cenél

Old Irish

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *kenetlom (“race, nation”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈkʲenʲeːl]

Noun

cenél n (genitive ceníuil or cenéuil or cenéoil, nominative plural cenél or cenéla)

1. race (group of people set apart from others on the basis of a common heritage)
   • 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^c7

     Léic úait inna biada milsi et tomil innahí-siu do·mmeil do chenél arnáp hésom con·éit détso.

     Put away from you sg the sweet foods, and consume those that your race consumes, so that it may not be he who is indulgent to you.

2. nation, people (group of persons forming or belonging to a particular nation etc.)
   • 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. 5^c3

     ɔ·ríctar huili genti ꝉ drécht caich ceníuil

     till all the Gentiles are saved, or a portion of every nation

   • 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. 67^b24

     Inna c{h}enél fo·rrorbris, fos·roammámigestar dïa molad ⁊ dïa adrad.

     The peoples whom he has routed, he has subjugated them to his praise and to his worship.

3. kind (type, race, or category)
4. (grammar) gender
   • c. 845, St Gall Glosses on Priscian, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1975, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. II, pp. 49–224, Sg. 190^b4

     At·robair cach cenél.

     Every gender can say it.

Declension

Neuter o-stem
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	cenélN	cenélN	cenélL, cenéla
Vocative	cenélN	cenélN	cenélL, cenéla
Accusative	cenélN	cenélN	cenélL, cenéla
Genitive	cenéuilL, ceníuil, cenéoil	cenél	cenélN
Dative	cenéulL	cenélaib	cenélaib
Initial mutations of a following adjective: H = triggers aspiration L = triggers lenition N = triggers nasalization

Descendants

• Irish: cineál
• Scottish Gaelic: cineal

Mutation

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

Further reading

• G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “cenél”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language