bréc

See also: brec and brèç

Old Irish

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *brenkā, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰrenḱ- (“to deviate, corrupt”); cognate with Sanskrit भ्रंश (bhraṃśa, “deviation, decay”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bʲrʲeːɡ/

Noun

bréc f (genitive bréice, nominative plural bréca)

1. lie, falsehood
2. deception
3. exaggeration

Inflection

Feminine ā-stem
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	brécL	bréicL	brécaH
Vocative	brécL	bréicL	brécaH
Accusative	bréicN	bréicL	brécaH
Genitive	bréiceH	brécL	brécN
Dative	bréicL	brécaib	brécaib
Initial mutations of a following adjective: H = triggers aspiration L = triggers lenition N = triggers nasalization

Derived terms

• brécach
• brécaid
• brécairecht

 

Descendants

• Irish: bréag
• Manx: breag
• Scottish Gaelic: breug
• ⇒ Middle Irish: brécaire

Mutation

Old Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Nasalization
bréc	bréc pronounced with /β(ʲ)-/	mbréc
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “bréc”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language