caochán

Irish

Etymology 1

From Old Irish cáechán (“one-eyed person”), cáech (“blind in one eye”, adjective); equivalent to caoch (“blind”) +‎ -án.

Noun

caochán m (genitive singular caocháin, nominative plural caocháin)

1. purblind creature

   Synonym: caochánaí

2. mole (burrowing insectivore)

Derived terms

• caochán cnó (“blind nut”)
• caochán marsúipiach (“marsupial mole”)
• caochán práta (“eyeless potato”)
• carnán caochán (“molehill”)
• craiceann caocháin (“moleskin”)
• fiagaí caochán (“mole-catcher”)
• gaiste caochán (“mole-trap”)

 

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

caochán m (genitive singular caocháin, nominative plural caocháin)

1. marsh rill; boghole
2. (physiology) caecum

Declension

Declension of caochán

First declension

Bare forms: Case Singular Plural Nominative caochán caocháin Vocative a chaocháin a chaochána Genitive caocháin caochán Dative caochán caocháin

Forms with the definite article: Case Singular Plural Nominative an caochán na caocháin Genitive an chaocháin na gcaochán Dative leis an gcaochán don chaochán leis na caocháin

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
caochán	chaochán	gcaochán
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “caochán”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “caochán”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013-2024

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “caochán”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “cáechán”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language