Niall

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Irish or Scottish Gaelic, ultimately from Old Irish Níall, of uncertain original meaning. Suggestions include nél (cloud) and niadh (champion), which is from Proto-Indo-European *h₃neyd- (to revile).[1]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈnaɪəl/, /niːl/
  • Rhymes: -aɪəl, -iːl

Proper noun

Niall

  1. A male given name from Irish or Scottish Gaelic used in Ireland and Scotland since the Middle Ages.

References

  1. MacBain, Alexander; Mackay, Eneas (1911), niadh”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language, Stirling, →ISBN

Anagrams

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish Níall, of uncertain original meaning. Suggestions include nél (cloud) and niadh (champion).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [n̠ʲiəl̪ˠ]

Proper noun

Niall m (genitive Néill)

  1. a male given name from Old Irish

Further reading

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Old Irish Níall, of uncertain original meaning. Suggestions include nél (cloud) and niadh (champion).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɲiaɫ̪/

Proper noun

Niall m (genitive Nèill, vocative a Nèill)

  1. a male given name from Old Irish, equivalent to English Neil

Derived terms

  • MacNèill
  • Niall gun chiall (gormless person)
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.