Old Irish

Alternative forms

• amal

Conjunction

amail

1. as, like
   • 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. 24^d19

     "amal ṅguidess athir a macc" glosses tamquam pater filios deprecantes

   • 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. 19^b6

     ro pridchad dúib céssad Críst amal ad-cethe

     Christ's passion has been preached to you as though it were seen

   • 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. 26^b12

     amal ṅ-dond-foirde ainmm

     as a noun signifies it

2. when, while

Descendants

• Irish: amhail

Preposition

amail ‎(with accusative, lenites)

1. as, like
   • 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. 11^a11

     "ní amal inní asóircc" glosses non quasi aërem uerberans

   • 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. 72^b8

     "amal in n-altain" glosses sicut rasorium

Derived terms

• -amail

Descendants

• Irish: amhail

References

• “amail, amal” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.
• Rudolf Thurneysen, A Grammar of Old Irish (Dublin, 1946), §§168, 178, 826

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology 1

From ad- +‎ mall.

Noun

amail f ‎(genitive singular amaile, plural amailean)

1. evil, mischief
2. hinderance

Verb

amail ‎(past dh'amail, future amailidh, verbal noun amal or amaladh, past participle amailte)

1. hinder, prevent, stop
2. entangle, clog
3. enfringe
4. choke

Related terms

• co-amail

Etymology 2

From am ‎(“time”) +‎ -ail.

Adjective

amail

1. seasonable, timely, in time
2. temporal

Synonyms

• amanta

Antonyms

• (seasonable): eas-amail ‎(“unseasonable”)

Etymology 3

From ad- +‎ mill.

Adjective

amail

1. broken, lost

Etymology 4

Noun

amail m

1. genitive singular of amal

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
• Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language, Alexander MacBain, Eneas Mackay, 1911