An Irish-English dictionary - National Library of Scotland

REMARKS ON THE LETTER C
letters naturally commutnblo with each other, like D and T, as indeeil they always were in most of the ancient languages.
Bat it is particularly to be observed, that, although the letters C and G usurp each other's places, yet in the Irish language
they never exchange sound or .power, each invariably preserving its own natural power and pronunciation, wherever it
appears; for C is always a Kappa or K; and G is as constantly a strong unguttural Gamma, excepting the case of their
being aspirated by the immediate subjoining of an h. This property seems peculiar to the Irish or Celtic amongst the old
languages ; since we see in the oldest drauglit of the Hebrew and Greek letters, that the Gimel of the former and the Gamma
of the Tatter are marked down, as having the force and pronimciation of either G or C indifferently ; which is likewise the
case in the Armenian, JSthiopian, and Coptic alphabets, as appears by the tables of Doctors Bernard and Morton. Thus
likewise do all the other letters of the Irish alphabet constantly preserve their respective force and power, without usurping
one another's pronunciation or function, as it happens in other languages, in which C often usurps that of S, as in the Latin
word Cicero, as does likewise T when immediately followed by the vowel i, and then by another vowel, as in the words
T^tius, Mauritius, ustirpatio, etc. So that, if Lucian had to deal only with the Irish alphabet, we would have had no room
for the humorous quarrel and lawstut he raised between the consonants of liis alphabet for encroaching on one another, as
those of most other alphabets frequently do, by usurping one another's function of sound and pronunciation. And this
circumstance regarding the Irish language is the more remarkable, as its whole and prhnitive stock of letters is but
«ixteen in number, the same as that o' the first Roman or Latin alphabet, brought by Evander the Arcadian, which was the
original Cadmean or Phoenician set of letters communicated to the Greeks. And yet, our sixteen letters of the primitive Irish
alphabet were sufficient for all the essential piu-poses of language, every one preserving its own sound or power,without usurping
that of any other letter. As to the h, it is only an aspirate in the Irish language, and never entered as a natural element
into the frame of any word; thongh, indeed, of late ages, it seems to have put on the appearance and function of a letter,
when nsed as a prefix to a word that begins with a vowel, which happens only in words referred to females or the feminine
gender; for in Irisli we s.iy aghaidh, his face; but as to the face of a woman, we must say, ah-adghaidh, in which the h
is a strong aspirate, and carries such a force as it does in the Latin, hen, hodie; the Greek, hagios, Heracleos, the French,
hero, the English host, etc. And as to the P, we shall, in our remarks on that letter, allege some reasons which may seem
to evince that it did not originally belong to the Irish alphabet.
One remark more remains to be made on the letter C, which relates to the aspirate or guttural sound (the same as in the
Greek chi) it is susceptible of at the beginning of a word; a remark whicli is equally applicable to the letter B, and partly
to other consonants of the Irish alphabet. In all the nominal words or nouns substantive, of whatever gender, beginning
with C, and bearing a possessive reference to persons or things of the masculine gender, the letter C is aspirated ; but not
so when they are referred to the feminine. Ex. a cheann (masc.) his head ; a chos, iás foot ; a ceann (fem.), her head
a cos, her "foot. So likewise in B, his servant maid;
a buachail, her man sen
absolutely, without refer
C or B. Ex. an chos, t
fixing of the particle
with regard to nouns bcgii
! I v man senant. But when those words or any other nominals are taken
. : feminine gender alone are aspirated in their initial letter, whether
s woman servant; an buachail, the man servant. So that this pre-
! 11- [ Nv i une
metliod of discovering their gender. But it does not hold good
Cv\b CAB CAbll CABH
C, e, stands for ccat), the first, or for cé^t), a CAbvVt), cabadh, s. breaking of land, Sh.; inden-
hundred.
tation, indenting.
Ca, ca, is an interrogative particle, and has CAbA BCAfAin, caba deasatn, s. field or corn
various significations ; as, how, what, where, scabious, scabiosa arvensis.
when, whence; cÁ hAipxie? cÁ TOinne? ca CAbAj, cabag, s. a cheese, Sc.
pACAlt) CÚ? CÁ huAip? CÁ hs]'?
CAbAjA, cabaga, s. f a quean, strumpet.
ChA, cJta, is a negative particle, the same as ni, CAbAibe, cabaile, s. a fleet, navy; prop.
c1iA'ti"eil,, for tii i:yuil; used in Ulster and CAblAC.
Scotland for the ncijative ti
Ca, ca
s. a house.
Cai, caia
CAbAi)i, cabliair, s. f support, help, succour.
CAbAine, cabaire, s. m. a babbler, a prater.
CAbAi]>e, cabhaire, s. m. a supporter, assistant.
CAAb, caab, s. concord in singing, 5/i.
CAbAi]\eAct), cabaireachd, '^ s. m. and f prating,
CAb, cab, s. m. a mouth; a head, a gap; the CAbAit'eAcn, cabaiseachd, ) babbling.
bit of a bridle.
CAbAipiin, cabhairim, v. I help, aid.
CÁbA, caba, s. a cap or hood ; covering for the CAbcMf, cabals, s. f babble, prate.
head ; a cloak or robe.
CAbAi]'im, cahaisim, v. I babble, prate.
CAbAc, cabach, adj. babbling, talkative; tooth- CAbAipce, cubaiste, s. i. cabbage.
less, full of gaps, indented; s. m. a hostage; CAbAl, cablial, s. m. the body of a shirt ; the
" o'pbbeA'OA)\ cA]\ AnAif 5A11 cÁin gAn unfinished walls of a house ; a caldron, a large
CAbAc".
pan ; j. e. coi)ie, 0. g.
;