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 ‘learning’, O.Ir. legend; Lʹɛəs, ‘to cure, healing’, M.Ir. leges. The younger people substi&shy;tute ɛə sometimes for ö̤꞉ of the older folks, as in ɛərk, ‘horn’. The word for ‘corn-crake’ occurs as trɛənə and trö̤꞉nə, Di. traona. tʹɛəm, an abbreviat&shy;ed form for ‘give me’, is commonly stated to have come in from Connaught but its develope&shy;ment is not clear and it is also found in Farney, Sg. Fearn. p. 50. By the side of tʹɛəm tαiəm is also heard. O.Ir. ia preceded by r < rʹ, Rʹ gives ö̤꞉, ɛə in rö̤꞉χtənəs, rɛəχtənəs, ‘need’; srɛən, ‘bridle’, M.Ir. srían, cp. § . The word for ‘one’, O.Ir. óin, has a variety of pronunci&shy;ations. ⅄꞉n, ö̤꞉n, i꞉n stand for ‘one’ in counting &c. whilst ɛən means ‘a single one, any’, ·ɛən ·çïN ə·wα̃꞉nʹ, ‘not a single one’, further reduced to ən, for which see §.

O.Ir. accented e + d + cons. gives ɛə in Lʹɛəb, ‘strip of cloth, land’, Di. leadhb, Macbain leòb, M.Ir. ledb; mʹɛəg, ‘whey’, M.Ir. medg; mʹɛəwə, M.Ir. Medb; bαnɛə&shy;mataχbαnɛəmαtαχ [sic], ‘house&shy;keeper’, Di. feadh&shy;mannta.

ei represents O.Ir. accented é before a palatal consonant and therefore frequent&shy;ly corres&shy;ponds to ɛə before other conso&shy;nants. Examples—bʹeilʹ, gen. sing. of bʹɛəl, ‘mouth’; bʹlʹeinʹ, ‘groin’, M.Ir. blén, but plur. bʹlʹɛəNLαχə; eilʹuw, ‘to claim’ (commonly used of animals clamour&shy;ing for food, locally ‘to crave’), M.Ir. éliugud; eirʹ, gen. sing. of ɛ꞉r, ‘air’, O.Ir. áer; eiʃkʹ, gen. sing. of iəsk, ‘fish’; eiʃtʹαχt, ‘listen’, M.Ir. éitsecht; smʹeirʹə, gen. sing. of smʹɛ꞉r, ‘black&shy;berry’; spʹeirʹ, ‘sky’, Di. spéir; ʃeidʹuw, ‘to blow’, O.Ir. sétiud; ʃLʹeivtʹə, plur. of ʃLʹiuw, ‘mountain’, O.Ir. sliab (gə Lα꞉ Nʹ tʹlʹeivə, ‘till Doomsday’, cp. Cl. S. 20 viii ’04 p. 6 col. 1).

ei may arise by contraction owing to the quiescence of inter&shy;vocalic g, d (Mod.Ir. gh, dh), e.g. in LʹeiNʹ, gen. sing. of LʹɛəN, ‘learning’, O.Ir. legend; Lʹeiʃ, gen. sing. of Lʹɛəs, ‘healing, cure’, M.Ir. leges. For Lʹeijəm, ‘I read, melt’, see §.

ei arises spo&shy;radical&shy;ly in a few cases where an accented ai, oi is followed by g, d, e.g. eirʹə, ‘ice’, bʹïrəNỹ꞉ eirʹɔgʹə, ‘icicles’, M.Ir. aigred, oigred; eirʹə, ‘heir’, Atk. oigir; seivir, ‘rich’, M.Ir. saidbir; Lʹei, ‘a leech, doctor’, plur. Lʹeiji꞉, LʹeijəNỹ꞉, O.Ir. liaig. eilʹi꞉nʹ, ‘a brood of chickens’, and eilʹɔg, ‘a young chicken’, are al&shy;together anomalous. They are perhaps due to confusion between α꞉l, ‘litter’ and eirʹɔg, ‘a pullet’, Di. éireog, M.Ir. eirin.