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Definition 2024


beag

beag

See also: beag-

English

Noun

beag (plural beags)

  1. (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.

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 )

  1. small, little
    1. (size, amount, extent, degree)
    2. junior, lesser, minor
    3. (hypocoristic)
    4. (deprecatory)
    5. (of late, recent, time)
  2. few (often with a singular noun in Irish)
    Is beag áit is deise. ― There are few places that are nicer.
    le blianta beaga anuas ― for the past few years

Declension

Derived terms

Noun

beag m (genitive singular big, nominative plural beaganna)

  1. little; small amount
  2. (with copula) few

Declension

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.

Noun

bēag m

  1. a ring or bracelet

Declension

Derived terms


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)

  1. small, little, short, diminutive
    duine beag ― a small man
    ùine bheag ― a short time
  2. disagreeable
    Is beag orm thu. ― I hate you. (literally You are disagreeable to me.)
  3. light, trifling, insignificant
    Is beag seo. ― This is a trifling thing.
  4. young
    na sionnaich bheaga ― the young foxes
  5. 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

Synonyms

Derived terms

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 0 901771 92 9
  • 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.