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Old Irish language

Old Irish language

9.9
An early form of Irish spoken and written in Ireland until about the year 1100
  • noun
translation icon : lengua irlandesa antigua
  • The Old Irish language was used in many ancient texts.

Examples

  • Many place names in Ireland have their roots in the Old Irish language.

  • She is studying the grammar of the Old Irish language for her thesis.

  • Manuscripts written in Old Irish language give us insights into early Irish culture.

  • Did you know that the Old Irish language has influenced modern Irish?

  • Manuscripts written in Old Irish language give us insights into early Irish culture.

  • Many place names in Ireland have their roots in the Old Irish language.

  • The Old Irish language was used in many ancient texts.

Synonyms

Old Irish
vsOld Irish language
1 9.9

The earliest form of Irish written and spoken in Ireland and Scotland from the 6th to the 12th centuries

is restricted to use only in Ireland until about 1100 AD

Surface Forms

Morphology

old + Irish + language

The phrase is fully compositional: 'old' (earlier/historical) + 'Irish' (the Goidelic language) + 'language' yields the straightforward meaning 'an earlier/historical stage of the Irish language.' This naming pattern (e.g. Old English, Old French) is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words will readily understand the intended sense.

Etymology

Old Irish language gets its name from the words Old and Irish: it refers to the 'earlier' form of Irish that people in Ireland spoke and often wrote long ago, for example in old books by monks. So, Old Irish language means the version of Irish used in Ireland up to about 1100 AD.