ail
English
Etymology 1
From Middle English eilen, from Old English eġlan, eġlian (“to trouble, afflict”), cognate with Gothic 𐌰𐌲𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (agljan, “to distress”).
Usage notes
this word is never used but with some indefinite term, or the word no thing; as What ails him? ... Thus we never say, a fever ails him.
Verb
ail (third-person singular simple present ails, present participle ailing, simple past and past participle ailed)
- (transitive) To cause to suffer; to trouble, afflict. (Now chiefly in interrogative or indefinite constructions.)
- Have some chicken soup. It's good for what ails you.
- Bible, Genesis xxi. 17
- What aileth thee, Hagar?
- 2011, "Connubial bliss in America", The Economist:
- Not content with having in 1996 put a Defence of Marriage Act (DOMA) on the statue book, Congress has now begun to hold hearings on a Respect for Marriage Act. Defended, respected: what could possibly ail marriage in America?
- (intransitive) To be ill; to suffer; to be troubled.
- Richardson
- When he ails ever so little […] he is so peevish.
- Richardson
Quotations
- For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:ail.
Translations
Translations
Etymology 2
From Middle English eyle, eile, from Old English eġle (“hideous, loathsome, hateful, horrid, troublesome, grievous, painful”), from Proto-Germanic *agluz (“cumbersome, tedious, burdensome, tiresome”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂egʰlo-, *h₂egʰ- (“offensive, disgusting, repulsive, hateful”). Cognate with Gothic 𐌰𐌲𐌻𐌿𐍃 (aglus, “hard, difficult”).
Adjective
ail (comparative ailer or more ail, superlative ailest or most ail)
- (obsolete) Painful; troublesome.
Etymology 3
From Middle English eile, eyle, eiȝle, from Old English eġl (“an ail; awn; beard of barley; mote”), from Proto-Germanic *agilō (“awn”). Cognate with German Achel, Egel, Ägel.
Alternative forms
French
Etymology
From Old French, from Latin allium.
Pronunciation
Further reading
- “ail” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Irish
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Old Irish ail (“boulder, rock”), from Proto-Celtic *ɸales-, from Proto-Indo-European *pelis-, *pels- (“stone”).[1]
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /alʲ/
Declension
Fifth declension
Bare forms
|
Forms with the definite article
|
- Archaic plural: ailche
Derived terms
- ail leachta, ail in úir (“headstone, monument”)
Mutation
Irish mutation | |||
---|---|---|---|
Radical | Eclipsis | with h-prothesis | with t-prothesis |
ail | n-ail | hail | not applicable |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |
References
- Matasović, Ranko (2009), “*fales-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, ISBN 978-90-04-17336-1, page 120
Further reading
- "ail" in Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla, An Gúm, 1977, by Niall Ó Dónaill.
- C. Marstrander, E. G. Quin et al., editors (1913–76), “1 ail”, in Dictionary of the Irish Language: Based Mainly on Old and Middle Irish Materials, Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, ISBN 9780901714299
- “ail” in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, Irish Texts Society, 2nd ed., 1927, by Patrick S. Dinneen.
- Finck, F. N. (1899), Die araner mundart, Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, vol. II, p. 22.
Old Irish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /alʲ/
Mutation
Old Irish mutation | ||
---|---|---|
Radical | Lenition | Nasalization |
·ail | unchanged | ·n-ail |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |
Welsh
< 1af | 2il | 3ydd > |
---|---|---|
Cardinal : dau Ordinal : ail Adverbial : dwywaith Multiplier : dwbl | ||
Etymology
From Proto-Brythonic *ėl, from Proto-Celtic *alyos, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂élyos (“other”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ai̯l/
Audio (file)
Adjective
ail (feminine singular ail, plural ail, not comparable) (triggers soft mutation)
- second (ordinal number)
- ail lawr ― second floor
Derived terms
Mutation
Welsh mutation | |||
---|---|---|---|
radical | soft | nasal | h-prothesis |
ail | unchanged | unchanged | hail |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |