carachtar

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish carachtar, from Latin character, from Ancient Greek χαρακτήρ (kharaktḗr, “type, nature, character”), from χαράσσω (kharássō, “to engrave”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkaɾˠəxt̪ˠəɾˠ/

Noun

carachtar m (genitive singular carachtair, nominative plural carachtair)

1. character

Declension

Declension of carachtar

First declension

Bare forms: Case Singular Plural Nominative carachtar carachtair Vocative a charachtair a charachtara Genitive carachtair carachtar Dative carachtar carachtair

Forms with the definite article: Case Singular Plural Nominative an carachtar na carachtair Genitive an charachtair na gcarachtar Dative leis an gcarachtar don charachtar leis na carachtair

Derived terms

• carachtracht f (“characterization”)

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
carachtar	charachtar	gcarachtar
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “carachtar”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “carachtar”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “carachtar”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013-2024

Old Irish

Alternative forms

• caractar, cáractar, cárachtar

Etymology

From Latin character, from Ancient Greek χαρακτήρ (kharaktḗr, “type, nature, character”), from χαράσσω (kharássō, “to engrave”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈkaraxtar]

Noun

carachtar n (genitive carachtair, nominative plural carachtra)

1. character
   • c. 845, St Gall Glosses on Priscian, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1975, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. II, pp. 49–224, Sg. 9^a22 (Wikisource link)

     Cía for·comam-ni ríagoil sen-Gréc hi scríbunt in dá caractar isnaib ɔsonaib ucut, ro·cruthaigsemmar camaiph immurgu óen charactar – ·f· tar hési ·p· co tinfeth – i n‑epertaib Latinṅdaib.

     Although we preserve the rule of the ancient Greeks in writing the two charac­ters in those conso­nants, we have, however, formed one character – f instead of p with lenition – in Latin words.

Declension

Neuter o-stem
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	carachtarN	carachtarN	carachtra
Vocative	carachtarN	carachtarN	carachtra
Accusative	carachtarN	carachtarN	carachtra
Genitive	carachtairL	carachtar	carachtarN
Dative	carachturL	carachtraib	carachtraib
Initial mutations of a following adjective: H = triggers aspiration L = triggers lenition N = triggers nasalization

Descendants

• Irish: carachtar

Mutation

Old Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Nasalization
carachtar	charachtar	carachtar pronounced with /ɡ(ʲ)-/
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), “cárachtar”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language