ró-

See also: Appendix:Variations of "ro"

Irish

Alternative forms

• ro- (Cois Fharraige)

Etymology

From Old Irish ro-, from Proto-Celtic *ɸro-, from Proto-Indo-European *per-. Cognate of Welsh rhy-, Old Breton ro- (Breton re-); cognate of English fore, Latin prō. Compare Scottish Gaelic rò-.

Pronunciation

• (Munster, Connacht) IPA^(key): /ɾˠoː/
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /ɾˠɔː/

Prefix

ró-

1. (with adjective) too, overly
2. (with adjective) very (in a negative way)
3. (with verb) over-
4. (with noun) excessive

Usage notes

• This affix is used adverbially before adjectives to indicate excess; it is followed by a hyphen for words beginning with a vowel and triggers lenition in words beginning in a consonant:

  rómhilis ― too sweet

  ró-ársa ― too old

  róthirim ― too dry

  róbheag ― very small, too small

Derived terms

Irish terms prefixed with ró-

References

• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “2 ro (‘very’)”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Gregory Toner, Sharon Arbuthnot, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Marie-Luise Theuerkauf, Dagmar Wodtko, editors (2019), “1 ró (‘too much’)”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1904) “ró-”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 1st edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 574
• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “ró-”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN