bearna mhíl

Irish

Etymology

From bearna (“gap”) +‎ míl (genitive singular of míol (“animal; hare”)). The pronunciation given by Finck for Aran Irish suggests a confusion with either bearna bhaoil (“gap of danger, the breach”) or bearna mhaol (“a gap not closed up to the usual height”, literally “bald gap”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbʲaːɾˠn̪ˠə ˈvʲiːlʲ/
• (Aran) IPA^(key): /ˈbʲaːɾˠn̪ˠə ˈwiːl/, (older) /ˈbʲaːɾˠn̪ˠə ˈwɯːl/

Noun

bearna mhíl f (genitive singular bearna mhíl, nominative plural bearnaí míl)

1. harelip, cleft lip

Further reading

• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1927) “beárna”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 2nd edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society
• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “bearna mhíl”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN