béal

See also: beal and Beal

French

Noun

béal m (plural béals)

(southern France) small irrigation canal

Anagrams

Abel, able, Bâle, bêla

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish bél^[1] (compare Scottish Gaelic beul, Manx beeal), possibly from Proto-Celtic *weblos (compare Welsh gwefl (“animal lip”), Cornish gwevel).^[2]

Pronunciation

(Munster) IPA^(key): /bʲiɑ̯l̪ˠ/^[3]
(Aran) IPA^(key): /bʲeːl/^[4]
(Connemara, Mayo, Ulster) IPA^(key): /bʲeːlˠ/, /bʲeːl̪ˠ/^[5]

Noun

béal m (genitive singular béil, nominative plural béil)

mouth (of the face, etc.)
opening
edge (of knife)
muzzle (of weapon)

Declension

Declension of béal (first declension)

bare forms
case	singular	plural
nominative	béal	béil
vocative	a bhéil	a bhéala
genitive	béil	béal
dative	béal	béil

forms with the definite article
case	singular	plural
nominative	an béal	na béil
genitive	an bhéil	na mbéal
dative	leis an mbéal don bhéal	leis na béil

Alternate plural used in certain phrases: béala

Derived terms

áireamh béil (“mental arithmetic”)
amhrán an bhéil dúnta (“sweet silence”)
béal abhann (“mouth, outfall, of river”)
béal an chléibh (“pit of the stomach”)
béal an ghoile (“pit of the stomach”)
Béal Árann (“Aran Sound”)
béal báire (“goalmouth”)
béal balbh
béal bán (“soft talk”)
béal beag (“ribbing on stocking”)
béal beo (“talk; talkativeness; the spoken language”)
béal bocht (“persistent complaint of poverty”)
béal cairbreach (“rugged mouth”)
béal dorais (“doorway; next door”)
béal dúnta (“closed mouth; close-lipped person”)
béal faoi
Béal Feirste (“Belfast”)
béal fúithi (“upside down; prone”)
béal gan chaomhnú (“blabber”)
béal gan foscadh
béal gan scáth
béal gan smid (“silent, unsociable, person”)
béal gearrtha (“cutting-face in cornfield, stack etc.”)
béal ina chónaí (“discreet person”)
béal láin (“low-water mark”)
béal le hÉirinn (“open to the wide world”)
béal marbh (“dumbness, stupidity”)
béal na bó (“cowslip”)
béal na bréige (“liar”)
béal na céille (“sensible person, one who talks sense”)
béal na fírinne (“truthful person”)
béal rásúir (“razor-edge”)
béal salach (“infantile thrush; sore mouth, orf”)
béal scair (“gap between two nets connected at top”)
béal tuile (“hydrant”)
béal-anróch (“making a poor mouth, plaintive”)
béal-láidir (“rough-spoken; hardmouthed”)
béal-leata (“gaping”)
béal-leathadh (“splay”)
béal-leathan (“wide-mouthed; yawning”)
béal-ligtheoir (“rope used in opening bottom of pannier”)
béal-líofa (“fluent of speech”)
béal-lódáilte (“muzzle-loading”)
béalach (“loquacious, loose-tongued”)
béalaireacht (“orality”)
béalaithris (“oral account, tradition”)
béalalt (“bridle-joint”)
béalán (“mouthful”)
béalbhinn (“mellifluous; flattering”)
béalbhraiteach (“tender-mouthed”)
béalchlabach (“garrulous”)
béalchliste (“ready-witted”)
béalchnáimhseáil (“plaintive talk, querulousness”)
béalchníopaireacht (“mean, miserly, talk”)
béalchrábhadh (“lip-service to religion; hypocrisy”)
béalchráifeach (“sanctimonious”)
béalchráifeacht (“sanctimoniousness”)
béalchuas (“buccal cavity”)
béalchúthail (“shy to speak”)
béaldath (“lipstick”)
béaldearg (“red-lipped”)
béaldruidte (“secretive”)
béaléachtaint (“(spoken) hint”)
béalfharaing (“oropharynx”)
béalfhileata (“silver-tongued; smart-spoken”)
béalfhliuch (“drizzling; fond of a drink”)
béalfhothainiúil (“secretive”)
béalgharbh (“roughish”)
béalghrá (“lip-service”)
béaliata (“tight-lipped, secretive”)
béalmháchail (“defect of speech”)
béalmhír (“bit”)
béalmhúinte (“mannerly, polite”)
béalóg (“small opening, gap”)
béaloideas (“oral tradition; folklore”)
béaloscailte (“wide open, agape; open; open-mouthed”)
béalráiteach (“talkative; prating”)
béalscaoilte (“indiscreet, unable to keep a secret”)
béalscáthlán (“open shelter”)
béalsceiteach (“blabbing, indiscreet”)
béalseicin (“buccal membrane”)
béalsreang (“string on mouth of bag, etc.”)
béalstóinsithe (“taciturn”)
béalteann (“firm, forceful of speech”)
béaltirim (“dry-lipped, parched”)
béaltriail (“oral test”)
braon i mbéal na gaoithe (“blown drops of rain”)
briathra béil (“spoken words”)
buinne béil (“rim-wale”)
clár béil (“lid”)
comhrá béil (“gossip, hearsay”)
cruabhéalach (“hard-mouthed of horse”)
cuas an bhéil
cuntas béil (“oral, verbal, account”)
deimheas béil (“sharp tongue”)
doras béil (“front door”)
éist do bhéal (“shut your mouth”)
faoi bhéal an aeir (“under the open sky”)
faoistin bhéil (“oral confession”)
folcadh béil (“mouth-wash”)
galar béil (“thrush”)
galar crúibe is béil (“foot-and-mouth disease”)
garbh-bhéal
gearrbhéalach (“curt, abrupt”)
gnéas béil (“oral sex”)
gunna béal-lódáilte (“muzzle-loader”)
i mbéal na gaoithe (“in the teeth of the wind”)
íde béil (“verbal abuse, revilement”)
leathadh béil (“gaping”)
luas béil (“muzzle-velocity”)
mórbhéalach (“big-mouthed, blabbering”)
orgán béil (“mouth-organ”)
píopa béil (“flue-pipe”)
port béil (“lilt”)
rá béil (“verbal expression, statement”)
raon faoi bhéal (“point-blank range”)
salachar béil (“thrush; orf”)
scagbhéalach (“tattling, indiscreet”)
slat bhéil (“gunwale”)
teagasc béil (“oral instruction; oral tradition”)
tionóntacht bhéil (“parol tenancy”)

Related terms

beola

Mutation

Mutated forms of *béal*
radical	lenition	eclipsis
béal	bhéal	mbéal

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), “bél”, 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 419
^ Sjoestedt, M. L. (1931) Phonétique d’un parler irlandais de Kerry (in French), Paris: Librairie Ernest Leroux, § 207, page 104
^ Finck, F. N. (1899) Die araner mundart (in German), volume II, Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, page 42
^ Quiggin, E. C. (1906) A Dialect of Donegal, Cambridge University Press, § 158, page 61

béal

Contents

French

Noun

Further reading

Anagrams

Irish

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Derived terms

Related terms

Mutation

References

Further reading