Old Irish

Verb

as·beir ‎(prototonic ·epir, verbal noun epert)

1. to say, utter
   • 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^d1

     .i. nísnain ciasberat níntánicc recht‎

     i.e. it will not protect them that they say ‘the Law has not come to us’

   • 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. 13^c13:

     niérbarid autem uerba asbeir intóis anfoirbthe‎

     ye should not utter autem uerba which the imperfect folk utters

2. to mention
   • 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. 28^a20:

     .i. asbertar ananman arnagaba nech desimrecht diib‎

     i.e. their names are mentioned that no one may take example from them

3. to speak (a language)
   • 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. 12^d6:

     .i. arnitucci ambéelre asbiur‎

     i.e. for he understands not the language I speak

Conjugation

Usage notes

The present and imperfect indicative ro-forms as·robair, as·robarad mean ‘can say’, ‘could say’.

Synonyms

• ráidid

Derived terms

• as·beir do

Descendants

• Middle Irish: at·beir
  • Irish: abair
  • Manx: abbyr
  • Scottish Gaelic: abair

Mutation

References

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