rámhaille

Irish

Alternative forms

• rábhailligh, rádhbaile, rádhmhaill, rádhmhaille, rámhaill, rámhailleacht, rámhaillí, rámhaillíocht, rámhailligh
• rábhaillighe, rádhmhaillidhe (obsolete)

Etymology

Unclear. DIL suggests a compound equivalent to rá (“speaking”) +‎ buile (“madness, frenzy”), but the preponderance of mh spellings casts doubt on this hypothesis. A connection with English rave is possible but leaves the -aille unexplained.

Pronunciation

• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /ˈɾˠaːwəl̠ʲi/ (corresponding to the form rámhaillí)

Noun

rámhaille f (genitive singular rámhaille)

1. raving(s), rambling(s)
2. delirium

Derived terms

• rámhailleacht
• rámhaille phóite (“delirium tremens, the D.T.s”)

Further reading

• “rámhaille”, in Historical Irish Corpus, 1600–1926, Royal Irish Academy
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “rádbaile”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1904) “ráḋṁaill”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 1st edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 557
• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1904) “ráṁaille”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 1st edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 559
• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “rámhaille”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Quiggin, E. C. (1906) A Dialect of Donegal, Cambridge University Press, page 75