faoin

Irish

Alternative forms

• fán, fá’n (Ulster)
• faoi’n (superseded)
• fén, fé’n (Munster)
• fón, fó’n (Munster)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fˠiːnʲ/

Contraction

faoin

1. Contraction of faoi an.

   under the

   about the

Usage notes

Depending on dialect, triggers either lenition or eclipsis of the following consonant (except d, s, t):

• faoin fhuinneog/bhfuinneog

  under the window

Related terms

Irish preposition contractions

Basic form	Contracted with							Copular forms
	an (“the sg”)	na (“the pl”)	mo (“my”)	do (“your”)	a (“his, her, their; which (present)”)	ár (“our”)	ar (“which (past)”)	(before consonant)	(present/future before vowel)	(past/conditional before vowel)
de (“from”)	den	de na desna*	de mo dem*	de do ded*, det*	dá	dár		dar	darb	darbh
do (“to, for”)	don	do na dosna*	do mo dom*	do do dod*, dot*	dá	dár		dar	darb	darbh
faoi (“under, about”)	faoin	faoi na	faoi mo	faoi do	faoina	faoinár	faoinar		faoinarb	faoinarbh
i (“in”)	sa, san	sna	i mo im*	i do id*, it*	ina	inár	inar		inarb	inarbh
le (“with”)	leis an	leis na	le mo lem*	le do led*, let*	lena	lenár	lenar		lenarb	lenarbh
ó (“from, since”)	ón	ó na ósna*	ó mo óm*	ó do ód*, ót*	óna	ónár	ónar		ónarb	ónarbh
trí (“through”)	tríd an	trí na	trí mo	trí do	trína	trínár	trínar		trínarb	trínarbh
*Dialectal.

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Middle Irish fáen.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɯːɲ/

Adjective

faoin (comparative faoine)

1. silly, foolish, daft, inane, naive
2. futile, vain
3. frivolous, giddy
4. superficial, shallow, vacuous

References

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