dúil

• IPA^(key): /d̪ˠuːlʲ/^[1][2]

dúil f (genitive singular dúile)

1. desire, like, hankering, appetite

   Synonyms: fonn, mian, saint

   Níl dúil i mbainne agam. ― I have no desire for milk.

   D’imigh mo dhúil as an mbiadh. ― I lost my appetite for food.

   Blais é agus tiocfaidh dúil agat ann. ― Taste it and you will get an appetite for it.

   dúil an anma ― an intense desire

   cuirim dúil i ― I desire

   Glacann dúil in athrú mé. ― I became desirous of change.

   Ghlac dúil mé féin sna cártaí. ― I became enamored of card-playing.

   dúil chráite ― a craving

   dúil nimhe ― consuming desire

2. expectation, hope

   Synonyms: dóchas, súil

   ag dúil leis ― expecting him, looking out for him

   mar dhúil is go ― in the hope that

• andúil (“addiction”)

From Old Irish dúil.^[3]

dúil f (genitive singular dúile, nominative plural dúile)

1. element (simplest or essential part or principle of anything; simplest chemical substance; basic building blocks in ancient philosophy)

   Synonyms: eilimint, uraiceacht

2. (in the plural) the elements (atmospheric forces)

   a Dhia na ndúl ― O God of Nature

   Thug sé Dia agus dúile. ― He swore by God and the elements.

   ó Dhia is ó dhúile ― from God and the elements

3. creature, being

   Synonyms: créatúr, neach

   dúil dhaonna ― a human creature

   dúil ainglí ― an angelic being

   dúil bheo ― a living thing

   An dúil de dhéithe í? ― Is she a being from the gods?

   dúil dár dhligh searc ― a being who deserved to be loved

• dúlra (“nature”)

• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1904) “dúil”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 1st edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 268
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “dúil”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “dúil”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013–2025
• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “dúil”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN

MacBain suggests a relation to Ancient Greek θῡμός (thūmós, “soul, desire, passion”) and Lithuanian dū́mas (“smoke”) (which, however, he confuses with dumas (“thought”)).^[1] If true, then the word is ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewh₂- (“smoke”).

Matasović, however, says of this derivation: “Now, although it is possible to imagine a series of steps in semantic development that would lead from ‘smoke’ to ‘creation’, I find it difficult to believe this etymology: it seems to me that accepting it would be a sign of desperation, rather than the result of a sound consideration of probabilities.”^[2]

• IPA^(key): [duːlʲ]

dúil f

1. element
2. being, creature
3. thing

• 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. 20^b2

  Is airi da·rogart-som noíb, ar frith⟨t⟩uidecht innaní as·rubartatar nád robae remdéicsiu ná láthar nDǽ dïa dúlib.

  It is for this reason that he has called himself a saint, because of the opposition of those who have said that there is neither providence nor dispensation of God for his creatures.

• 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. 94^b7

  Amal as messe duda·forsat inna dúli, is mé dano bǽras mes fírían foraib.

  As it is I who have created the elements, so too it is I who will pass righteous judgment on them.

• 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. 120^c7

  cid torbae ara·torsata ⁊ cía gním du·gníat inna dúli

  what use the elements have been created for and what work they do

• dúildetu

• Irish: dúil
• Scottish Gaelic: dùil

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “dúil”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language