mí-

See also: Appendix:Variations of "mi"

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish mí- (compare Scottish Gaelic mì-), from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“to change”). Cognate with English mis-, Latin minus (“lesser”), Ancient Greek μείων (meíōn, “less”).

Prefix

mí-

1. Having a negative or missing quality

   bad, ill-, evil, dis-, mis-, mal-

2. not

   un-, in-, dis-, mis-

Usage notes

• Does not change form for broad or slender nouns;
• Triggers lenition when attached to a noun or adjective beginning with a consonant:

  ‎mí- + ‎ceart (“right, correct”) → ‎mícheart (“incorrect, wrong”)

  ‎mí- + ‎cothrom (“equal; balanced; level”) → ‎míchothrom (“uneven”)

• Written with a hyphen when attached to nouns or adjectives beginning with a vowel:

  ‎mí- + ‎ordú (“order”) → ‎mí-ordú (“disorder”)

Synonyms

• ain-
• do-
• neamh-
• ro-

Derived terms

Irish terms prefixed with mí-

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
mí-	mhí-	not applicable
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “mí-”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• MacBain, Alexander, Mackay, Eneas (1911) “mí-”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language‎^[1], Stirling, →ISBN

Old Irish

Etymology

Possibly from mis (“less”). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mey- (“to change”).

Prefix

mí-

1. (derogatory) evil, ill, sinister

   Synonym: do-

Derived terms

Old Irish terms prefixed with mí-

Descendants

• Irish: mí-
• Manx: mee-
• Scottish Gaelic: mì-

Mutation

Old Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Nasalization
mí- also mmí- after a proclitic ending in a vowel	mí- pronounced with /β̃(ʲ)-/	unchanged
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), “mí-”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language