Old Irish

Verb

ad·gnin ‎(verbal noun aithgne)

1. to know, to recognize
   • c. 845, St. Gall Glosses on Priscian, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1975, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. II, pp. 49–224, Sg. 29^b10

     .i. air ni conbiasom manibé aní huanaithgnintar ⁊ huanainmnigther

     i.e. for it will not exist unless there exist that from which it is recognised and named

   For more examples of usage of this term, see Citations:adgnin.

2. to perceive, to be aware of, to understand
   • c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 1^b14:

     .i. ætgnithi .i. isfollus doib asnoipred fir oirdnithi

     i.e. understood, i.e. it is manifest to them that it is the working of a supreme being

3. to know sexually
   • Lebor na hUidre, line 10323

     nír forfáemusa mnaí atgnead fer

Usage notes

In the sense ‘know, recognize’ the preterite is often used with a present meaning; see for example the two quotes from the Würzburg glosses on the citations page.

Conjugation

Descendants

• Irish: aithin
• Scottish Gaelic: aithnich

Mutation

References

• “ad·gnin” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.