púca

See also: puca, puça, and puçá

Irish

Etymology

A Germanic borrowing, from Old Norse púki (“fairy spirit”).[1][2]

Pronunciation

Noun

púca m (genitive singular púca, nominative plural púcaí)

  1. hobgoblin, pooka, puck
  2. surly, uncommunicative person

Declension

Declension of púca (fourth declension)
bare forms
singular plural
nominative púca púcaí
vocative a phúca a phúcaí
genitive púca púcaí
dative púca púcaí
forms with the definite article
singular plural
nominative an púca na púcaí
genitive an phúca na bpúcaí
dative leis an bpúca
don phúca 		leis na púcaí

Derived terms

  • ceann púca m (“gargoyle”)
  • coinnle an phúca f pl (“dark mullein”)
  • méirín púca m (“fox-glove”)
  • púca na mbeann m (“the Devil”)
  • púca na n-adharc m (“bugbear”)
  • púca na sméar m (“fruit-destroying pooka”)
  • púca peill m (“toadstool”)
  • púcaíocht f (“backwardness”)
  • púcbhobarún m (“silent stupid person”)
  • púcúil (“glum, surly”, adjective)
  • téada an phúca f pl (“gossamer”)

Descendants

  • →? Cornish: bucca
  • → English: pooka, puka

Mutation

Mutated forms of púca
radical lenition eclipsis
púca phúca bpúca

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

References

  1. ^ Pokorny, Julius (1959) “299”, in Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 1, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, page 299
  2. ^ Curran, Bob (1997) A Field Guide to Irish Fairies, Appletree Press, →ISBN
  3. ^ Sjoestedt, M. L. (1931) Phonétique d’un parler irlandais de Kerry [Phonetics of an Irish Dialect of Kerry] (in French), Paris: Librairie Ernest Leroux, § 121, page 65
  4. ^ Mhac an Fhailigh, Éamonn (1968) The Irish of Erris, Co. Mayo: A Phonemic Study, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, section 72, page 19
  5. ^ Quiggin, E. C. (1906) A Dialect of Donegal, Cambridge University Press, § 413, page 135

Further reading

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