táin

See also: tain, 'tain, and täin

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish táin (“act of driving off”), verbal noun of do·aig (“to drive off”), from Proto-Celtic *to- + Proto-Celtic *ageti, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-.

Pronunciation

• (Munster, Connacht) IPA^(key): /t̪ˠɑːnʲ/
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /t̪ˠaːnʲ/

Noun

táin f (genitive singular tána, nominative plural táinte) (literary)

1. cattle-raid, plundering expedition
2. a story about a cattle-raid or plundering expedition
3. the cattle plundered in a cattle-raid
4. flock, herd

   Synonym: tréad

5. (in the plural) wealth, fortune

   Synonym: saibhreas

6. (in the plural) a large amount, a great number
7. a crowd

   Synonyms: dream, slua

Declension

Declension of táin

Third declension

Bare forms: Case Singular Plural Nominative táin táinte Vocative a tháin a tháinte Genitive tána táinte Dative táin táinte

Forms with the definite article: Case Singular Plural Nominative an táin na táinte Genitive na tána na dtáinte Dative leis an táin don táin leis na táinte

Derived terms

• sa Táin (“among the greats, the stuff of legend”)
• is fearr an tsláinte ná na táinte (“health is better than wealth”)

Descendants

• → English: Táin

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
táin	tháin	dtáin
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), “táin”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1904) “táin”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 1st edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 709
• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “táin”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “táin”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “táin”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013-2024