leath

See also: Leath

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish leth (side), from Proto-Celtic *letos, perhaps cognate with Latin latus (side), or from Proto-Celtic *ɸletos.[1]

Celtic cognates include Welsh lled (breadth, width, half), Middle Breton let, led (large), and Cornish les.

Pronunciation

Noun

leath f (genitive singular leithe, nominative plural leatha)

  1. side; part, direction
  2. half; part, portion
    Is fearr leath ná meath.Something is better than nothing.
    —Proverb

Declension

Synonyms

Derived terms

  • a leath catha (his equal in battle)
  • ar leath pá (at half-pay)
  • ar leith, faoi leith (apart, separate; several, distinct; remarkable, special)
  • do leith, do leath (on the side of, in the direction of)
  • duine ar leith (a person apart; a remarkable person)
  • go ceann dhá lá go leith (for a very long time)
  • go leith (and a half)
  • i leith (hither; aside, apart; thenceforth, adverb)
  • i leith (in the direction of; tending towards; on the side of, in favour of; on behalf of, for the sake of; resorting to, trusting in, dependent on)
  • i leith is go (as if)
  • i leith le (in regard to)
  • in áit ar leith, in áit faoi leith, in a place apart
  • leath- (lying, turned, to one side; lopsided, tilted; one-sided, partial; half-, hemi-, semi-; half-grown; one of two, of a pair)
  • leath aife (half-ebb)
  • leath ar leath, leith ar leith (side by side, on both sides, respectively)
  • leath bealaigh (go), leath slí (go) (half-way (to))
  • leath deiridh (back part; hind quarters)
  • leath tosaigh (forward part; fore quarter)
  • leath tuile (half-flow)
  • ó na ceithre leathaibh (from all quarters.)

Verb

leath (present analytic leathann, future analytic leathfaidh, verbal noun leathadh, past participle leata) (transitive, intransitive)

  1. disperse, spread, cover
  2. open wide, expand
  3. become confused, indistinct
  4. perish
  5. (literary) halve, divide, split (in half); diminish

Conjugation

References

  1. Matasović, Ranko (2009), “*letos”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, pages 238-239
  • leth” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.
  • “leaṫ” in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, Irish Texts Society, 2nd ed., 1927, by Patrick S. Dinneen.
  • "leath" in Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla, An Gúm, 1977, by Niall Ó Dónaill.
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