macc

See also: Macc.

Old Irish

Alternative forms

• mac

Etymology

From Primitive Irish ᚋᚐᚊᚊᚔ (maqqi, genitive), from Proto-Celtic *makkʷos, a variant of *makʷos (“son”) (compare Welsh mab, Gaulish mapos, Maponos), from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂ḱ- (“to raise, increase”) (compare Ancient Greek μακρός (makrós, “long”), Latin macer (“thin”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [mak]

Noun

macc m (genitive maicc or meicc, nominative plural maicc or meicc)

1. son
2. child
   • 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. 25^c6

     Hóre ammi maicc laí et soilse, ná seichem nahísiu.

     Since we are children of day and light, let us not follow these things.

   • 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. 33^a15

     Fomnid-si, a phopul núíednissi, ar ce dud·rónath ní di maith fri maccu Israhél…

     Take heed, O people of the New Testament, for although some good has been done to the children of Israel…

   • 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. 33^b8

     Ní derlaicht⟨h⟩a a pecdæ doïb acht du·ratad dígal forru. Cenotad maic-si raith dano, má im·roimsid ní dílgibther dúib.

     Their sins have not been forgiven them, but punishment has been inflicted upon them. Though you pl, then, are children of grace, if you sin, you will not be forgiven.

   • 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. 53^c11

     in tan as·mbeir, “Taít, á maccu”

     when he says, “Come, children”

Declension

Masculine o-stem
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	macc, mac	maccL, mac	maic(c)L, meic(c)
Vocative	maic(c), meic(c)	maccL, mac	maccuH
Accusative	maccN, mac	maccL, mac	maccuH
Genitive	maic(c)L, meic(c)	macc, mac	maccN, mac
Dative	maccL, mac	maccaib	maccaib
Initial mutations of a following adjective: H = triggers aspiration L = triggers lenition N = triggers nasalization

Descendants

• Middle Irish: mac
  • Irish: mac
  • Manx: mac
  • Scottish Gaelic: mac

Mutation

Old Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Nasalization
macc also mmacc after a proclitic ending in a vowel	macc pronounced with /β̃(ʲ)-/	unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “1 mac, macc”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language