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§ 476. The y: of the plural ending əNỹ: is generally overlong as also a preceding long vowel if the ə is absorbed, e.g. α:Nỹ:, plur. of α:, ‘luck’, Di. ádh; eir′i:Nỹ:, ‘Irishmen’; f′α:Nỹ:, ‘fathoms’, from f′α:, Di. feadh; g′r′ɛəsi:Nỹ:, ‘shoemakers; krα:Nỹ:, plur. of krα:, ‘torment’, Di. cradh; kyN′ʃk′l′ɔ:Nỹ:, ‘disturbances’, Di. coinsgleo; k′ɔ:Nỹ:, ‘mists’, Di. ceó; k′αləgu:Nỹ:, ‘lullabies’, Di. cealgadh; sNũ:Nỹ:, plur. of sNũw, sNũə, ‘complexion’, Di. snuadh; ʃL′i:Nỹ:, plur. of ʃL′i:, Di. slighe. The ending of the first person sing. of the pres. ind. of verbs of the second conjugation (‑i:m) has an overlong i: as m has been substituted for m′.

10. Stress.

§ 477. Word-stress always falls upon the first syllable of a simple word, e.g. ·drαNtαn, ‘droning’, Di. dranntán, infin. ·drαNtαnαχt; go̤r, ‘sitting of a hen’, Di. gor, ·go̤rαχəs, ‘cuddling round the fire’; sp′αl, ‘scythe’, M.Ir. spel, ·sp′αlədɔr′, ‘mower’, ·sp′αlədαrαχt, ‘mowing’; to:n′, ‘podex’, ·to:nαkαn, ‘a short stumpy fellow’, also the gait of such a person, cp. Cl. S. 30 vii ’04 p. 5 col. 3. The suffixes ‑αn < ‑án, ‑αχ, ‑αχt < ‑ach, ‑acht have very strong secondary stress as also all syllables containing long vowels or vowels that were originally long. The relative stress of syllables may be denoted by figures under the syllables,^[1] 1 = chief stress. When we have two syllables with strong secondary stress, the first of the two is usually the stronger. Examples – α₁nα₂s, ‘sore straits’, α₁nα₂stə, ‘distressed’, Macbain has anasta, ‘stormy’, < anfhadh; α:₁rN′ɛ₂ʃ, ‘furniture’, Di. áirnéis; bα₁tæ₂L′t′ə, ‘wap’ (§ 9); bwi₁α₂χəs, ‘thankfulness’, Di. buidheachas; bα:₁t′i:₂n′, ‘a mossy pool of water on a bog’, = báitín from M.Ir. bádud, ‘to drown’; b′α₁Nα₂χti:₃, ‘blessings’, = beannachtaí; b′α₁rα₂d, ‘cap’, Di. birréad, plur. b′α₁rα₂di:₃; b′ɛə₁ləstα₂n, ‘big foolish talker’, = béalastán; b′r′i₁ŋlɔ₂d′αχ₃, ‘dreaming’ (subst.), cp. Di. brionglóideach; dα₁məNtα₂n, dα₁məNtɔ₂r′, ‘seducer’, = damantan, ‑óir; du:₁r̥α₂χtα₃χ, ‘earnest, zealous’, Di. dúthrachtach; d′iə₁gα₁Ntə, ‘devout’, Di. diaganta; d′r′əu₁wlα₂s, ‘licentiousness’, d′r′əu₁wlα₂sα₃χ, ‘licentious’, Di. dreabhlas; iə₁sα₂χtα₃χ, ‘given to borrowing’, Di. iasach-

1. In this digital version, the numbers are written as subscripts after the vowel.