bodach

English

Noun

bodach (plural bodachs)

1. A trickster or bogeyman figure in Gaelic folklore.

Irish

Pronunciation

• (Munster) IPA^(key): /bˠəˈd̪ˠɑx/
• (Connacht) IPA^(key): /ˈbˠɔd̪ˠəx/
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /ˈbˠʌd̪ˠa(h)/

Etymology 1

bod (“penis”) +‎ -ach (adjectival suffix)

Adjective

bodach (genitive singular masculine bodaigh, genitive singular feminine bodaí, plural bodacha, comparative bodaí)

1. (archaic) lusty, virile

Declension

Declension of bodach

	singular		plural (m/f)
Positive	masculine	feminine	(strong noun)	(weak noun)
nominative	bodach	bhodach	bodacha; bhodacha2
vocative	bhodaigh		bodacha
genitive		bodaí	bodacha	bodach
dative	bodach; bhodach1	bhodach; bhodaigh (archaic)	bodacha; bhodacha2
Comparative	níos bodaí
Superlative	is bodaí

¹ When the preceding noun is lenited and governed by the definite article.
² When the preceding noun ends in a slender consonant.

Etymology 2

From Middle Irish botach (“serf, rustic, peasant”).

Noun

bodach m (genitive singular bodaigh, nominative plural bodaigh)

1. boor, churl, lout

   Proverb: Tabhair rogha don bhodach agus tógfaidh sé an díogha. ― Give a beggar a horse and he will ride to the devil.

2. male crab

Declension

Declension of bodach (first declension)

bare forms case singular plural nominative bodach bodaigh vocative a bhodaigh a bhodacha genitive bodaigh bodach dative bodach bodaigh forms with the definite article case singular plural nominative an bodach na bodaigh genitive an bhodaigh na mbodach dative leis an mbodach don bhodach leis na bodaigh

Derived terms

• An Bodach (“Orion”)
• bodach bóthair (“vagrant, tramp”)
• bodach buí (“pollock”)
• bodach donn, bodach rua (“cod”)
• bodach gliogair (“yellow rattle”)
• bodach gorm (“field scabious”)
• bodach mór (“ling; bigwig”)
• bodachán (“snipe; measure”)
• garbhán bodaigh (“coarse, wild, kale”)

Mutation

Mutated forms of bodach

radical	lenition	eclipsis
bodach	bhodach	mbodach

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

Further reading

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “bodach”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “botach”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Finck, F. N. (1899) Die araner mundart [The Aran Dialect] (in German), volume II, Marburg: Elwert’sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, page 47

Scots

Etymology

Borrowed from Scottish Gaelic bodach.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɔ.dəx/

Noun

bodach (plural bodachs)

1. (dialectal) old man

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From Middle Irish botach (“serf, rustic, peasant”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɔt̪əx/
• (Lewis) IPA^(key): [ˈb̥ɔ̞t̪əx]
• (Barra) IPA^(key): [ˈb̥ɔt̪ʌx]
• Hyphenation: bod‧ach

Noun

bodach m (genitive singular bodaich, plural bodaich)

1. old man

Derived terms

• Bodach na Nollaige (“Father Christmas, Santa Claus”)
• bodach ròcais (“scarecrow”)
• bodach-sneachda (“snowman”)

See also

• cailleach

Further reading

• Edward Dwelly (1911) “bodach”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary]‎^[1], 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN