abhainn

• abha, abhann
• abh (obsolete)

From Old Irish aub, from Proto-Celtic *abū (compare Welsh afon), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep- (“water”). The form abhainn was originally the dative singular of abha, but is now widely used as the nominative/accusative as well.

• (Munster) IPA^(key): /əunʲ/
• (Connacht) IPA^(key): /əun̠ʲ/
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /oːn̠ʲ/[1]

abhainn f (genitive singular abhann or aibhne, nominative plural aibhneacha or aibhne)

1. river

   Níl aon abhainn san oileán.

   There’s no river on the island.

   Dá dtéiteá go Gaillimh inné, d’fhéadfá a dhul isteach an abhainn go réidh, mar nach raibh aon tsruth mór.

   If you had gone to Galway yesterday, you would have easily been able to go up the river, since there wasn’t a very strong current.

   Bhí an abhainn reoite.

   The river was frozen.

   bruach na haibhne ― the riverbank

   Bhí na haibhneacha uilig reoite.

   All the rivers were frozen.

   Dhá mbeadh an t-airgead againn, ghabhfadh muid do haibhneacha Chill Airne.

   If we had the money, we would go to the rivers of Killarney.

Standard

Nonstandard

• Variant genitive singular: abhna
• Variant plural forms: abhanta, aibhnte, aibhnteacha

• "abhainn" in Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla, An Gúm, 1977, by Niall Ó Dónaill.
• “aḃa” in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, Irish Texts Society, 2nd ed., 1927, by Patrick S. Dinneen.
• “1 ab” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.
• Entries containing “abhainn” in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm, 1959, by Tomás de Bhaldraithe.
• Entries containing “abhainn” in New English-Irish Dictionary by Foras na Gaeilge.

From Old Irish aub, from Proto-Celtic *abū (compare Welsh afon), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ep- (“water”). The form abhainn was originally the dative singular of abha, but is now widely used as the nominative/accusative as well.

abhainn f (genitive singular aibhne, plural aibhnichean)

1. river, stream

• sruth

• Faclair Gàidhlig Dwelly Air Loidhne, Dwelly, Edward (1911), Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan/The Illustrated [Scottish] Gaelic-English Dictionary (10th ed.), Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN
• “1 ab” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.