táin

See also: tain, 'tain, and täin

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish táin (“act of driving off”), verbal noun of do·aig (“to drive off”), from Proto-Celtic *to- + Proto-Celtic *ageti, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-.

Pronunciation

• (Munster, Connacht) IPA^(key): /t̪ˠɑːnʲ/
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /t̪ˠaːnʲ/

Noun

táin f (genitive singular tána, nominative plural táinte) (literary)

1. cattle-raid, plundering expedition
2. a story about a cattle-raid or plundering expedition
3. the cattle plundered in a cattle-raid
4. flock, herd

   Synonym: tréad

5. (in the plural) wealth, fortune

   Synonym: saibhreas

6. (in the plural) a large amount, a great number
7. a crowd

   Synonyms: dream, slua

Declension

Declension of táin (third declension)

bare forms case singular plural nominative táin táinte vocative a tháin a tháinte genitive tána táinte dative táin táinte forms with the definite article case singular plural nominative an táin na táinte genitive na tána na dtáinte dative leis an táin don táin leis na táinte

Derived terms

• sa Táin (“among the greats, the stuff of legend”)
• is fearr an tsláinte ná na táinte (“health is better than wealth”)

Descendants

• → English: Táin

Mutation

Mutated forms of táin

radical	lenition	eclipsis
táin	tháin	dtáin

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern 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), “táin”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1904) “táin”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 1st edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 709
• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “táin”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “táin”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “táin”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013-2024