179
ÍN.
458. The termination ÍN, meaning “small” or “little,” may be added to almost every Irish noun. Whenever the final consonant is broad it must be made slender (as the ín always remains unaltered), the vowels undergoing the same changes as in the formation of the genitive singular, but Ċ is not changed into Ġ (see pars. 60 and 78).
| asal, an ass | asailín, | a | little | ass |
| fear, a man | firín, | a | „ | man |
| gort, a field | goirtín, | a | „ | field |
| cailleaċ, an old woman | cailliċín, | a | „ | old woman |
| sráid, a street | sráidín, | a | „ | street, a lane |
If the noun ends in E, drop the E and add ÍN; but if the noun ends in A, drop the A and attenuate the preceding consonant; then add ÍN.
páisde páisdín Nóra Nóirín mála máilín
459.
ÁN.
| sruṫán, a brook, | from | sruṫ, a stream. |
| árdán, a hillock, | „ | árd, high. |
| dealgán, a knitting-needle, | „ | dealg, a thorn. |
| biorán, a pin, | „ | bior, a spit. |
| leaḃrán, a booklet, | „ | leaḃar, a book. |
| geugán, a twig, | „ | geug, a branch. |
| loċán, a little lake, | „ | loċ, a lake. |
| sgiaṫán, a wing, | „ | sgiaṫ, a shield. |
The above are examples of real diminutives, but such examples are not very numerous.
