aerach

Irish

Etymology

From Middle Irish aerach (“airy, pleasant; light-hearted, gay, frivolous”); aer (“air”) +‎ -ach. The sense ‘homosexual’ is a semantic loan from English gay.

Pronunciation

• (Munster, Connacht) IPA^(key): /ˈeːɾˠəx/
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /ˈeːɾˠa(x)/

Adjective

aerach (genitive singular masculine aeraigh, genitive singular feminine aeraí, plural aeracha, comparative aeraí)

1. airy
2. lighthearted, gay; lively, frolicsome
3. flighty, giddy
4. (sexuality, LGBT) gay, homosexual

   Synonyms: bán, homaighnéasach

5. Synonym of aerachtúil (“eerie”)

Declension

Declension of aerach

	Singular		Plural (m/f)
Positive	Masculine	Feminine	(strong noun)	(weak noun)
Nominative	aerach	aerach	aeracha
Vocative	aeraigh		aeracha
Genitive		aeraí	aeracha	aerach
Dative	aerach	aerach; aeraigh (archaic)	aeracha
Comparative	níos aeraí
Superlative	is aeraí

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical	Eclipsis	with h-prothesis	with t-prothesis
aerach	n-aerach	haerach	not applicable
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “aerach”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “aerach”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Entries containing “aerach” in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm, 1959, by Tomás de Bhaldraithe.
• Entries containing “aerach” in New English-Irish Dictionary by Foras na Gaeilge.