uachtar

See also: úachtar

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish úachtar, óchtar (whence also Scottish Gaelic uachdar and Manx eaghtyr), from Proto-Celtic *ouxsterom, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ewps- (“high”). Akin to Irish and Scottish Gaelic uasal, Welsh uchel and uthr, Breton uhel. Cognate to Ancient Greek ὕψος (húpsos, “height”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈuəxt̪ˠəɾˠ/

Noun

uachtar m (genitive singular uachtair, nominative plural uachtair)

1. top, upper part
2. surface (of the water, from the point of view of someone or something underwater)
3. cream (milk)
4. (astrology) ascendant
5. (shoemaking) upper (part of a shoe above the sole)

Declension

Declension of uachtar (first declension)

bare forms singular plural nominative uachtar uachtair vocative a uachtair a uachtara genitive uachtair uachtar dative uachtar uachtair forms with the definite article singular plural nominative an t-uachtar na huachtair genitive an uachtair na n-uachtar dative leis an uachtar don uachtar leis na huachtair

Synonyms

• (top, upper part): barr
• (surface of the water): barr, craiceann

Antonyms

• íochtar

Derived terms

• béal uachtair (“upper lip”)
• cáis uachtair (“cream cheese”)
• cleith uachtair (“gaff (of sail)”)
• crúiscín uachtair (“cream-jug”)
• rigín uachtair (“top gear, top-hamper”)
• uachtar aghaidhe lae (“day cream”)
• uachtar bearrtha (“shaving cream”)
• uachtar coipthe (“whipped cream”)
• uachtar doirte (“pouring cream”)
• uachtar dúbailte (“double cream”)
• uachtar fuar (“cold cream”)
• uachtar géar (“sour cream”)
• uachtar glantach (“cleansing cream”)
• uachtar gréine (“suncream”)
• uachtar ime (“buttercream”)
• uachtar inchoipthe (“whipping cream”)
• uachtar reoite (“ice cream”)
• uachtar sailéid (“salad cream”)
• uachtar singil (“single cream”)
• uachtar téachta (“clotted cream”)
• uachtar uiscí (“aqueous cream”)
• uachtarach (“upper, top; higher, superior”)
• uachtarán (“president; headmaster”)
• uachtarlann (“dairy, creamery”)
• ualach uachtair (“top gear, top-hamper”)
• uiscí uachtair (“head-water(s)”)

Mutation

Mutated forms of uachtar

radical	eclipsis	with h-prothesis	with t-prothesis
uachtar	n-uachtar	huachtar	t-uachtar

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “uachtar”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “uachtar”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “uachtar”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013-2025