fuil

Irish

Pronunciation

• (Munster, Connacht) IPA^(key): /fˠɪlʲ/
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /fˠɨ̞lʲ/

Etymology 1

From Middle Irish fuil, from Old Irish fuil, from Proto-Celtic *wolis, from Proto-Indo-European *welh₃-.

Noun

fuil f (genitive singular fola, nominative plural fola)

1. blood

Declension

Declension of fuil (third declension)

bare forms case singular plural nominative fuil fola vocative a fhuil a fhola genitive fola fola dative fuil fola forms with the definite article case singular plural nominative an fhuil na fola genitive na fola na bhfola dative leis an bhfuil don fhuil leis na fola

Derived terms

• airgead fola
• báire na fola
• banc fola
• boilg fola
• braon fola
• brú fola
• cíocras fola
• cnapán fola
• coirpín fola
• col fola
• crithir fola
• crobh fola
• cú fola
• cur fola
• deamhan fola
• deontóir fola
• doirteadh fola
• flosc fola
• fual fola
• fuil a chur
• fuil dhragain
• fuil mhíosta
• fuil shróine, fuil sróine
• fuil talún
• fuilchill
• fuilchoirpín
• fuilphlasma
• gaol fola
• ligean fola
• lucht fola
• lus na fola
• madra fola
• mún fola
• nimhiú fola
• rian fola
• rith fola
• scian fola
• soitheach fola
• stór fola
• súmaire fola
• tarraingt fola
• téachtán fola
• teocht na fola
• uaisle fola

 

Etymology 2

From Old Irish fil, originally an imperative meaning ‘see’, from Proto-Indo-European *wel- (“see”), cognate with Welsh gweld (“to see”), Latin voltus (“face”). For the semantic development 'see here' > 'here is' compare French voici and voilà.

Verb

fuil

1. analytic present indicative dependent of bí

   An bhfuil sé anseo?

   Is he here?

   Creidim go bhfuil sí imithe

   I believe she is gone.

Alternative forms

• fuileann (Munster)

Derived terms

• níl

Etymology 3

Noun

fuil

1. Alternative form of fail

Mutation

Mutated forms of fuil

radical	lenition	eclipsis
fuil	fhuil	bhfuil

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

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “fuil”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “fuil”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “fuil”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013-2024

Middle Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish fuil, from Proto-Celtic *wolis, from Proto-Indo-European *welh₃-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɸulʲ/

Noun

fuil f (i-stem, genitive fola)

1. blood
2. (by extension) a wound

Descendants

• Irish: fuil
• Manx: fuill
• Scottish Gaelic: fuil

Mutation

Mutation of fuil

radical	lenition	nasalization
fuil	ḟuil	fuil pronounced with /β(ʲ)-/

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Middle 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), “fuil”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Old Irish

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *wolis, from Proto-Indo-European *welh₃- (“to strike, wound”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ɸulʲ]

Noun

fuil f (genitive folo)

1. blood
2. (by extension) a wound

Inflection

Feminine i-stem
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	fuil	fuilL	fuiliH
Vocative	fuil	fuilL	fuiliH
Accusative	fuilN	fuilL	fuiliH
Genitive	foloH, folaH	foloH, folaH	fuileN
Dative	fuilL	fuilib	fuilib
Initial mutations of a following adjective: H = triggers aspiration L = triggers lenition N = triggers nasalization

Derived terms

• fuilchar
• fuilech
• fuilide

Descendants

• Middle Irish: fuil
  • Irish: fuil
  • Manx: fuill
  • Scottish Gaelic: fuil

Mutation

Mutation of fuil

radical	lenition	nasalization
fuil	ḟuil	fuil pronounced with /β(ʲ)-/

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), “fuil”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Under Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “Valhalla”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Scots

Alternative forms

• feel (northern)
• feelish (adjective) (northern)

Etymology

From Middle English fole (“fool”), from Old French fol, from Latin follis. Cognate with English fool.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /føl/, /fyl/, /fɪl/

Noun

fuil (plural fuils)

1. fool
   • 1858, Margaret Oliphant, The Laird of Norlaw, volume 2, page 325:

     “Hout, no,” said Aunt Jean, disturbed a little, yet confident, “fha would tell the like of Patricia or Joan—fuils and bairns!—and as for the like of my niece herself, she’s muckle taken up with her ain bits of troubles—she might hear of it at the time, but she would forget the day after; naebody minds but me.”

     “Tut, no,” said Aunt Jean, disturbed a little yet confident. “Who would tell the like of Patricia or Joan—they are fools and children! And as for my niece herself, she’s greatly taken up with her own troubles. She might hear of it at the time, but she would forget the day after. Nobody cares but me.”

Adjective

fuil (comparative mair fuil, superlative maist fuil)

1. foolish, silly
   • 1858, Margaret Oliphant, The Laird of Norlaw, volume 1, page 202:

     “Money! Na! it’s ideas and no that sordid trash, that tempts me.”
     “And the mair fuil you!” said Big John, half in chagrin, half in admiration.

     “Money! No! it’s ideas and not that sordid trash that tempts me.”
     “And you’re even more foolish!” said Big John, half in chagrin, half in admiration.

   • 1940, John William Robertson Scott, The Countryman, page 92:

     Ye see I’d had a fleg ae day when I was passin’ the asylum. The gates burst open an’ a’ the fule fowk cam’ runnin’ oot, skelachin’ as they gaed doon the road.

     You see, I suffered a fright one day when I passing the asylum. The gates opened and all of the crazy people came running out, hooting as they went down the road.

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Middle Irish fuil, from Old Irish fuil, from Proto-Celtic *wolis, from Proto-Indo-European *welh₃-.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ful/

Noun

fuil f (genitive singular fala, no plural)

1. blood
2. family, tribe, kindred
3. bloodshed
4. wound
5. breeding
6. temper, nature

Declension

Declension of fuil

Indefinite
	Singular
Nominative	fuil
Genitive	fala
Dative	fuil
Definite
	Singular
Nominative	(an) fhuil
Genitive	(na) fala
Dative	(an) fhuil
Vocative	(a) fhuil

• Alternative genitive singular: faladh

Derived terms

• casg-fala
• dòrtadh-fala
• fuil-mhìos
• is tighe fuil na bùrn
• leig fuil
• neasgaidean fala

 

Mutation

Mutation of fuil

radical	lenition
fuil	fhuil

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

Further reading

• Edward Dwelly (1911) “fuil”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary]‎^[1], 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “fuil”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language