Ériu

Middle Irish

Alternative forms

• Hériu

Etymology

From Old Irish Ériu.

Pronunciation

• (earlier) IPA^(key): /ˈeːrʲiu̯/, /ˈeːrʲu/
• (later) IPA^(key): /ˈeːrʲə/

Proper noun

Ériu f

1. Ireland
   • c. 1000, “The Tale of Mac Da Thó's Pig”, in Ernst Windisch, editor, Irische Texte, volume 1, published 1800, section 1:

     Ailbe ainm in chon, ocus lan Heriu dia aurdarcus.

     Ailbe was the dog’s name, and Ireland was full of his fame.

     Is í sein int ṡeised bruiden ro·boi i n‑Herind in tan sin […]

     That is one of the six halls that were in Ireland at that time […]

     (literally, “That is the sixth hall that was […] ”)

Declension

• Accusative/dative singular: Érind, Érinn

Derived terms

• Érennach (“Irish”)

Descendants

• Irish: Éire
• Manx: Nerin
• Scottish Gaelic: Èirinn

Mutation

Mutation of Ériu

radical	lenition	nasalization
Ériu	unchanged	nÉriu

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

Old Irish

Alternative forms

• Hériu

Etymology

Probably, although the É is unexpected and unexplained, from Proto-Celtic *Φīweriyū.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈeːrʲiu̯/

Proper noun

Ériu f

1. Ireland (a country and island in Europe)

   Synonyms: Banba, Elg, Fódla

Declension

Feminine n-stem

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	Ériu	—	—
vocative	Ériu	—	—
accusative	ÉrinnN	—	—
genitive	Érenn	—	—
dative	ÉrinnL, ÉriuL	—	—

Initial mutations of a following adjective:

• ^H = triggers aspiration
• ^L = triggers lenition
• ^N = triggers nasalization

Descendants

• Middle Irish: Ériu, Hériu
  • Irish: Éire
  • Manx: Nerin
  • Scottish Gaelic: Èirinn
• →⇒ Old English: Īrland
  • Middle English: Irlond, Yrloand
    • English: Ireland
      • → Japanese: アイルランド (Airurando)
    • Scots: Irland
    • Yola: Erelhoan, Irelonde
    • → Old French: Irlande, Yrlande
      • French: Irlande
        • Haitian Creole: Ilann
        • → Greek: Ιρλανδία (Irlandía)
        • → Persian: ایرلند (irland)
      • Norman: Irlande
      • Walloon: Irlande
• → Old Norse: írar
  • Icelandic: Íri
  • Faroese: íri
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: ire
  • Norwegian Bokmål: ire
  • →? Old English: Īras

Mutation

Mutation of Ériu

radical	lenition	nasalization
Ériu (pronounced with /h/ in h-prothesis environments)	unchanged	nÉriu

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