cuain

Irish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kuənʲ/, /kuːnʲ/

Etymology 1

From Old Irish cúan (“litter of pups or other small animals”).

Alternative forms

• cuan

Noun

cuain f (genitive singular cuaine, nominative plural cuaineanna)

1. a litter (of young)
2. brood
3. pack; band, company

Declension

Declension of cuain

Second declension

Bare forms Case Singular Plural Nominative cuain cuaineanna Vocative a chuain a chuaineanna Genitive cuaine cuaineanna Dative cuain cuaineanna

Forms with the definite article Case Singular Plural Nominative an chuain na cuaineanna Genitive na cuaine na gcuaineanna Dative leis an gcuain don chuain leis na cuaineanna

Etymology 2

Noun

cuain m

1. vocative/genitive singular of cuan (“haven; harbour; place of refuge; bow, curve; bowed, stooped, person”)

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
cuain	chuain	gcuain
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “cuain”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “cuain”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “cuain”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013-2024

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology 1

From Old Irish cúan.

Noun

cuain f (genitive singular cuaine, plural cuainean)

1. litter of puppies or piglets

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

cuain m

1. genitive singular of cuan

Mutation

Scottish Gaelic mutation
Radical	Lenition
cuain	chuain
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• Edward Dwelly (1911) “cuain”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary]‎^[1], 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “1 cúan”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language