bith

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

Dinka

Noun

bith (plural biith)

fishing spear
Synonym: biɛnh

Derived terms

bɛ̈ny bith (“spear-chief”)
ubith (“fishhook”)

References

Roger Blench (2005) Dinka-English Dictionary‎^[1], page 29

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish bith, from Proto-Celtic *bitus (compare Welsh byd).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /bʲɪh/, /bʲɪ/

Noun

bith m (genitive singular beatha)

(literary) world

Declension

Declension of bith (third declension, no plural)

bare forms
	singular
nominative	bith
vocative	a bhith
genitive	beatha
dative	bith

forms with the definite article
	singular
nominative	an bith
genitive	an bheatha
dative	leis an mbith don bhith

Derived terms

ar bith (“any, at all”)

Mutation

Mutated forms of *bith*
radical	lenition	eclipsis
bith	bhith	mbith

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Middle English

Alternative forms

biþ, beth, bis, bes

Etymology

From Old English biþ, third-person present singular of bēon (“to be”), from Proto-Germanic *biuþi, third-person present singular of *beuną (“to be, become”).

Verb

bith

third-person singular present indicative of been

Usage notes

This form is less common than is except in southern dialects.

Descendants

English: bes, beeth (now obsolete or dialectal)
Fingallian: bes
Yola: beeth

Old Irish

Etymology 1

From Proto-Celtic *bitus (compare Welsh byd).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /bʲiθ/

Noun

bith m (genitive betho or betha, nominative plural betha)

world
- c. 800–825, Diarmait, Milan Glosses on the Psalms, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 7–483, Ml. 68^b9
  cia beith ar n‑acathar nech inna rétu inducbaidi in betha so, arnach·corathar i mmoth ⁊ machthad dia seirc ⁊ dia n‑accubur
  though it be that someone sees the glorious things of this world, that he may not be put in stupor and admiration by love for them and by desire for them

Declension

Masculine u-stem
	singular	dual	plural
nominative	bith	bith^L	betha^H
vocative	bith	bith^L	bethu
accusative	bith^N	bith^L	bethu
genitive	betho^H, betha^H	betho^L, betha^L	bethae^N
dative	biuth^L	bethaib	bethaib

Initial mutations of a following adjective:

^H = triggers aspiration
^L = triggers lenition
^N = triggers nasalization

Descendants

Irish: bith
→? Middle Welsh: byth
- Welsh: byth

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /bʲiθʲ/

Verb

bith

inflection of is:
1. third-person singular past subjunctive
2. third-person singular future

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /bʲiːθʲ/

Verb

bith

alternative spelling of bíth

Mutation

Mutation of *bith*
radical	lenition	nasalization
bith	bith pronounced with /βʲ-/	mbith

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in Old Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.