Navan Fort
ISAMNION
ISAMNION
The place-name Emain (and variants; see http://www.placenamesni.org/resultdetails.php?entry=10437) has given toponymists fits for a very long time. The standard folk etymologies "Twins" or "Neck-Pin" found embedded in Irish myth or medieval glossaries are not considered to be satisfactory The debate continues as to whether Emain should be associated with Ptolemy's Isamnion promontory.
Currently, the only proposed derivation that is deemed somewhat acceptable is the one proposed first by T. F. O'Rahilly and recently favored by Gregory Toner. They hold that Isamnion, minus the standard Greek suffix, comes from *isa-monis, 'holy mountain/mound.' Professor Jurgen Uhlich has demonstrated to me how *isa-monis could have yielded Emain:
"O’Rahilly’s suggestion that ‘Emain might go back to *Isamonis or the like; the syncopated genitive, Emna, would be analogical (cf. Lemain, gen. Lemna)’ (EIHM 13) is at least phonologically sound – and there would not have been anything ‘shortenend’ at the beginning, but *isa- regularly > e- by syncope. O’Rahilly also adds a reference to Pokorny in ZCP 21 (1940), 127, where Isamnion is compared to have yielded first Emnae, which would then have been transformed to emain under the influence of the word for ‘twins’ – which is where your semantic considerations might come in in support."
There is nothing wrong with this proposed etymology, other than the fact that *isa-, so far as I can tell, is not found elsewhere in Celtic.
Irish has is, 'below, under' (see eDIL). Welsh has is also, with the same meaning. The IE root is believed to be *ped-su. This element has been proposed for Isamnion, but in combination with a different construction for the remainder of the place-name. Warner (in https://www.academia.edu/7150776/Ptolemys_Isamnion_promontory_rehabilitation_and_identification) discusses the proposed etymology of Patrizia de Bernardo Stempel:
"...if [the word means] ‘the point standing below’, it would be the yo- adjective derived from the compound formed by the adverb yielding Irish ís ‘below’ and the Goidelic out-come of *sta-mno- , alternatively, it may represent the gen. plur. of the similarly formed name of the inhabitants,‘(promontory) of the people standing below.’"
This seems an awkward and ambiguous meaning for a place-name. What does the akron stand below? de Bernardo Stempel suggests (2007 paper) that 'standing below' is to be interpreted with reference to Robogdion promontory (the next 'above' or to the north) from the standpoint of the mariner. I find this explanation to be strained and not very plausible.
It is unfortunate that an extant Irish word has not been brought into connection with Isamnion.
Take off the Greek ending, and cf. Isamn- to the words/definitions pasted below. Note especially essamin (as smaller vowels are more easily dropped) and es(s)amnae. The same word yielded a personal name meaning 'the fearless one.' In the case of the Isamnion Akron, we would be talking about a tribal name, giving us something like the 'the Promontory of the Fearless Ones.'
It would leave Emain unanswered as a place-name, of course. We will consider the latter below.
fear Proto-Celtic *obno-, Gaulish -obnus, -omnus ‘fear’, [Primitive Irish probably omno, according to Professor James Mallory), Early Irish omun ‘fear’, Welsh ofn ‘fear, terror, fright, anxiety; awe’, Cornish own ‘fear’, Breton oun (Middle Breton), aon ‘fear’
The relevant eDIL listings:
es(s)amain
Cite this: eDIL s.v. es(s)amain or dil.ie/20379
Forms: esamnu
adj (omun) fearless, bold, daring: am essamin do thabirt testassa airibsi I am bold to give evidence Wb. 16a26 . (with gen.) am essamin se precepte fearless in preaching 23b7 . cia fiu esámain (gl. quam temerarium) Ml. 27d8 . nibbát ecal ocal opond esamain be neither timid nor violent, precipitate and rash IT i 213.19 . is esamain (the question) is a bold one (?) Anecd. ii 12.3 . (Adv.) tanic co hesamain ┐ confergach i n-agaid Patraic, Trip. 456.1 . co dána ┐ co hesamain, PH 5137 . Compar.: it essamnu de they are the more fearless Wb. 23b12 . esamnu (gl. audentior) Ml. 29a12 . esamnu...du écnduch dǽ bolder to blaspheme God ib. 11 . Cf. esamain .i. lasamain, ut est oc esamain airbert i cuairt, O'Dav. 772 (cf. 799 ). esomain (essomuin v.l.) .i. obann no lasamain, ut est is esomain naillech .i. is lasamain fri tabairt luighi `he is a sudden swearer, i.e. he is on fire to take an oath' 781 . pn As sobriquet: mac Elcaib Essamain `son of E. the fearless' MacCongl. 75.8 ; 119.24 (Esomain). Cf. es(s)omon.
es(s)omon
Cite this: eDIL s.v. es(s)omon or dil.ie/20552
Forms: essemón
n I A cessation of fear, hence a respite; a truce: ronbith essoman lais co comtastar fer do let us have a truce with him TBC-I¹ 1235 (essomon, Eg. essemón LU). essomon tri laithi ┐ teora n-aidchi, RC xxv 346.14 . dorónsat essomon trī laa ┐ n-oidchi etarru, ZCP viii 312.17 . ailthus E. imm esomon asks them for a truce 313.5 . gaid essomon bliadna do a respite, delay Anecd. iii 59.3 . digensat essomon fri soegul nO., 60.13 .
II A welcome: fearus Eochaidh esemain (.i. fáilti) fris, ZCP v 523 x . fuidis Guaire essomuin friu, ACL iii 3.9 . easomain .i. fáilte, O'Cl. Cf. es(s)amain, es(s)amnae.
es(s)amnae
Cite this: eDIL s.v. es(s)amnae or dil.ie/20380
Last Revised: 2019
Forms: esamni, esamni
n iā, f. (es(s)amain)
(a) boldness, confidence: ní nuae dunni ind esamnae so dit ditin-siu (gl. de protectione tua fiducia) Ml. 110d12 . a s. int [leg. inn] esamni ind firiéin dut chreitim-siu (gl. fiduciam) 'the confidence of the righteous man to believe thee', 142b2 . in n-esamni nad lugimem (gl. confidentiam non minimam) 14b10 . in esamni (gl. impudentiam) 25b9 . tre essamni cumachti through confidence of power Wb. 17a7 . d s. ní rabæ di esamni Duaid David had not the boldness Ml. 33c17 . is danatus ┐ is essamna mor do Throianaib tuidecht co Grecu, LL 399b36 = TTr.² 245 . dál fria hessamna a tryst with boldness (?) MacCongl. 95. 7 . Cf. fornes fir iar mbag esamna the declaration (i.e. test, proof) of a man (comes) after (his) vaunt of confidence (?) O'Dav. 799 = forneis iar mbagh esomna, 781 . oc esamna airbert .i. ar in airbert lasamain, 799 = oc esamain airbert, 772 . As npr. m.: Rogen mac Essamna Emna maic Blaith, ZCP viii 292.13 .
(b) a welcome: ferais esomni fris `she made him welcome' RC xi 446.68 = feraiss eussoman (.i. failti) friss ZCP iii 251.8 . ferais Medb esomne fris 'Medb welcomed him', BDC 104.18 . ferais Cormac esomne frie 'Cormac welcomed her', BDC 110.96. Cf. es(s)omon.
ess-, es-, e-, é-
Cite this: eDIL s.v. ess-, es-, e-, é- or dil.ie/50223
Last Revised: 2019
prefix etymologically identical with the preverb as- and the preposition 7 a 'out of' ( GOI § 834 ). In earlier formations ess- became e- followed by gemination before stops and é- before r, l, n. In many cases the older form of the prefix is difficult to distinguish from é-, an allomorph of privative an-, in the written language (e.g. éccra, 1 etal). Already in the Old Irish Glosses the form es(s)- is generalised to preconsonantal position (e.g. escarae, esba(e), esrantaid). ess- forms privative and negative compounds with nouns and adjectives. Nouns prefixed by privative ess- can become adjectives as in énirt (nert), es(s)amain (omun). o- and ā-stem nouns can become i-stem adjectives as in the aforementioned examples, or remain unchanged like ecal (gal). The adjectival function may be eclipsed by substantivised use (e.g. esert, eisrecht, eistech). With adjectives the prefix has negating function and often seems equivalent to an- + adjective (e.g. esidan, ainidan; eisinnraic, aininnraic). For examples see the individual entries.
omun , ómun
Cite this: eDIL s.v. omun , ómun or dil.ie/33853
Last Revised: 2019
Forms: ómun, ómun, hómon, hómun, ómun, homun, homun, omun, (h)omno, omna, ómnu, úamun, omun, uamain, oman
n u and o, m. O.Ir. n s. ómun , Ml. 33c7 , 59a18 , (with art.) int ómun , 42d9 ; hómon, Wb. 6a7 ; hómun, Wb. 16a21 ; d s. ómun , Thes. ii 21.35 ( BCr. 33b14 ); but n s. homun, Ml. 79b2 , 96a10 ; a s. homun, 55c10 ; omun , Wb. 29d15 ; g s. (h)omno, Ml. 128b7 , 9 . omna, Laws text. a p. ómnu, LU 599 (o-st.). In Mid.Ir. always ŏmun (as attested by rhyme), pos- sibly the orig. form; the Gaulish and Brythonic cognates show ŏ, cf. W. ofn (see Pedersen Vgl. Gr. i 49 ). From ómun comes the Mid.Ir. variant form úamun, which is often used indifferently with omun and finally supersedes it. In Mid.Ir. treated as o-st. (occas. as fem., d s. uamain, TBC-LL¹ 1345 , LL 34a17 ). úamhan omhan (o, m.), IGT Dec. § 17.19 . úamhain omhain (f.) § 150.6 .
I As subst. fear, the state of being afraid , absol. or with gen. of cause of fear; transl. Lat. timor, metus in Glosses. oman .i. ecla, O'Dav. 1319. int ómun fil la suidib, gl. cum metuant, Ml. 42d9 . nos gébad ule crith ┐ uamun, FA 14 ( LU 2070 ) = oman, LB. ecla nó uamun, CRR 20. ros-lín oman, PH 1121. uaman, 1244 . fer . . . cen omon, TBC-LL¹ 31. foce[i]rd a n-oman cach tuaith casts . . . into dread, Fianaig. 12.15 . With obj. gen.: robú mór a homun lium-sa (gl. metuebam), Ml. 96a10 . ómun Dáe the fear of God, 33c7 , cf. 55c10 , Wb. 16a21 . omon Fíadat, ZCP v 499 § 4. ar ecla ┐ ar úamun Conculaind, TBC-LL¹ 1608 . cromfait a cinnu ar m'ecla ┐ ar m'uamain, 1345 . cid do chana dúib ar n-uaman-ne do beth foraib? what causes you to be afraid of us? PH 3399. tre omun fochide, Wb. 29d15 . ar ómun pían n-iffirnd, FA 33 ( LU 2282 ) = ar uamun, LB. omun báis, PH 3830. (with proleptic poss. pron.) ata a uaman oruinde co n[d]ingna sé fasach do crichaib S. we are afraid he will devastate, ZCP vi 295.8 . tig an bás . . . an tan is lugha bhíos a uamhan orra, TSh. 546. eagla Dé . . . tar omhan chréatúra, 6819 . Rarely with subj. gen.: in toirsi dorigne Ísu, noco n-ar a omun fén doróine `through fear for himself', PH 3026 . dorochar-sa fri talum for mét mo omain, 3730 . g s. (a) ermitiu omno Dáe, Ml. 128d9 . cor omna `a contract of fear' (one entered into under intimidation), Laws iv 208.32 Comm. fonascc omna, v 376.3 , cf. 186.7 . (b) boegal i n-ecmais omain daring in the absence of [cause for] fear, PH 3010 ; cf. 3730 . pl. in sense terrors, causes of fear: frisbered omnu huain, ACC 16 ( RC xx 164 ) = ómnu, LU 599 , cf. O'Dav. 1319. all fri homna, Anecd. i 68 § 155. sciath fri homna i n-ernaidhe, AFM i 524.16 (poem).
As pred., is o.¤ LA fears, is apprehensive : is omun lium-sa do chlod-sa I fear thou art vanquished, PH 1793. is omun leam-sa . . . saethar do chaithimh fria gnimradh idhul, Marco P. 1 . is omain leis a mac do facbail, Laws ii 164.22 Comm. Ml. 96a10 (quoted above). As pred., is o.¤ DO is a cause of fear to: ní húamun duit misi 'you need not fear me', FDG² 10.304 . With cop. and dat. pron.: isam ómun ar a aisnéis, LU 5349 = omun , TBC-LL¹ 873 YBL. isim omun ar in mbein `I have fear of the woman', RC xvii 132.22 , cf. MacCarthy 398.4 .
II As adj. generally as pred.
(a) afraid, apprehensive : dia mbad úamain ṁ'ḟer if my husband were a coward, TBC-LL¹ 36 = imeaclach St., omhnach Add. nibtis omain neich they feared no one, ZCP iii 38.25 .
(b) fearful, terrible : bás ┐ cach ní homain, Corm. p. 13 s.v. ceal (g s. ?). ge fuair bas tre re[i]m n-uaban `in his dread career', Celt. Rev. iv 214.6 (possibly g pl.).
Compds. Huamanchenn (npr. m.), ZCP viii 326.20 . mac Huamanchind, ib. 23 . omungnath (< gnáth `wont, habit') a state of fear? o. dorognad, Ält. Ir. Dicht. i 41 § 32 ( Rawl. 115b27 ), cf. Wortk. § 7. Marstrander RC xxxvi 339 takes the word as npr. m., comparing Smirgnath ( § 38 in same poem), Faelgnath, Domungnath, BB 158a27 .
es(s)amnae
Cite this: eDIL s.v. es(s)amnae or dil.ie/20380
Last Revised: 2019
Forms: esamni, esamni
n iā, f. (es(s)amain)
(a) boldness, confidence: ní nuae dunni ind esamnae so dit ditin-siu (gl. de protectione tua fiducia) Ml. 110d12 . a s. int [leg. inn] esamni ind firiéin dut chreitim-siu (gl. fiduciam) 'the confidence of the righteous man to believe thee', 142b2 . in n-esamni nad lugimem (gl. confidentiam non minimam) 14b10 . in esamni (gl. impudentiam) 25b9 . tre essamni cumachti through confidence of power Wb. 17a7 . d s. ní rabæ di esamni Duaid David had not the boldness Ml. 33c17 . is danatus ┐ is essamna mor do Throianaib tuidecht co Grecu, LL 399b36 = TTr.² 245 . dál fria hessamna a tryst with boldness (?) MacCongl. 95. 7 . Cf. fornes fir iar mbag esamna the declaration (i.e. test, proof) of a man (comes) after (his) vaunt of confidence (?) O'Dav. 799 = forneis iar mbagh esomna, 781 . oc esamna airbert .i. ar in airbert lasamain, 799 = oc esamain airbert, 772 . As npr. m.: Rogen mac Essamna Emna maic Blaith, ZCP viii 292.13 .
Isamnion was once linked to Rinn Seimhne, the modern Islandmagee. But scholars are now (based on their reading of Ptolemy's questionable coordinates) opting for the Cooley Peninsula (or Cooley Point) much further south. I still think Seimhne makes for an excellent relic of Isamn-. We would need to opt for Ptolemy's Logia being Carnlough and his Winderis being Glenarm. Both Isamnion and Seimhne are on the northeastern coast of Ireland. But if Seimhne is not Isamnion, the resemblance between the two headland names is still remarkable. In fact, it is downright uncanny. I feel that ignoring the apparent congruence would be to our peril.
Epona Between Two Foals, Marble Votive Relief
Epona with Male and Female Foals, Bronze Statuette
Epona and Two Horses
"By the foot of the mountain [Alesion in Arkadia] is the sanctuary of Poseidon Hippios, not more than six stades distant from Mantineia. About this sanctuary I, like everyone else who has mentioned it, can write only what I have heard. The modern sanctuary was built by the Emperor Hadrian, who set overseers over the workmen, so that nobody might look into the old sanctuary, and none of the ruins be removed. He ordered them to build around the new temple. Originally, they say, this sanctuary was built for Poseidon by [the mythical brothers] Agamedes and Trophonios, who worked oak logs and fitted them together. They set up no barrier at the entrance to prevent men going inside; but they stretched across it a thread of wool. Perhaps they thought that even this would strike fear into the religious people of that time, and perhaps there was also some power in the thread. It is notorious that even [the mythical hero] Aipytos, the son of Hippothoos, entered the sanctuary neither by jumping over the thread nor by slipping under it, but by cutting it through. For this sin he was blinded by a wave that dashed on to his eyes, and forthwith his life left him. There is an old legend that a wave of sea-water rises up in the sanctuary . . . at Mantineia the sea rises after a very long distance, and quite plainly through the divine will."
perth
[yr e. lleoedd Crn. (Pen)berth, (Pen)perth, e. tref Perth (Gael. Peart) yn yr Alban, Gwydd. C. ceirt (< *queirt) ‘pren (afalau)’: ?< Clt. *ku̯erku̯-t- (?< IE. *perku̯u- ‘derwen’, cf. Llad. quercus ‘derwen’, Sans. parkatī- ‘pren ffigys sanctaidd’, H. S. furh (> S. Diw. fir)) neu ?cf. pren, prysg]
eb. (bach. perthen, ll. perthenni) ll. perthi, perthydd, perthau.
Gwrych, clawdd, sietin; llwyn, prysglwyn, dryslwyn, draenllwyn; tir prysglwyn, cefn gwlad; jyngl; hefyd yn dros. ac yn ffig.:
hedge; (thorn-)bush, brake, thicket, copse, coppice; (the) bush, countryside; jungle; also transf. and fig.
It will be noticed that the cognate to perth in Irish is ceirt. And here is the eDIL listing for ceirt:
1 ceirt
Cite this: eDIL s.v. 1 ceirt or dil.ie/8502
n apple-tree ; the letter q in Ogham (see Vendryes, RC xliv 313 ff. ): c.¤ .i. abhall, O'Cl. tri foilcheasta inn oghaim .i. c.¤ ┐ gedal ┐ straiph. In baile i mbi c ria n-u is queirt is scribhtha and, ut est cuileand ┐rl., Auraic. 440 . queirt dano, is o chrand rohainmnighead .i. abhull ut dicitur. clithar boaiscille .i. elit gelt cuert .i. aball, 1184 . ? Cf. bille .i. c.¤ , Corm. Y 186 .
So, in other words, from the Irish perspective, a Manawydan, i.e. Manannan, at Arberth would be the sea god 'next to the apple thicket.'
We should recall, of course, that there was a 7th century Arthur of Dyfed. He belonged to a dynasty that had been founded by the Irish Deisi. Should Arberth, then, be considered an Avalon?
I have before me Damian McManus' A GUIDE TO OGAM. His entry on Q Cert, the ogam letter, reads as follows:
"This letter name is undoubtedly related to Welsh perth 'bush' and cognate with Latin quercus < *kwerkw-, ultimately from the root *perkw."
This seems an awkward and ambiguous meaning for a place-name. What does the akron stand below? de Bernardo Stempel suggests (2007 paper) that 'standing below' is to be interpreted with reference to Robogdion promontory (the next 'above' or to the north) from the standpoint of the mariner. I find this explanation to be strained and not very plausible.
It is unfortunate that an extant Irish word has not been brought into connection with Isamnion.
Take off the Greek ending, and cf. Isamn- to the words/definitions pasted below. Note especially essamin (as smaller vowels are more easily dropped) and es(s)amnae. The same word yielded a personal name meaning 'the fearless one.' In the case of the Isamnion Akron, we would be talking about a tribal name, giving us something like the 'the Promontory of the Fearless Ones.'
It would leave Emain unanswered as a place-name, of course. We will consider the latter below.
fear Proto-Celtic *obno-, Gaulish -obnus, -omnus ‘fear’, [Primitive Irish probably omno, according to Professor James Mallory), Early Irish omun ‘fear’, Welsh ofn ‘fear, terror, fright, anxiety; awe’, Cornish own ‘fear’, Breton oun (Middle Breton), aon ‘fear’
The relevant eDIL listings:
es(s)amain
Cite this: eDIL s.v. es(s)amain or dil.ie/20379
Forms: esamnu
adj (omun) fearless, bold, daring: am essamin do thabirt testassa airibsi I am bold to give evidence Wb. 16a26 . (with gen.) am essamin se precepte fearless in preaching 23b7 . cia fiu esámain (gl. quam temerarium) Ml. 27d8 . nibbát ecal ocal opond esamain be neither timid nor violent, precipitate and rash IT i 213.19 . is esamain (the question) is a bold one (?) Anecd. ii 12.3 . (Adv.) tanic co hesamain ┐ confergach i n-agaid Patraic, Trip. 456.1 . co dána ┐ co hesamain, PH 5137 . Compar.: it essamnu de they are the more fearless Wb. 23b12 . esamnu (gl. audentior) Ml. 29a12 . esamnu...du écnduch dǽ bolder to blaspheme God ib. 11 . Cf. esamain .i. lasamain, ut est oc esamain airbert i cuairt, O'Dav. 772 (cf. 799 ). esomain (essomuin v.l.) .i. obann no lasamain, ut est is esomain naillech .i. is lasamain fri tabairt luighi `he is a sudden swearer, i.e. he is on fire to take an oath' 781 . pn As sobriquet: mac Elcaib Essamain `son of E. the fearless' MacCongl. 75.8 ; 119.24 (Esomain). Cf. es(s)omon.
es(s)omon
Cite this: eDIL s.v. es(s)omon or dil.ie/20552
Forms: essemón
n I A cessation of fear, hence a respite; a truce: ronbith essoman lais co comtastar fer do let us have a truce with him TBC-I¹ 1235 (essomon, Eg. essemón LU). essomon tri laithi ┐ teora n-aidchi, RC xxv 346.14 . dorónsat essomon trī laa ┐ n-oidchi etarru, ZCP viii 312.17 . ailthus E. imm esomon asks them for a truce 313.5 . gaid essomon bliadna do a respite, delay Anecd. iii 59.3 . digensat essomon fri soegul nO., 60.13 .
II A welcome: fearus Eochaidh esemain (.i. fáilti) fris, ZCP v 523 x . fuidis Guaire essomuin friu, ACL iii 3.9 . easomain .i. fáilte, O'Cl. Cf. es(s)amain, es(s)amnae.
es(s)amnae
Cite this: eDIL s.v. es(s)amnae or dil.ie/20380
Last Revised: 2019
Forms: esamni, esamni
n iā, f. (es(s)amain)
(a) boldness, confidence: ní nuae dunni ind esamnae so dit ditin-siu (gl. de protectione tua fiducia) Ml. 110d12 . a s. int [leg. inn] esamni ind firiéin dut chreitim-siu (gl. fiduciam) 'the confidence of the righteous man to believe thee', 142b2 . in n-esamni nad lugimem (gl. confidentiam non minimam) 14b10 . in esamni (gl. impudentiam) 25b9 . tre essamni cumachti through confidence of power Wb. 17a7 . d s. ní rabæ di esamni Duaid David had not the boldness Ml. 33c17 . is danatus ┐ is essamna mor do Throianaib tuidecht co Grecu, LL 399b36 = TTr.² 245 . dál fria hessamna a tryst with boldness (?) MacCongl. 95. 7 . Cf. fornes fir iar mbag esamna the declaration (i.e. test, proof) of a man (comes) after (his) vaunt of confidence (?) O'Dav. 799 = forneis iar mbagh esomna, 781 . oc esamna airbert .i. ar in airbert lasamain, 799 = oc esamain airbert, 772 . As npr. m.: Rogen mac Essamna Emna maic Blaith, ZCP viii 292.13 .
(b) a welcome: ferais esomni fris `she made him welcome' RC xi 446.68 = feraiss eussoman (.i. failti) friss ZCP iii 251.8 . ferais Medb esomne fris 'Medb welcomed him', BDC 104.18 . ferais Cormac esomne frie 'Cormac welcomed her', BDC 110.96. Cf. es(s)omon.
ess-, es-, e-, é-
Cite this: eDIL s.v. ess-, es-, e-, é- or dil.ie/50223
Last Revised: 2019
prefix etymologically identical with the preverb as- and the preposition 7 a 'out of' ( GOI § 834 ). In earlier formations ess- became e- followed by gemination before stops and é- before r, l, n. In many cases the older form of the prefix is difficult to distinguish from é-, an allomorph of privative an-, in the written language (e.g. éccra, 1 etal). Already in the Old Irish Glosses the form es(s)- is generalised to preconsonantal position (e.g. escarae, esba(e), esrantaid). ess- forms privative and negative compounds with nouns and adjectives. Nouns prefixed by privative ess- can become adjectives as in énirt (nert), es(s)amain (omun). o- and ā-stem nouns can become i-stem adjectives as in the aforementioned examples, or remain unchanged like ecal (gal). The adjectival function may be eclipsed by substantivised use (e.g. esert, eisrecht, eistech). With adjectives the prefix has negating function and often seems equivalent to an- + adjective (e.g. esidan, ainidan; eisinnraic, aininnraic). For examples see the individual entries.
omun , ómun
Cite this: eDIL s.v. omun , ómun or dil.ie/33853
Last Revised: 2019
Forms: ómun, ómun, hómon, hómun, ómun, homun, homun, omun, (h)omno, omna, ómnu, úamun, omun, uamain, oman
n u and o, m. O.Ir. n s. ómun , Ml. 33c7 , 59a18 , (with art.) int ómun , 42d9 ; hómon, Wb. 6a7 ; hómun, Wb. 16a21 ; d s. ómun , Thes. ii 21.35 ( BCr. 33b14 ); but n s. homun, Ml. 79b2 , 96a10 ; a s. homun, 55c10 ; omun , Wb. 29d15 ; g s. (h)omno, Ml. 128b7 , 9 . omna, Laws text. a p. ómnu, LU 599 (o-st.). In Mid.Ir. always ŏmun (as attested by rhyme), pos- sibly the orig. form; the Gaulish and Brythonic cognates show ŏ, cf. W. ofn (see Pedersen Vgl. Gr. i 49 ). From ómun comes the Mid.Ir. variant form úamun, which is often used indifferently with omun and finally supersedes it. In Mid.Ir. treated as o-st. (occas. as fem., d s. uamain, TBC-LL¹ 1345 , LL 34a17 ). úamhan omhan (o, m.), IGT Dec. § 17.19 . úamhain omhain (f.) § 150.6 .
I As subst. fear, the state of being afraid , absol. or with gen. of cause of fear; transl. Lat. timor, metus in Glosses. oman .i. ecla, O'Dav. 1319. int ómun fil la suidib, gl. cum metuant, Ml. 42d9 . nos gébad ule crith ┐ uamun, FA 14 ( LU 2070 ) = oman, LB. ecla nó uamun, CRR 20. ros-lín oman, PH 1121. uaman, 1244 . fer . . . cen omon, TBC-LL¹ 31. foce[i]rd a n-oman cach tuaith casts . . . into dread, Fianaig. 12.15 . With obj. gen.: robú mór a homun lium-sa (gl. metuebam), Ml. 96a10 . ómun Dáe the fear of God, 33c7 , cf. 55c10 , Wb. 16a21 . omon Fíadat, ZCP v 499 § 4. ar ecla ┐ ar úamun Conculaind, TBC-LL¹ 1608 . cromfait a cinnu ar m'ecla ┐ ar m'uamain, 1345 . cid do chana dúib ar n-uaman-ne do beth foraib? what causes you to be afraid of us? PH 3399. tre omun fochide, Wb. 29d15 . ar ómun pían n-iffirnd, FA 33 ( LU 2282 ) = ar uamun, LB. omun báis, PH 3830. (with proleptic poss. pron.) ata a uaman oruinde co n[d]ingna sé fasach do crichaib S. we are afraid he will devastate, ZCP vi 295.8 . tig an bás . . . an tan is lugha bhíos a uamhan orra, TSh. 546. eagla Dé . . . tar omhan chréatúra, 6819 . Rarely with subj. gen.: in toirsi dorigne Ísu, noco n-ar a omun fén doróine `through fear for himself', PH 3026 . dorochar-sa fri talum for mét mo omain, 3730 . g s. (a) ermitiu omno Dáe, Ml. 128d9 . cor omna `a contract of fear' (one entered into under intimidation), Laws iv 208.32 Comm. fonascc omna, v 376.3 , cf. 186.7 . (b) boegal i n-ecmais omain daring in the absence of [cause for] fear, PH 3010 ; cf. 3730 . pl. in sense terrors, causes of fear: frisbered omnu huain, ACC 16 ( RC xx 164 ) = ómnu, LU 599 , cf. O'Dav. 1319. all fri homna, Anecd. i 68 § 155. sciath fri homna i n-ernaidhe, AFM i 524.16 (poem).
As pred., is o.¤ LA fears, is apprehensive : is omun lium-sa do chlod-sa I fear thou art vanquished, PH 1793. is omun leam-sa . . . saethar do chaithimh fria gnimradh idhul, Marco P. 1 . is omain leis a mac do facbail, Laws ii 164.22 Comm. Ml. 96a10 (quoted above). As pred., is o.¤ DO is a cause of fear to: ní húamun duit misi 'you need not fear me', FDG² 10.304 . With cop. and dat. pron.: isam ómun ar a aisnéis, LU 5349 = omun , TBC-LL¹ 873 YBL. isim omun ar in mbein `I have fear of the woman', RC xvii 132.22 , cf. MacCarthy 398.4 .
II As adj. generally as pred.
(a) afraid, apprehensive : dia mbad úamain ṁ'ḟer if my husband were a coward, TBC-LL¹ 36 = imeaclach St., omhnach Add. nibtis omain neich they feared no one, ZCP iii 38.25 .
(b) fearful, terrible : bás ┐ cach ní homain, Corm. p. 13 s.v. ceal (g s. ?). ge fuair bas tre re[i]m n-uaban `in his dread career', Celt. Rev. iv 214.6 (possibly g pl.).
Compds. Huamanchenn (npr. m.), ZCP viii 326.20 . mac Huamanchind, ib. 23 . omungnath (< gnáth `wont, habit') a state of fear? o. dorognad, Ält. Ir. Dicht. i 41 § 32 ( Rawl. 115b27 ), cf. Wortk. § 7. Marstrander RC xxxvi 339 takes the word as npr. m., comparing Smirgnath ( § 38 in same poem), Faelgnath, Domungnath, BB 158a27 .
es(s)amnae
Cite this: eDIL s.v. es(s)amnae or dil.ie/20380
Last Revised: 2019
Forms: esamni, esamni
n iā, f. (es(s)amain)
(a) boldness, confidence: ní nuae dunni ind esamnae so dit ditin-siu (gl. de protectione tua fiducia) Ml. 110d12 . a s. int [leg. inn] esamni ind firiéin dut chreitim-siu (gl. fiduciam) 'the confidence of the righteous man to believe thee', 142b2 . in n-esamni nad lugimem (gl. confidentiam non minimam) 14b10 . in esamni (gl. impudentiam) 25b9 . tre essamni cumachti through confidence of power Wb. 17a7 . d s. ní rabæ di esamni Duaid David had not the boldness Ml. 33c17 . is danatus ┐ is essamna mor do Throianaib tuidecht co Grecu, LL 399b36 = TTr.² 245 . dál fria hessamna a tryst with boldness (?) MacCongl. 95. 7 . Cf. fornes fir iar mbag esamna the declaration (i.e. test, proof) of a man (comes) after (his) vaunt of confidence (?) O'Dav. 799 = forneis iar mbagh esomna, 781 . oc esamna airbert .i. ar in airbert lasamain, 799 = oc esamain airbert, 772 . As npr. m.: Rogen mac Essamna Emna maic Blaith, ZCP viii 292.13 .
Isamnion was once linked to Rinn Seimhne, the modern Islandmagee. But scholars are now (based on their reading of Ptolemy's questionable coordinates) opting for the Cooley Peninsula (or Cooley Point) much further south. I still think Seimhne makes for an excellent relic of Isamn-. We would need to opt for Ptolemy's Logia being Carnlough and his Winderis being Glenarm. Both Isamnion and Seimhne are on the northeastern coast of Ireland. But if Seimhne is not Isamnion, the resemblance between the two headland names is still remarkable. In fact, it is downright uncanny. I feel that ignoring the apparent congruence would be to our peril.
Islandmagee, Co. Antrim, Ireland
EMAIN
Despite all other theories, there is no good reason to refuse to accept the meaning of 'Twins' for Emain Macha. Macha gives birth to two foals in her capacity as horse goddess. Their names are Fir and Fial. Fir is Irish fir, 'true', with a form firi. This is cognate with Welsh Gwri, the son of the horse-goddess Rhiannon. Rhiannon or the 'Divine Queen' is a reflection of the Regina title given to Epona. Epona is frequently depicted with either two or four horses.
The problem comes in when we ask what could such horse twins possibly have to do with Emain Ablach, the Otherworld island of apple trees? I mean, other than the fact that horses love apples!
Well, in the Welsh myth, Rhiannon becomes the wife of Manawydan son of Llyr, the counterpart of the Irish Manannan son of Lir. The sea god is himself closely associated with horses (as was his Classical counterpart, Neptune/Poseidon. Manannan's favorite horse was Enbarr, whose name (according to the eDIL) means 'foam, froth.' In this case, the foam/froth of a wave. A fitting name for the horse of the sea god. One of the gessi of Cuchulainn was that he was not to see the stud-team of Mac Lir (in AIDED CON CHULAINN). This stud-team would be two horses used to draw the god's chariot over the sea.
Poseidon was given the epithet Hippios, 'of the horses'. Pausanias describes one of his temples thusly:
Pausanias, Description of Greece 8. 10. 2 :"By the foot of the mountain [Alesion in Arkadia] is the sanctuary of Poseidon Hippios, not more than six stades distant from Mantineia. About this sanctuary I, like everyone else who has mentioned it, can write only what I have heard. The modern sanctuary was built by the Emperor Hadrian, who set overseers over the workmen, so that nobody might look into the old sanctuary, and none of the ruins be removed. He ordered them to build around the new temple. Originally, they say, this sanctuary was built for Poseidon by [the mythical brothers] Agamedes and Trophonios, who worked oak logs and fitted them together. They set up no barrier at the entrance to prevent men going inside; but they stretched across it a thread of wool. Perhaps they thought that even this would strike fear into the religious people of that time, and perhaps there was also some power in the thread. It is notorious that even [the mythical hero] Aipytos, the son of Hippothoos, entered the sanctuary neither by jumping over the thread nor by slipping under it, but by cutting it through. For this sin he was blinded by a wave that dashed on to his eyes, and forthwith his life left him. There is an old legend that a wave of sea-water rises up in the sanctuary . . . at Mantineia the sea rises after a very long distance, and quite plainly through the divine will."
For more on Poseidon's relationship to horses, see https://www.theoi.com/Cult/PoseidonCult.html.
We thus seem to have ample reason to connect Manannan with horses in general, and with two horses in the case of his chariot (see https://books.google.com/books?id=Uz1MDAAAQBAJ&pg=PT142&lpg=PT142&dq=chariots+in+the+tain+were+for+two+horses&source=bl&ots=kZ-z7MUmMY&sig=ACfU3U0mL9QPzDsTxml--77zUV_g8nvcHw&hl=en&ppis=_e&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjFtMbn2b3nAhXMIDQIHTq6AqoQ6AEwCXoECAUQAQ#v=onepage&q&f=false). The hero Cuchulainn had two supernatural horses for his chariot, one being named 'The Grey of Macha' (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liath_Macha_and_Dub_Sainglend). The 'Twins of Ablach', then, were presumably Otherworld apple trees that belonged to Manannan's divine horses. However, as with the Welsh borrowed form Afallach, Ablach could be used as a personal name in the Irish:
1 ablach
Cite this: eDIL s.v. 1 ablach or dil.ie/69
adj o, ā (aball) having apple-trees: lis a.¤ crandcaem, Acall. 2738 v.l. Usually in Emain A.¤ , a legendary island, equated by Chotzen, Études Celt. iv 255 ff. , with Avalon; see also under Emain. i mbrugh Eamhna abhlaighe (:thairrngire), DDána 120.25 . As n. pr. mad cuablaich (mocuablaigh, v.l.) a.¤ arann /mad comuirgil / muirgel manand, IT iii 34.5 (Meyer, Meyer Prim. 16.12 ). ?romarbsat i cath abla a.¤ lugach is ler . . ., LL 204b38 . A.¤ ingen Domnaill, LL 17270 . As n loc. Ablach Owley , Hog. Onom.
1 ablach
Cite this: eDIL s.v. 1 ablach or dil.ie/69
adj o, ā (aball) having apple-trees: lis a.¤ crandcaem, Acall. 2738 v.l. Usually in Emain A.¤ , a legendary island, equated by Chotzen, Études Celt. iv 255 ff. , with Avalon; see also under Emain. i mbrugh Eamhna abhlaighe (:thairrngire), DDána 120.25 . As n. pr. mad cuablaich (mocuablaigh, v.l.) a.¤ arann /mad comuirgil / muirgel manand, IT iii 34.5 (Meyer, Meyer Prim. 16.12 ). ?romarbsat i cath abla a.¤ lugach is ler . . ., LL 204b38 . A.¤ ingen Domnaill, LL 17270 . As n loc. Ablach Owley , Hog. Onom.
EMAIN ABLACH AND ARBERTH
When it comes to localizing the Irish Emain Ablach, the tradition that identifies this particular Otherworld with the Isle of Man may be correct. Manannan, due solely to his name, would naturally have been associated with the island. I have shown in my Arthurian battle researches that the Welsh Manawydan was in or on the border of Manau Gododdin when he fought at the Tribruit (North Queensferry trajectus on the Firth of Forth). Manau Gododdin has left some local place-names - Slamanann, 'the mountain of Manau', Clackmanann, 'the stone of Manau' and, possibly, Dalmeny.
However, we have no independent place-name evidence that the Isle of Man was ever called Emain Ablach.
Manawydan, the Welsh counterpart of Irish Manannan, is placed at the court of Arberth (modern Narberth) in Dyfed with the horse goddess Rhiannon (Epona Regina). Arberth is the place 'at/near/beside the perth.' Perth has an interesting etymology.
Narberth Castle, Dyfed, Wales
Here is the listing from the GPC:
[yr e. lleoedd Crn. (Pen)berth, (Pen)perth, e. tref Perth (Gael. Peart) yn yr Alban, Gwydd. C. ceirt (< *queirt) ‘pren (afalau)’: ?< Clt. *ku̯erku̯-t- (?< IE. *perku̯u- ‘derwen’, cf. Llad. quercus ‘derwen’, Sans. parkatī- ‘pren ffigys sanctaidd’, H. S. furh (> S. Diw. fir)) neu ?cf. pren, prysg]
eb. (bach. perthen, ll. perthenni) ll. perthi, perthydd, perthau.
Gwrych, clawdd, sietin; llwyn, prysglwyn, dryslwyn, draenllwyn; tir prysglwyn, cefn gwlad; jyngl; hefyd yn dros. ac yn ffig.:
hedge; (thorn-)bush, brake, thicket, copse, coppice; (the) bush, countryside; jungle; also transf. and fig.
It will be noticed that the cognate to perth in Irish is ceirt. And here is the eDIL listing for ceirt:
Cite this: eDIL s.v. 1 ceirt or dil.ie/8502
n apple-tree ; the letter q in Ogham (see Vendryes, RC xliv 313 ff. ): c.¤ .i. abhall, O'Cl. tri foilcheasta inn oghaim .i. c.¤ ┐ gedal ┐ straiph. In baile i mbi c ria n-u is queirt is scribhtha and, ut est cuileand ┐rl., Auraic. 440 . queirt dano, is o chrand rohainmnighead .i. abhull ut dicitur. clithar boaiscille .i. elit gelt cuert .i. aball, 1184 . ? Cf. bille .i. c.¤ , Corm. Y 186 .
So, in other words, from the Irish perspective, a Manawydan, i.e. Manannan, at Arberth would be the sea god 'next to the apple thicket.'
We should recall, of course, that there was a 7th century Arthur of Dyfed. He belonged to a dynasty that had been founded by the Irish Deisi. Should Arberth, then, be considered an Avalon?
COULD EMAIN ABLACH = EMAIN MACHA?
We should note in the above GPC definition "Llad. quercus ‘derwen'." This is 'Latin, quercus 'oak.'
"This letter name is undoubtedly related to Welsh perth 'bush' and cognate with Latin quercus < *kwerkw-, ultimately from the root *perkw."
At Emain Macha a huge ritual structure was made of wood, with oak posts and a large central oak trunk. It is a reasonable speculation to relate this structure (destroyed and infilled soon after its construction) to the Red Branch house of Irish legend. In any case, the two Emain localities are unique in that both seem to have something to do with sacred trees.
Emain Macha - oak/quercus
Emain Ablach - apples/ceirt
The question we should ask at this point, especially given what we've just learned about Manawydan and Rhiannon's Arberth as a possible Avalon, is whether E. Ablach and E. Macha should be identified with each other. This would have happened through a learned error, I suppose, in which a monkish scribe took the quercus of Emain Macha to be Irish ceirt, 'apple', leaving the way open for the later substitution of the word ablach.
Another strange way of looking at the word Emain is to use it in its single application. It can be 'twin', as in one of a pair. So Emain Macha could be read 'the twin of Macha', while Emain Ablach would be 'the twin of Ablach.' Macha's twin is Ablach, and Ablach's twin is Macha.
All of this is, admittedly, a bit far-fetched. But strange things happen during the creation and evolution of mythology.
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