badhbh

• badhb, baidhbhe

From Old Irish badb (“crow, witch”).

• IPA^(key): /bˠəivˠ/

badhbh f (genitive singular baidhbhe, nominative plural badhbha)

1. war-goddess
2. hooded crow
   • between 1583 and 1591, Tadhg Dall Ó hUiginn, “Cath Droma Lighean”, in The bardic poems of Tadhg Dall Ó Huiginn‎^[1]:

     Budh iomdha ar madoin go moch/ proinn dá caitheamh go corrach;/ laoich ag ionnráithne a n-arm ngéar,/ iolgháirthe badhbh is brainéan.

     In the morn betimes/ there will be many a meal consumed without comfort,/ warriors whetting (?) their keen weapons,/ shrieks of scaldcrows and ravens.

3. vulture or other ravenous bird

   Synonyms: bultúr, garrfhiach

   • a. 1639, “Leviticus 11:14”, in Muircheartach Óg Ó Cíonga, transl., An Bíobla Naomhtha:

     An badhbh, préacháin na gcéarc do réir a chinnéil;

     and the vulture, and the kite after his kind

4. a scold or curser
5. a female fairy said to be attached to certain families and to foretell death, appearing as a hooded crow

   Synonym: bean sí

   • 1974, Béaloideas, volumes 42–47, page 99:

     ... deirtí go bhfeictí an bhadhbh i bhfoirm mná breá dathúil, gruaig fhada de dhath an óir síos go sála uirthí, i ina suí ar an gcathaoir so agus í ag cíoradh a cinn.

     ... it was said that the badhbh was seen in the shape of a fine good-looking woman with long golden hair down to her heels sitting on this chair and she combing her hair.

• badhbh chaointe (“banshee”)
• badhbh ghríofa (“griffon vulture”)
• badhbha (“martial, warlike”, adjective)

• → English: bibe

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “badhbh”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1904) “baḋḃ”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 1st edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 46
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “badb”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “badhbh”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “badhbh”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013-2024