tochmarc
Old Irish
Etymology
to- + com- + the stem of Proto-Celtic *ɸarsketi.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈtox.β̃ərk/, [ˈtoxβ̃ərk]
Noun
tochmarc n
- wooing, courting (romantically or for marriage)
- c. 800–825, Diarmait, 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. 127d3
- .i. mug luide húa Abracham do thochmurc Rebicae do Ísác
- i.e. the servant of Abraham who went to woo Rebecca for Isaac
- c. 800–825, Diarmait, 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. 127d3
Usage notes
As a quasi-verbal noun, genitive modifiers always refer to whoever was wooed or courted. For example, Tochmarc Emire ("the Wooing of Emer") refers to Emer being courted by Cú Chulainn, not Emer courting Cú Chulainn herself.
Inflection
| singular | dual | plural | |
|---|---|---|---|
| nominative | tochmarcN | tochmarcN | tochmarcL, tochmarca |
| vocative | tochmarcN | tochmarcN | tochmarcL, tochmarca |
| accusative | tochmarcN | tochmarcN | tochmarcL, tochmarca |
| genitive | tochmaircL | tochmarc | tochmarcN |
| dative | tochmurcL | tochmarcaib | tochmarcaib |
Initial mutations of a following adjective:
- H = triggers aspiration
- L = triggers lenition
- N = triggers nasalization
Related terms
Descendants
- Irish: tochmharc (“story of courtship”)
Mutation
| radical | lenition | nasalization |
|---|---|---|
| tochmarc | thochmarc | tochmarc pronounced with /d-/ |
Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in Old Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.
Further reading
- Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “tochmarc”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language