lánamain

Old Irish

Etymology

Explained by Thurneysen as from lán (“whole, complete”) +‎ emon (“twin, triplet”),^[1] but the semantics and morphology (emon is a masculine o-stem, this term is a feminine ī-stem) are difficult to reconcile. However, the Manx descendant lannoon also means "twin".

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈl͈aːnaβ̃ɨnʲ]

Noun

lánamain f (genitive lánamnae, nominative plural lánamnai)

married couple

Inflection

Feminine ī-stem
	singular	dual	plural
nominative	lánamain^L	lánamain^L	lánamnai^H
vocative	lánamain^L	lánamain^L	lánamnai^H
accusative	lánamnai^N	lánamain^L	lánamnai^H
genitive	lánamnae^H	lánamnae^L	lánamnae^N
dative	lánamnai^L	lánamnaib	lánamnaib

Initial mutations of a following adjective:

^H = triggers aspiration
^L = triggers lenition
^N = triggers nasalization

Derived terms

lánamnas

Descendants

Middle Irish: lánamain
- Irish: lánúin
- Scottish Gaelic: lànan
- Manx: lannoon (“twin”)

Mutation

Mutation of *lánamain*
radical	lenition	nasalization
lánamain also llánamain in h-prothesis environments	lánamain pronounced with /l-/	lánamain also llánamain

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

References

^ Thurneysen, Rudolf (1936) Studies in Early Irish Law, Hodges, Figgis & Company, page 4