Middle Irish
- noun
:
irlandés medio
- Some epic poems survive only in manuscripts written in Middle Irish.
Examples
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Linguists study Middle Irish to better understand the history of Celtic languages.
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Many ancient texts were translated from Latin into Middle Irish.
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The study of Middle Irish is crucial for understanding early Irish literature.
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He is currently learning Middle Irish at university.
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Linguists study Middle Irish to better understand the history of Celtic languages.
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Many ancient texts were translated from Latin into Middle Irish.
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The study of Middle Irish is crucial for understanding early Irish literature.
Synonyms
A form of the Irish language used in speech and writing from about 1100 to 1500
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase is compositional: 'middle' denotes an intermediate historical stage and 'Irish' denotes the language, so together they straightforwardly mean the form of the Irish language from a middle historical period. This naming pattern (e.g. Middle English, Middle French) is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
Middle Irish comes from the way people divide the history of the Irish language: Middle shows it is the 'middle' period between older and newer forms, and Irish names the language. So Middle Irish means the form of Irish used in writing and speech from about 1100 to 1500.
