Middle Welsh: knaw
    • Welsh: pencnaw (end of a bone)

Mutation

Mutation of cnáim
radical lenition nasalization
cnáim chnáim cnáim
pronounced with /ɡ-/

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

Further reading