boireann

Irish

Etymology

From Middle Irish bairenn, from Old Irish bairenn (“large stone; rocky district”), from Proto-Celtic *barinā (“rock, rocky ground”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷr̥H- (“mountain”), from *gʷerH- (“to elevate”).

Noun

boireann f (genitive singular boirne, nominative plural boireanna)

1. rock
2. (geology) rocky country; karst

Declension

Declension of boireann

Second declension

Bare forms Case Singular Plural Nominative boireann boireanna Vocative a bhoireann a bhoireanna Genitive boirne boireann Dative boireann boireanna

Forms with the definite article Case Singular Plural Nominative an bhoireann na boireanna Genitive na boirne na mboireann Dative leis an mboireann don bhoireann leis na boireanna

Synonyms

• (karst): carst m

Derived terms

• boireannach (“rocky; karsty”, adjective)
• féar boirne (“blue moor-grass”)

Descendants

• → English: Burren

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
boireann	bhoireann	mboireann
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “boireann”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “bairenn”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Matasović, Ranko (2009) Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 57

Scottish Gaelic

Alternative forms

• bainionn, boirionn

Etymology

By dissimilation from Old Irish boinenn (“female”) (compare Irish baineann).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɔɾʲən̪ˠ/

Adjective

boireann (comparative boirinne)

1. female, feminine
2. (linguistics) feminine

Derived terms

• boireannach
• boireannta
• dalta-boireann

 

See also

• fireann

Mutation

Scottish Gaelic mutation
Radical	Lenition
boireann	bhoireann
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• Edward Dwelly (1911) “boireann”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary]‎^[1], 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “boinenn”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language