bith-

See also: bith, bìth, bíth, bið, and biþ

Irish

Alternative forms

• bi- (before a slender T)
• bio- (before a broad T)
• bioth- (before a broad vowel or consonant other than T)

Etymology 1

From Old Irish bith-, from bith (“world, existence”).

Prefix

bith-

1. ever-, constant

Derived terms

Irish terms prefixed with bith- (ever)

Etymology 2

Prefix

bith-

1. (biology) Combining form of beatha (“life”): bio-

Derived terms

Irish terms prefixed with bith- (bio-)

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
bith-	bhith-	mbith-
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “bith-”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN

Old Irish

Alternative forms

• bid- (especially in the Würzburg glosses)

Etymology

From bith (“world, existence”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [bʲiθ]

Prefix

bith-

1. ever-, constant
   • c. 850, Carlsruhe Glosses on St Augustine’s Soliloquia, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. 2, pp. 1–9, Acr. 1^a3

     fírinne apostolorum et omnium iustorum bith-ingabál mundo

     the righteousness of the apostles and all just people is a perpetual reproach to the world

Derived terms

Category Old Irish terms prefixed with bith- not found

Mutation

Old Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Nasalization
bith-	bith- pronounced with /β(ʲ)-/	mbith-
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “1 bith”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language