suarach

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish súarrach, súairrech.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsˠuˑəɾˠəx/

Adjective

suarach (genitive singular masculine suaraigh, genitive singular feminine suaraí, plural suaracha, comparative suaraí)

1. paltry, petty, insignificant; mean, contemptible
2. airy, frivolous

Declension

Declension of suarach

	Singular		Plural (m/f)
Positive	Masculine	Feminine	(strong noun)	(weak noun)
Nominative	suarach	shuarach	suaracha; shuaracha²
Vocative	shuaraigh		suaracha
Genitive		suaraí	suaracha	suarach
Dative	suarach; shuarach¹	shuarach; shuaraigh (archaic)	suaracha; shuaracha²
Comparative	níos suaraí
Superlative	is suaraí

¹ When the preceding noun is lenited and governed by the definite article.
² When the preceding noun ends in a slender consonant.

Derived terms

• páipéar suarach m (“rag”)
• suarachán m (“petty, insignificant, person; mean, contemptible, person”)
• suarachas m (“pettiness, paltriness, insignificance; meanness, sordidness”)

Related terms

• suaraigh (“demean”, transitive verb)
• suaraíocht f (“meanness, insignificance”)

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
suarach	shuarach after an, tsuarach	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) “suarach”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “súarrach, súairrech”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Old Irish súarrach, súairrech.

Adjective

suarach (comparative suaraiche)

1. abject, base
2. contemptible, degenerate, despised, mean, vile, petty

   Tha mi ga cur suarach. ― I despise her.

3. indifferent
4. ignoble inferior, negligible, shoddy, trashy, tawdry
5. silly, trivial, unimportant, valueless

Derived terms

• bi suarach mu

Further reading

• Edward Dwelly (1911) “suarach”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary]‎^[1], 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “súarrach, súairrech”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language