cuil

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish cuil (“fly; flea, gnat”), from Proto-Celtic *kuli (compare Scottish cuileag, Breton kelien, Welsh cylion), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱuH-ló- (compare Latin culex (“gnat”), Old Armenian սլաք (slakʿ, “roasting spit”)).

Noun

cuil f (genitive cuile, nominative plural cuileanna)

1. fly, bug

Declension

Declension of cuil

Second declension

Bare forms Case Singular Plural Nominative cuil cuileanna Vocative a chuil a chuileanna Genitive cuile cuileanna Dative cuil cuileanna

Forms with the definite article Case Singular Plural Nominative an chuil na cuileanna Genitive na cuile na gcuileanna Dative leis an gcuil don chuil leis na cuileanna

Derived terms

• agairg na gcuileanna (“fly agaric”)
• bréagchuil (“fishing fly”)
• cuil fhearnóige (“alderfly”)

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
cuil	chuil	gcuil
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

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Old Irish

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *kuli, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱuH-ló-.

Noun

cuil f (genitive singular and nominative plural cuile)

1. fly
2. (sometimes, perhaps) flea, gnat

Descendants

• Irish: cuil
• Manx: quill
• Middle Irish: cuil, cuileóc
  • Irish cuileog
  • Manx quaillag
  • Scottish Gaelic: cuileag