tanaí

See also: Tanai and Tanaï

Irish

Alternative forms

• tana, tanaidhe, tanaidh (obsolete)

Etymology

From Old Irish tanaide, related to tanae, from Proto-Celtic *tanauyos (compare Welsh tenau), from Proto-Indo-European *ténh₂us (compare Ancient Greek ταναός (tanaós, “outstretched, tall”), Latin tenuis, Old Norse þunnr).

Pronunciation

• (Munster) IPA^(key): /t̪ˠəˈn̪ˠiː/, /t̪ˠɑˈn̪ˠiː/
• (Aran) IPA^(key): /ˈt̪ˠɑniː/
• (Cois Fharraige) IPA^(key): /ˈt̪ˠan̪ˠiː/

Adjective

tanaí (comparative tanaí or tanaíocha)

1. thin, fine, sparse, weak, watery
2. shallow (of water)

Declension

Declension of tanaí

	Singular		Plural (m/f)
Positive	Masculine	Feminine	(strong noun)	(weak noun)
Nominative	tanaí	thanaí	tanaí; thanaí²
Vocative	thanaí		tanaí
Genitive		tanaí	tanaí	tanaí
Dative	tanaí; thanaí¹	thanaí	tanaí; thanaí²
Comparative	níos tanaí
Superlative	is tanaí

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

• Alternative comparative form: tanaíocha

Noun

tanaí f (genitive singular tanaí, nominative plural tanaíocha)

1. shoal, shallow water

   Synonyms: caol, tanalach

Declension

Declension of tanaí

Fourth declension

Bare forms Case Singular Plural Nominative tanaí tanaíocha Vocative a thanaí a thanaíocha Genitive tanaí tanaíocha Dative tanaí tanaíocha

Forms with the definite article Case Singular Plural Nominative an tanaí na tanaíocha Genitive na tanaí na dtanaíocha Dative leis an tanaí don tanaí leis na tanaíocha

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
tanaí	thanaí	dtanaí
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “tanaí”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “tanaí”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “tanaí”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013-2024