gubae

Old Irish

Etymology

Unknown.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɡuβe/

Noun

gubae n (genitive gubae, no plural)

1. mourning, lamentation
   • c. 760 Blathmac mac Con Brettan, published in "A study of the lexicon of the poems of Blathmac Son of Cú Brettan" (2017; PhD thesis, National University of Ireland Maynooth), edited and with translations by Siobhán Barrett, stanza 124

     Nícon·dernad trúag amné,
     nach dimbág nó dochraite:
     nád·leth for Críst gubae mór
     céin ro·ndét bith fo dobrón.

     There was never done such a pitiful thing,
     any sorrow or misery:
     that a great lamentation did not spread over Christ
     while intense sorrow was permitted.

Inflection

Neuter io-stem
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	gubaeN	gubaeL	gubaeL
Vocative	gubaeN	gubaeL	gubaeL
Accusative	gubaeN	gubaeL	gubaeL
Genitive	gubaiL	gubaeL	gubaeN
Dative	gubuL	gubaib	gubaib
Initial mutations of a following adjective: H = triggers aspiration L = triggers lenition N = triggers nasalization

Descendants

• Middle Irish: guba
  • Irish: gubha m
  • Scottish Gaelic: gubha m (“lamentation, battle”)

Mutation

Old Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Nasalization
gubae	gubae pronounced with /ɣ(ʲ)-/	ngubae
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), “guba”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language