aball

Old Irish

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *aballā, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ebl̥neh₂.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈa.βəl̪/
  • (Blasse) [ˈa.βal̪]
  • (Griffith) [ˈa.βəl̪]

Noun

aball f (nominative plural abla)

1. apple tree
   • 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. 61^b5:

     aball [translating malus]

     apple tree

Inflection

Feminine ā-stem

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	aballL	abaillL	ablaH
vocative	aballL	abaillL	ablaH
accusative	abaillN	abaillL	ablaH
genitive	ablaeH	aballL	aballN
dative	abaillL	ablaib	ablaib

Initial mutations of a following adjective:

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

Related terms

• ubull

Descendants

• Irish: abhaill
• Scottish Gaelic: abhall

Mutation

Mutation of aball

radical	lenition	nasalization
aball (pronounced with /h/ in h-prothesis environments)	aball	n-aball

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), “aball”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Welsh

Etymology

Related to aballu (“to perish”), from Proto-Celtic *balnīti (“to die”).

Pronunciation

• (North Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈabaɬ/
• (South Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈa(ː)baɬ/
• Rhymes: -abaɬ

Noun

aball m (plural aballau or aballoedd)

1. destruction, ruin

   Synonym: distryw

2. defect, failing

   Synonyms: diffyg, eisiau, methiant, nam, pall

Mutation

Mutated forms of aball

radical	soft	nasal	h-prothesis
aball	unchanged	unchanged	haball

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

Further reading

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke, et al., editors (1950–present), “aball”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies