Féin - Wiktionary

See also: fein, fèin, feîn, féin-, and fèin-

Irish

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Etymology 1

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From Old Irish féin, from Proto-Celtic *swesin (from Proto-Indo-European *swé (“oneself”)) + *sin (anaphoric pronoun).[1] Cognate to Scottish Gaelic fhèin, Manx hene.

Alternative forms

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• féinig, fhéin, héin, péin

Pronunciation

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• IPA(key): /heːnʲ/[2], /fʲeːnʲ/[3]
• (Aran, also) IPA(key): /pʲeːnʲ/[4] (corresponds to the form péin)
• (Ulster, rare) IPA(key): /hiːnʲ/[5]

Pronoun

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féin

1. self mé féin ― myself (both emphatic and reflexive) sinn féin ― ourselves; we ourselves
2. own Thóg mé mo theach féin.I built my own house.

Derived terms

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• féin-
• Sinn Féin

Adverb

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féin

1. even, only má tá féin ― even if it is

Further reading

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• “féin”, in Historical Irish Corpus, 1600–1926, Royal Irish Academy
• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1904), “féin”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 1st edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 308
• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “féin”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN

Etymology 2

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See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

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• IPA(key): /fʲeːnʲ/

Noun

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féin

1. inflection of féan:
   1. vocative/genitive singular
   2. nominative/dative plural

Mutation

[edit] Mutated forms of féin

radical	lenition	eclipsis
féin	fhéin	bhféin

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

References

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1. ^ Peter Schrijver (1997), Studies in the History of Celtic Pronouns and Particles (Maynooth Studies in Celtic Linguistics; II), Maynooth: The Department of Old Irish, National University of Ireland, →ISBN, § III.2, pages 75–76
2. ^ Quiggin, E. C. (1906), A Dialect of Donegal, Cambridge University Press, page 194
3. ^ Sjoestedt, M. L. (1931), Phonétique d’un parler irlandais de Kerry [Phonetics of an Irish Dialect of Kerry] (in French), Paris: Librairie Ernest Leroux, § 57, page 30
4. ^ Finck, F. N. (1899), Die araner mundart [The Aran Dialect] (in German), Zweiter Band: Wörterbuch [Second volume: Dictionary], Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, page 109
5. ^ Quiggin, E. C. (1906), A Dialect of Donegal, Cambridge University Press, § 120, page 46

Old Irish

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Etymology

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From Proto-Celtic *swe sim, from Proto-Indo-European *swé (“oneself”)) + *sim (anaphoric pronoun).[1]

Pronunciation

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• IPA(key): /ˈɸʲeːnʲ/

Pronoun

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féin

1. self
   • 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. 17b12 Non·samlafammar frinn fesine.We will liken ourselves to ourselves.
2. (adjectival) one's own

Usage notes

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The difference between the féin/céin set and the fadéin/cadéin set appears to be that the latter are contrastively reflexive (‘oneself as opposed to someone else’) while the former do not suggest any contrast. The difference between the f- forms and the c- forms may be that the latter have a connotation of ‘even/also oneself’ that the former do not have.[2]

Inflection

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féin	fadéin	céin	cadéin
1 sg.	féin	fadéin	céin	cadéin
2 sg.	féin	fadéin	—	—
3 sg. m./n.	fes(s)in, feis(s)inféin	fades(s)in, fadeis(s)infadéne	ces(s)in, ceis(s)in	cades(s)in, cadeis(s)in
3 sg. f.	fes(s)in, feis(s)in, fissinfes(s)ine, feisine, feis(s)ne	fadisinfade(is)sne	—	—
1 pl.	fes(s)ine	fanis(s)in	—	canisin
2 pl.	fes(s)in, feis(s)infeis(s)ne	fanis(s)in	—	—
3 pl.	fes(s)in, feis(s)infes(s)ine, feisine, feis(s)ne	fades(s)in, fadeis(s)in, fedesinfades(s)ine, fadeisine, fadeis(s)ne	ceisne	cades(s)in, cadeis(s)incades(s)ine, cadeisine, cadesne

Descendants

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• Middle Irish: féin
  • Irish: féin
  • Manx: hene
  • Scottish Gaelic: fhèin

Mutation

[edit] Mutation of féin

radical	lenition	nasalization
féin	ḟéin	féinpronounced with /β̃ʲ-/

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in Old Irish. All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

References

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1. ^ Peter Schrijver (1997), Studies in the History of Celtic Pronouns and Particles (Maynooth Studies in Celtic Linguistics; II), Maynooth: The Department of Old Irish, National University of Ireland, →ISBN, § III.2, pages 75–76
2. ^ Peter Schrijver (1997), Studies in the History of Celtic Pronouns and Particles (Maynooth Studies in Celtic Linguistics; II), Maynooth: The Department of Old Irish, National University of Ireland, →ISBN, §§ III.2, III.4, pages 72, 78–83

Further reading

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• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “fadéin, féin”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Thurneysen, Rudolf (1940) [1909], D. A. Binchy and Osborn Bergin, transl., A Grammar of Old Irish, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, translation of Handbuch des Alt-Irischen (in German), →ISBN, § 485, pages 306–7; reprinted 2017
• Pedersen, Holger (1913), Vergleichende Grammatik der keltischen Sprachen [Comparative Grammar of the Celtic Languages] (in German), volume II, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, →ISBN, page 153

Old Norse

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Noun

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féin

1. definite nominative/accusative plural of fé