Irish

Prefix

mí-

1. Having a negative or missing quality;

   bad, ill-, evil, dis-, mis-, mal-

2. not

   un-, in-, dis-, mis-

Usage notes

• Does not change form for broad or slender nouns;
• Triggers lenition when attached to a noun or adjective beginning with a consonant:

  ceart ‎(“right, correct”) → mícheart ‎(“incorrect, wrong”)

  cothrom ‎(“equal; balanced; level”) → míchothrom ‎(“uneven”)

• Written with a hyphen when attached to nouns or adjectives beginning with a vowel:

  ordú ‎(“order”) → mí-ordú ‎(“disorder”)

Synonyms

• ain-
• do-
• neamh-
• ro-

Derived terms

Mutation

References

• "mí-" in Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla, An Gúm, 1977, by Niall Ó Dónaill.
• Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language, Alexander MacBain, Eneas Mackay, 1911

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

Old Irish

Etymology

Possibly from mis ‎(“less”). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mei- ‎(“to change”).

Prefix

mí-

1. (pejorative) evil, ill, sinister

Descendants

• Irish: mí-
• Manx: mee-
• Scottish Gaelic: mì-

Mutation

References

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