beag
English
Etymology
From Old English bēag (“a ring, bracelet, collar, garland, crown, necklace, a shackle for the neck, a circle, coil”), from Proto-Germanic *baugaz (“ring, bow”), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewgʰ- (“to bend”). Cognate with dialectal German Baug (“ring, collar”), Icelandic baugur (“ring, circle”). Related to bagel.
Noun
beag (plural beags)
- (historical) A ring.
- 1878, Royal Numismatic Society (Great Britain), The Numismatic chronicle and journal of the Numismatic Society:
- It was a mark of nobility among the German races — by some considered the origin of our coronets — and had even about it a quasi-religious character in memory of the "holy beag" (holy ring), the oath upon which was tantamount to the oath upon Thorr's hammer.
- 1970, William A. Chaney, The cult of kingship in Anglo-Saxon England:
- [...] and the description of that monarch in his anonymous Vita as coronatus lauro probably indicates a beag which was lighter than the formal diadema.
- 1878, Royal Numismatic Society (Great Britain), The Numismatic chronicle and journal of the Numismatic Society:
Irish
Etymology
From Old Irish bec (“small, little”) (compare Manx beg, Scottish Gaelic beag), from Proto-Celtic *bikkos (“small”) (compare Breton bic’han and Welsh bach, bychan).
Pronunciation
Adjective
beag (genitive singular masculine big, genitive singular feminine bige, plural beaga, comparative lú)
Declension
| Singular | Plural (m/f) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Positive | Masculine | Feminine | (strong noun) | (weak noun) |
| Nominative | beag | bheag | beaga; bheaga² | |
| Vocative | bhig | beaga | ||
| Genitive | bige | beaga | beag | |
| Dative | beag; bheag¹ |
bheag; bhig (archaic) |
beaga; bheaga² | |
| Comparative | níos lú | |||
| Superlative | is lú | |||
¹ When the preceding noun is lenited and governed by the definite article.
² When the preceding noun ends in a slender consonant.
Derived terms
- Áise Bheag f (“Asia Minor”)
- anairt bheag f (“sailcloth, canvas”)
- An Bhreatain Bheag f (“Wales”)
- baile beag m (“village, small town”)
- beag- (“small; -less; un-, in-”)
- beagadán m (“diminutive person; little one”) (hypocoristic)
- beagaigh (“lessen, diminish”, verb)
- beagán m (“a little, a bit, a few”)
- beagnach (“almost, nearly”, adverb)
- bilbí beag m (“lesser bilby”)
- caolán beag m (“ileum”)
- cóta beag m (“petticoat”)
- falcóg bheag f (“little auk”)
- méar bheag f (“little finger, pinkie”)
- pláta beag m (“side plate”)
- rón beag m (“common seal, harbor seal”)
- rud beag (“a little, a bit, somewhat”, adverb)
- samhradh beag (“Indian summer, warm autumn”, literally “little summer”)
- snáthaid bheag f (“fine needle; hour hand”)
- tae beag m (“high tea, afternoon tea”)
- tiomóid bheag f (“smaller catstail”)
- ulchabhán beag m (“little owl”)
Noun
Declension
First declension
|
Bare forms:
|
Forms with the definite article:
|
Mutation
| Irish mutation | ||
|---|---|---|
| Radical | Lenition | Eclipsis |
| beag | bheag | mbeag |
| Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. | ||
References
- "beag" in Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla, An Gúm, 1977, by Niall Ó Dónaill.
- “bec” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.
Old English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *baugaz (“ring”), from the stem of *beuganą (“to bend”) (from which būgan). Cognate with Old Norse baugr and Old High German bouc.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈbæːɑ̯x/
Declension
Scottish Gaelic
Etymology
From Old Irish bec (“small, little”) (compare Manx beg, Irish beag), from Proto-Celtic *bikkos (“small”) (compare Breton bic’han and Welsh bach, bychan).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /pek/
Adjective
beag (comparative bige)
- small, little, short, diminutive
- duine beag ― a small man
- ùine bheag ― a short time
- disagreeable
- Is beag orm thu. ― I hate you. (literally You are disagreeable to me.)
- light, trifling, insignificant
- Is beag seo. ― This is a trifling thing.
- young
- na sionnaich bheaga ― the young foxes
- sordid, miserly, niggardly
- Is beag sin de Ghàidhlig. ― That is a poor sort of Gaelic.
- Tha e fìor bheag 'n a nàdar. ― He has a very niggardly disposition.
Declension
| Case | Masculine singular | Feminine singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nominative | beag | bheag | beaga |
| Vocative | bhig | bheag | beaga |
| Genitive | bhig | bige | beaga |
| Dative | beag | bhig | beaga |
Derived terms
- baile beag m (“village, small town”)
- beag air bheag (“bit by bit”, adverb)
- beagan m (“a little, a few”)
- beag-sgèile (“small-scale”, adjective)
- beith bheag f (“dwarf birch”)
- cailleach bheag a' chìrein f (“crested tit”)
- cailleach bheag an earbaill f (“long-tailed tit”)
- comhachag-bheag f (“little owl”)
- fèileadh beag m (“filibeg, kilt”)
- guilbneach-beag m (“whimbrel”)
- is fheàrr an teine beag a gharas na an teine mòr a loisgeas (“less is more”, literally “better is the small fire that warms than the great fire that burns”)
- neas bheag f (“weasel”)
- taigh beag m (“toilet, water closet”)
References
- 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
- A Pronouncing and Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language (John Grant, Edinburgh, 1925, Compiled by Malcolm MacLennan)
- “bec” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.