ainb

Old Irish

Alternative forms

ainib

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *an- (“un-”) + *wids (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *weyd- (“to see”)). Ainb was an irregular consonant-stem adjective during the eighth century, but by the ninth-century Milan glosses it had become an i-stem.

Adjective

ainb

ignorant

Inflection

The inflection as attested in the Milan glosses was:

i-stem
Singular	Masculine	Feminine	Neuter
Nominative	ainb	ainb	ainb
Vocative	ainb	ainb
Accusative	ainb	ainb
Genitive	ainb	ainbe	ainb
Dative	ainb	ainb	ainb
Plural	Masculine	Feminine/neuter
Nominative	ainbi	ainbi
Vocative	ainbi
Accusative	ainbi
Genitive	ainb* ainbe
Dative	ainbib
Notes	*not when substantivized

However, the irregular genitive singular ainbfeth is also attested in Bretha Nemed law tracts. It has also appeared, corrupted, in the form anfeich.

Mutation

Old Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Nasalization
ainb (pronounced with /h/ in h-prothesis environments)	unchanged	n-ainb
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.