Irish

Noun

céile m ‎(genitive singular céile, nominative plural céilí)

1. companion
2. spouse

Declension

Derived terms

Mutation

References

• "céile" in Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla, An Gúm, 1977, by Niall Ó Dónaill.
• “céile” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.

Old Irish

Alternative forms

• céle

Etymology

From Primitive Irish ᚉᚓᚂᚔ ‎(celi, “follower, devotee”, genitive), from Proto-Celtic *kēlyos.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈkʲeːlʲe/

Noun

céile m ‎(genitive céili, nominative plural céili)

1. servant, bondsman, subject
2. (law) liege, vassal, the recipient of a fief
3. fellow, companion, neighbour
   • c. 875, Milan Glosses on the Psalms, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 7–483, Ml. 59^a15

     huadsom dia cheliu

     from himself to his fellow

4. husband
   • c. 875, Milan Glosses on the Psalms, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 7–483, Ml. 125^a2

     amal tiagtae mná hua célib cofiru aili

5. (rare) wife
6. (pronominally) one, the other
   • 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. 6^d4

     íroimed cách achéele per caritatem

     glosses suscipite uos nuicem

Declension

Derived terms

Descendants

• Irish: céile
• Manx: keilley
• Scottish Gaelic: cèile

Mutation

References

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