Irish

Suffix

-áil

1. suffix used to form verbal nouns

   fáil, formerly spelled fagháil, verbal noun of faigh ‎(“to get”)

   gabháil, verbal noun of gabh ‎(“to take”)

2. suffix used productively to form denominative verbs and their associated verbal nouns

   iarann ‎(“iron”) + ‎-áil → ‎iarnáil ‎(“to iron”)

   spág ‎(“a big, clumsy foot”) + ‎-áil → ‎spágáil ‎(“to shamble, trudge”)

Usage notes

This suffix is particularly common with English loanwords. The Irish-language poet Cathal Ó Searcaigh in his poem "Cainteoir Dúchais" (published 1997 in the collection Out in the Open) uses the following verbs:

• hoovereáil — to hoover
• jeyes-fluideáil — to disinfect with Jeyes Fluid
• harpickeáil — to clean with Harpic
• vimeáil — to clean with Vim
• flasháil — to clean with Flash
• windoleneáil — to clean with Windolene
• eau-de-cologneáil — to apply eau de Cologne to
• shagáilte — shagged out
• cruiseáil — to cruise

Derived terms