Gadhelic, a. and n.
(gəˈdɛlɪk)
Also 8 Gaedhlic, 9 Gaedhlic: cf. Goidelic.
[Literary formations from Ir. Gaedheal, pl. Gaedhil, OIr. Gáidel, Góidel, pl. Gáidil, Góidil, the original form of Gael.]
= Gaelic, in uses other than the customary application to the Gaels of Scotland.
The forms Gadhelic and Goidelic are used by modern philologists for ‘pertaining to the Gaels (in the widest sense)’; the earlier forms, now obsolete, are in our quots. used for ‘Irish Gaelic’.
| 1796 Morse Amer. Geog. II. 183 The Gaedhlic, or Scottic, the purest and most ancient of all the Celtic dialects. 1861 E. O'Curry Lect. MS. Mat. 3 Ample materials still remain in the Gaedhlic or Irish language. 1865 Athenæum No. 960. 687/2 The Gadhelic and the Cymric were used in Gaul. 1875 Whitney Life Lang. x. 183 The Gadhelic group includes the Irish. |