ail

See also: ail-, -ail, àil, áil, -áil, and Äil

English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

(UK, US) IPA^(key): /eɪl/
Audio (Southern England) (file)
Rhymes: -eɪl
Homophone: ale

Etymology 1[edit]

From Middle English eilen, from Old English eġlan, eġlian (“to trouble, afflict”), from Proto-West Germanic *aglijan, from Proto-Germanic *aglijaną (“to trouble, vex”), cognate with Gothic 𐌰𐌲𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (agljan, “to distress”).

Verb[edit]

ail (third-person singular simple present ails, present participle ailing, simple past and past participle ailed)

(transitive) To cause to suffer; to trouble, afflict. (Now chiefly in interrogative or indefinite constructions.)
Have some chicken soup. It's good for what ails you.
- 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 21:17:
  What aileth thee, Hagar?
- 2011, “Connubial bliss in America”, in The Economist:
  Not content with having in 1996 put a Defence of Marriage Act (DOMA) on the statue book, Congress has now begun to hold hearings on a Respect for Marriage Act. Defended, respected: what could possibly ail marriage in America?
(intransitive) To be ill; to suffer; to be troubled.
- 1740, Samuel Richardson, Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded:
  When he ails ever so little […] he is so peevish.

Quotations[edit]

For quotations using this term, see Citations:ail.

Derived terms[edit]

ailsome

Translations[edit]

to cause to suffer

Arabic: عَذَّبَ (ʕaḏḏaba)
Bulgarian: боли (bg) (boli), безпокои (bg) (bezpokoi)
Czech: trápit (cs) impf
Dutch: schelen (nl), mankeren (nl)
Finnish: vaivata (fi)
French: manquer (fr), faillir (fr)
German: weh tun (de), plagen (de)
Italian: affliggere (it)
Portuguese: afligir (pt)
Russian: трево́жить (ru) (trevóžitʹ), беспоко́ить (ru) (bespokóitʹ)
Slovak: trápiť impf
Spanish: aquejar (es), afligir (es)

to be ill

Bulgarian: болен съм (bolen sǎm), неразположен съм (nerazpoložen sǎm)
Dutch: ziek zijn, iets mankeren, sukkelen (nl)
Finnish: sairastaa (fi)
French: être malade, souffrir (fr)
German: kränklich sein, leiden (de), krank sein, kränkeln (de)
Gothic: 𐍃𐌹𐌿𐌺𐌰𐌽 (siukan)
Greek:
Ancient: νοσέω (noséō)
Latvian: sirgt (lv)
Portuguese: estar doente/aflito
Romanian: a boli impf
Russian: боле́ть (ru) (bolétʹ), недомога́ть (ru) (nedomogátʹ)
Spanish: padecer (es), adolecer (es)

Noun[edit]

ail (plural ails)

(obsolete) An ailment; trouble; illness.

Translations[edit]

An ailment; trouble; illness

Bulgarian: болка (bg) (bolka), болест (bg) (bolest)
Finnish: vaiva (fi)
German: Krankheit (de) f, Leiden (de) n
Latvian: liga (lv) f
Spanish: enfermedad (es) f

Etymology 2[edit]

From Middle English eyle, eile, from Old English eġle (“hideous, loathsome, hateful, horrid, troublesome, grievous, painful”). Cognate with Gothic 𐌰𐌲𐌻𐌿𐍃 (aglus, “hard, difficult”).

Adjective[edit]

ail (comparative ailer or more ail, superlative ailest or most ail)

(obsolete) Painful; troublesome.

Etymology 3[edit]

From Middle English eile, eyle, eiȝle, from Old English eġl (“an ail; awn; beard of barley; mote”), from Proto-Germanic *agilō (“awn”), related to *ahaz (“ear (of grain)”).^[1] Cognate with German Achel, Egel, Ägel.

Alternative forms[edit]

ile

Noun[edit]

ail (plural ails)

The awn of barley or other types of corn.

References[edit]

^ Friedrich Kluge (1883) “Achel”, in John Francis Davis, transl., Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, published 1891

Anagrams[edit]

-ial, Ali, IAL, LIA, Lai, ali-, lai

Dalmatian[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

alj, agl, aill

Etymology[edit]

From Latin allium.

Noun[edit]

ail

(Vegliot) garlic

References[edit]

Ive, A. (1886) “L'antico dialetto di Veglia [The old dialect of Veglia]”, in G. I. Ascoli, editor, Archivio glottologico italiano [Italian linguistic archive], volume 9, Rome: E. Loescher, pages 115–187

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Inherited from Old French, from Latin allium.

Pronunciation[edit]

IPA^(key): /aj/
Audio (Paris) (file)
Audio (file)
Homophones: aïe, aille, ailles, aillent, ails

Noun[edit]

ail m (plural ails or aulx)

garlic

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

Haitian Creole: lay (from l’ail)
Mauritian Creole: lay (from l’ail)
Moore: lay (from l’ail)

Anagrams[edit]

lai, lia

Irish[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

oil

Etymology[edit]

From Old Irish ail (“boulder, rock”), from Proto-Celtic *ɸales-, from Proto-Indo-European *pelis-, *pels- (“stone”).^[1]

Pronunciation[edit]

IPA^(key): /alʲ/

Noun[edit]

ail f (genitive singular aileach, nominative plural aileacha or ailche)

stone, rock

Declension[edit]

Declension of ail

Fifth declension

Bare forms

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	ail	aileacha
Vocative	a ail	a aileacha
Genitive	aileach	aileacha
Dative	ail	aileacha

Forms with the definite article

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	an ail	na haileacha
Genitive	na haileach	na n-aileacha
Dative	leis an ail don ail	leis na haileacha

Archaic plural: ailche

Derived terms[edit]

ail leachta, ail in úir (“headstone, monument”)

Related terms[edit]

aill
ailt

Mutation[edit]

Irish mutation
Radical	Eclipsis	with h-prothesis	with t-prothesis
ail	n-ail	hail	not applicable
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References[edit]

^ Matasović, Ranko (2009) “*fales-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 120

Middle English[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Noun[edit]

ail

Alternative form of ale (“beer”)

Etymology 2[edit]

Noun[edit]

ail

Alternative form of hayle (“hail”)

Norman[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old French, from Latin allium.

Noun[edit]

ail m (uncountable)

(Jersey) garlic

Old Irish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

IPA^(key): /alʲ/

Etymology 1[edit]

Possibly from Proto-Celtic *ɸalos, from Proto-Indo-European *pels-, *pelis- (“rock, cliff”), see also German Fels (“rock”).^[1]

The declension was not stable at the start of the Old Irish period, with a shift from an i-stem declension to a k-stem declension ongoing.

Noun[edit]

ail f (genitive ailech, nominative plural ailich)

Inflection[edit]

Feminine i-stem
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ail	ail^L	aili^H
Vocative	ail	ail^L	aili^H
Accusative	ail^N	ail^L	aili^H
Genitive	alo^H, ala^H	alo^H, ala^H	aile^N
Dative	ail^L	ailib	ailib
Initial mutations of a following adjective: ^H = triggers aspiration ^L = triggers lenition ^N = triggers nasalization

Feminine k-stem
	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ail	ailich^L	ailich
Vocative	ail	ailich^L	ailchea
Accusative	ailich^N	ailich^L	ailchea
Genitive	ailech	ailech	ailech^N
Dative	ailich^L	ailchib	ailchib
Initial mutations of a following adjective: ^H = triggers aspiration ^L = triggers lenition ^N = triggers nasalization

Descendants[edit]

Middle Irish: ail
- Irish: ail

Mutation[edit]

Old Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Nasalization
ail	unchanged	n-ail
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Etymology 2[edit]

Verb[edit]

·ail

third-person singular present indicative conjunct of ailid

Mutation[edit]

Old Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Nasalization
·ail	unchanged	·n-ail
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References[edit]

^ Matasović, Ranko (2009) “*fales-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 120

Scots[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English eilen, from Old English eġlan, eġlian (“to trouble, afflict”), from Proto-West Germanic *aglijan.

Pronunciation[edit]

IPA^(key): /eːl/

Verb[edit]

ail (third-person singular simple present ails, present participle ailin, simple past ailt, past participle ailt)

to trouble, afflict (of body or mind)
to hinder, prevent
to be ill

References[edit]

“ail, v.” in the Dictionary of the Scots Language, Edinburgh: Scottish Language Dictionaries.

Welsh[edit]

**Welsh numbers ^(edit)**
	20
← 1	2	3 → ^{[a], [b]}
Cardinal (masculine): dau Cardinal (feminine): dwy Ordinal: ail, eilfed Ordinal abbreviation: 2il Adverbial: dwywaith Multiplier: dwbl
Welsh Wikipedia article on 2

Alternative forms[edit]

2il (abbreviation)

Etymology[edit]

From Middle Welsh eil, from Proto-Brythonic *ėl, from Proto-Celtic *alyos, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂élyos (“other”).

Pronunciation[edit]

IPA^(key): /ai̯l/
Audio (file)
Homophone: ael (“eyebrow”) (South Wales)
Rhymes: -ai̯l

Adjective[edit]

ail (feminine singular ail, plural ail, not comparable) (precedes the noun, triggers soft mutation of all nouns)

(ordinal number) second
Synonym: eilfed

yr ail lawr ― the second floor

Derived terms[edit]

ail- (“re-”), eil- (“re-”)
eiliad (“a second”)
eilrif (“even number”)
heb ail (“second to none”)

Mutation[edit]

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	h-prothesis
ail	unchanged	unchanged	hail
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

[1] Friedrich Kluge (1883) “Achel”, in John Francis Davis, transl., Etymological Dictionary of the German Language, published 1891

[2] Matasović, Ranko (2009) “*fales-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 120

[3] Matasović, Ranko (2009) “*fales-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 120

[1]

[1]

[1]

ail

English[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Verb[edit]

Quotations[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Translations[edit]

Noun[edit]

Translations[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Adjective[edit]

Etymology 3[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Noun[edit]

References[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Dalmatian[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Noun[edit]

References[edit]

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Anagrams[edit]

Irish[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

Declension[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Mutation[edit]

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Middle English[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Noun[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Noun[edit]

Norman[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Noun[edit]

Old Irish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Noun[edit]

Inflection[edit]

Descendants[edit]

Mutation[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Verb[edit]

Mutation[edit]

References[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Scots[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

References[edit]

Welsh[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Mutation[edit]

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