féidir

Irish

Etymology

From both Middle Irish éitir (“strength”) and the autonomous ("passive") form of fétaid (“be able”). The initial "f" is a reanalysing of the verb to match féad, and akin to the added "f" in forms such as feic.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈfʲeːdʲəɾʲ/[1]

Noun

féidir (defective)

  1. ability
  2. possibility

Usage notes

  • This noun is used in two places in Irish:
  1. The expression is féidir le (“to be able”)
  2. The expression b’fhéidir (“maybe”)

Derived terms

See also

Mutation

Mutated forms of féidir
radical lenition eclipsis
féidir fhéidir bhféidir

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

References

  1. ^ Finck, F. N. (1899) Die araner mundart [The Aran Dialect] (in German), Zweiter Band: Wörterbuch [Second volume: Dictionary], Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, page 109

Further reading

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