aibhéis

See also: áibhéis

Irish

Alternative forms

áibhéis, aibhléis

Etymology

Probably at least partially from Old Irish abis (“depths of the sea; sea”),^[1] from Latin abyssus, from Ancient Greek ἄβυσσος (ábussos), but the vowel of the second syllable and the change in gender (masculine in Latin, feminine in modern Irish) suggest a different etymology connected with Welsh affwys (“depth”) and Breton ervoas (“deep”).

Pronunciation

(Ulster) IPA^(key): /ˈaːvʲɛʃ/^[2] (corresponding to the form áibhéis)

Noun

aibhéis f (genitive singular aibhéise)

abyss; the deep

Declension

Declension of aibhéis (second declension, no plural)

bare forms
case	singular
nominative	aibhéis
vocative	a aibhéis
genitive	aibhéise
dative	aibhéis

forms with the definite article
case	singular
nominative	an aibhéis
genitive	na haibhéise
dative	leis an aibhéis don aibhéis

Derived terms

aibhéiseach (“abysmal; abyssal”, adjective)

Mutation

Mutated forms of *aibhéis*
radical	eclipsis	with h-prothesis	with t-prothesis
aibhéis	n-aibhéis	haibhéis	not applicable

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

References

^ Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “aibéis”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
^ Quiggin, E. C. (1906) A Dialect of Donegal, Cambridge University Press, § 85, page 34