cionnas
Irish edit
Adverb edit
cionnas
- Alternative form of conas (“how”)
Scottish Gaelic edit
Etymology edit
From Old Irish cindas; contraction of cia (“what, which”) + ionnas (“state, matter”).
Pronunciation edit
Adverb edit
cionnas
- (Lewis, Sutherland, Ross-shire) how, what manner, by what means
- Cionnas a tha thu ag ionnsachadh na Gàidhlig? ― By what means are you learning Gaelic?
- Cionnas a tha sibh? ― How are you?
Usage notes edit
- Typical of northern Highland dialects such as the MacKay Country dialect, also used in Lewis as well as dè man. Only rarely heard elsewhere, and usually considered high register.