suarach

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish súarrach, súairrech.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsˠuˑəɾˠəx/

Adjective

suarach (genitive singular masculine suaraigh, genitive singular feminine suaraí, plural suaracha, comparative suaraí)

1. paltry, petty, insignificant; mean, contemptible
2. airy, frivolous

Declension

Declension of suarach

	singular		plural (m/f)
Positive	masculine	feminine	(strong noun)	(weak noun)
nominative	suarach	shuarach	suaracha; shuaracha2
vocative	shuaraigh		suaracha
genitive		suaraí	suaracha	suarach
dative	suarach; shuarach1	shuarach; shuaraigh (archaic)	suaracha; shuaracha2
Comparative	níos suaraí
Superlative	is suaraí

¹ When the preceding noun is lenited and governed by the definite article.
² When the preceding noun ends in a slender consonant.

Derived terms

• páipéar suarach m (“rag”)
• suarachán m (“petty, insignificant, person; mean, contemptible, person”)
• suarachas m (“pettiness, paltriness, insignificance; meanness, sordidness”)

Related terms

• suaraigh (“demean”, transitive verb)
• suaraíocht f (“meanness, insignificance”)

Mutation

Mutated forms of suarach

radical	lenition	eclipsis
suarach	shuarach after an, tsuarach	not applicable

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) “suarach”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “súarrach, súairrech”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Old Irish súarrach, súairrech.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈs̪uəɾəx/
• (Lewis) IPA^(key): [ˈs̪ʊɔ̝̈ɾəx]

Adjective

suarach (comparative suaraiche)

1. abject, base
2. contemptible, degenerate, despised, mean, vile, petty

   Tha mi ga cur suarach. ― I despise her.

3. indifferent
4. ignoble inferior, negligible, shoddy, trashy, tawdry
5. silly, trivial, unimportant, valueless

Declension

Declension of suarach (type I adjective)

	masculine	feminine	plural
nominative	suarach	suarach	suarach
genitive	suaraich	suaraiche, suaraich	suarach
dative	suarach	suaraich	suarach
vocative	suaraich	suarach	suarach

Derived terms

• bi suarach mu

Further reading

• Edward Dwelly (1911) “suarach”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary]‎^[1], 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN