airson

See also: air son

Scottish Gaelic

Alternative forms

Etymology

Combination of preposition air (on/for) and noun son (sake); compare Irish ar son. Before the spelling reform of the 1980s it was sometimes written as two words.

Pronunciation

  • [erˈsɔn̪] : note the stress on the second syllable, which is unusual in Scottish Gaelic - a result of its origins as a contraction of a multiple word unit, now merely written as a single word, an orthographic choice with no hyphenation, unless there is an pronominal object (argument) that separates the constituent words.

Preposition

airson

  1. for, for the sake of
    • Tha mi fada nad chomain airson do litreach. - I am much obliged to you for your letter.
    • Tha iad a' coimhead airson taighe ùire. - They are looking for a new house.
    • A bheil thu airson falbh? - Do you want to leave? (literally Are you for leaving?)
  2. (before a verbal noun): desirous of, wanting to
    • Tha iad airson falbh. - They want to go.

Usage notes

  • The following noun is in the genitive form.
  • When used with a personal pronoun, the appropriate possessive pronoun is put in between air and son instead:
    Rinn Cailean sin air ur son. - Colin made that for you.
    An tèid thu ann air mo shon? - Will you go there for me?

Derived terms

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