fàinne

See also: fainne and fáinne

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Old Irish áinne, from Proto-Celtic *ānniyos (“ring”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₁eh₂n- (“ring”). Possibly cognate with Latin ānus and Old Armenian անուր (anur). The initial f comes from a reinterpretation of áinne as fhàinne in leniting environments, leading to fàinne as a back-formation from this supposedly underlying form in nonleniting environments. Compare Irish fáinne.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfaːɲə/
• (Barra) IPA^(key): [ˈfaːɲʌ]
• (Skye, Wester Ross) IPA^(key): /ˈfaːɲtʲə/ (corresponding to the form fàinnte)

Noun

fàinne m or f (genitive singular fàinne, plural fàinneachan or fàinnean)

1. ring
2. coil
3. ringlet

Derived terms

• fàinne-chluaise - earring
• fàinne-chraoibhe - tree ring
• fàinne-pòsaidh - wedding ring
• fàinne-solais - halo