céile

See also: cèile and -cèile

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish céile, from Primitive Irish ᚉᚓᚂᚔ (celi, “follower, devotee (genitive)”), from Proto-Celtic *keiliyos.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈceːlʲə/

Noun

céile m (genitive singular céile, nominative plural céilí)

1. companion
2. spouse

Declension

Declension of céile

Fourth declension

Bare forms Case Singular Plural Nominative céile céilí Vocative a chéile a chéilí Genitive céile céilí Dative céile céilí

Forms with the definite article Case Singular Plural Nominative an céile na céilí Genitive an chéile na gcéilí Dative leis an gcéile don chéile leis na céilí

Derived terms

• a chéile (“each other, one another”)
• aonchéileach (“monogamous”, adjective)
• as a chéile (“one after another, in a row, consecutively”)
• athair céile (“father-in-law”)
• bean chéile, céile mná (“wife”)
• céile fir, fear céile (“husband”)
• le chéile (“together”)
• máthair chéile (“mother-in-law”)
• trína chéile (“mixed up”)

 

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
céile	chéile	gcéile
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “céile”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “céile”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Sjoestedt, M. L. (1931) Phonétique d’un parler irlandais de Kerry (in French), Paris: Librairie Ernest Leroux, page 43

Old Irish

FWOTD – 30 September 2013

Alternative forms

• céle

Etymology

From Primitive Irish ᚉᚓᚂᚔ (celi, “follower, devotee”, genitive), from Proto-Celtic *keiliyos.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkʲeːlʲe/

Noun

céile m (genitive céili, nominative plural céili)

1. servant, bondsman, subject
2. (law) liege, vassal, the recipient of a fief
3. fellow, companion, neighbour
   • c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 10^c21

     Ba torad sa⟨í⟩thir dúun in chrud so ce du·melmis cech túari et ce du·gnemmis a ndu·gníat ar céli, act ní bad nertad na mbráithre et frescsiu fochricce as móo.

     It would be a fruit of labor for us in this way if we consumed every food and if we did what our fellows do, but it would not be a strengthening of the brothers and a hope of a greater reward.

   • 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. 59^a15

     huadsom dia cheliu

     from himself to his fellow

4. husband
   • 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. 125^a2

     amal tiagtae mná hua célib cofiru aili

5. (rare) wife
6. (pronominally) one, the other
   • c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 6^d4

     íroimed cách achéele per caritatem

     glosses suscipite uos nuicem

Declension

Masculine io-stem
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	céile	céileL	céiliL
Vocative	céili	céileL	céiliu
Accusative	céileN	céileL	céiliuH
Genitive	céiliL	céileL	céileN
Dative	céiliuL	céilib	céilib
Initial mutations of a following adjective: H = triggers aspiration L = triggers lenition N = triggers nasalization

Derived terms

• céile Dé (“servant of God, Culdee”)
• céilide (“visit”)
• céilsine (“clientship”)
• coicéile (“companion, fellow, comrade”)
• coicéilsine (“fellowship, clientship”)

 

Descendants

• Irish: céile
• Manx: keilley
• Scottish Gaelic: cèile

Mutation

Old Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Nasalization
céile	chéile	céile pronounced with /ɡ(ʲ)-/
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

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