beag

Learned borrowing from Old English bēag (“circular jewelry worn on the body: ring, armlet, crown, collar”), from Proto-West Germanic *baug, from Proto-Germanic *baugaz, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰewgʰ- (“to bend”). Cognate with dialectal German Baug (“ring, collar”), Icelandic baugur (“ring, circle”). Doublet of bee (“ring”). Related to bagel.

beag (plural beags)

1. (historical) A ring.
   • 1878, The Numismatic chronicle and journal of the Numismatic Society, Great Britain: Royal Numismatic Society:

     It was a mark of nobility among the German races — by some considered the origin of our coronets — and had even about it a quasi-religious character in memory of the "holy beag" (holy ring), the oath upon which was tantamount to the oath upon Thorr's hammer.

   • 1970, William A. Chaney, The cult of kingship in Anglo-Saxon England:

     [...] and the description of that monarch in his anonymous Vita as coronatus lauro probably indicates a beag which was lighter than the formal diadema.

• Bega, EGBA, Egba, Gabe, bega

From Old Irish bec (“small, little”)^[1] (compare Manx beg, Scottish Gaelic beag), from Proto-Celtic *biggos (“small”) (compare Breton bihan and Welsh bach, bychan).

• (Munster, Connacht) IPA^(key): /bʲɞɡ/^[2][3]
• (Ulster) IPA^(key): /bʲɨ̞ɡ/^[4]

beag (genitive singular masculine big, genitive singular feminine bige, plural beaga, comparative lú)

1. small, little
   1. (size, amount, extent, degree)
   2. junior, lesser, minor
   3. (hypocoristic)
   4. (deprecatory)
   5. (of late, recent, time)
2. few (with singular or plural noun)

   Is beag áit is deise.

   There are few places that are nicer.

   le blianta beaga anuas

   for the past few years

beag m (genitive singular big, nominative plural beaganna)

1. little; small amount
2. (with copula) few

• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “beag”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
• de Bhaldraithe, Tomás (1959) “beag”, in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm
• “beag”, in New English-Irish Dictionary, Foras na Gaeilge, 2013-2024

• bēah

From Proto-West Germanic *baug, from Proto-Germanic *baugaz, derived from *beuganą (“to bend”). Cognate with Old Frisian bāg, Old Saxon bōg, Old High German boug, and Old Norse baugr.

• IPA^(key): /bæ͜ɑːɡ/, [bæ͜ɑːɣ]

bēag m

1. circular object worn on the body, especially one made of gold or silver: ring, armlet, crown, collar, torque
   • c. 897, King Alfred's translation of Pope Gregory's Pastoral Care

     Sē þe ūs ġehǣlþ fram þām stiċe ūrra synna, hē ġeþafode þæt him man sette þyrnenne bēag on þæt hēafod.

     The person who heals us from the stabs of our sins allowed a crown of thorns to be placed on his head.

   • Late 10th century, Ælfric, the Old English Hexateuch, Genesis 38:18

     Þā cwæþ Iūdas, "Hwæt wilt þū tō underwedde niman?" Þā cwæþ hēo, "Þīnne hring and þīnne bēag and þīnne stæf þe þū on handa hæfst."

     Judah asked, "What do you want to take as a pledge?" She said, "Your ring and your armlet and your staff that you have in your hand."

• Since Proto-Germanic times, different kinds of bēag were often disambiguated with compounds: earmbēag (“armlet”), hēafodbēag (“crown”), swēorbēag (“collar”). *Fingerbēag is not attested and may not have existed, perhaps because hring was already a specific word for "ring."

• During the 10th century, cynehelm begins to become the normal word for "crown."

Strong a-stem:

• Middle English: beigh, beiȝ, bē, biȝ, by
  • English: bee
• → English: beag (learned)

From Old Irish bec (“small, little”)^[1] (compare Manx beg, Irish beag), from Proto-Celtic *biggos (“small”) (compare Breton bic’han and Welsh bach, bychan).

• IPA^(key): /b̥ek/
• (Lewis) IPA^(key): /b̥ɤk/^[2]
• (Barra) IPA^(key): [b̥e̠k]^[3]

beag (genitive singular masculine big, genitive singular feminine bige, nominative plural beaga, comparative bige or lugha)

1. small, little, short, diminutive

   duine beag ― a small man

   ùine bheag ― a short time

2. disagreeable

   Is beag orm thu. ― I hate you. (literally, “You are disagreeable to me.”)

3. light, trifling, insignificant

   Is beag seo. ― This is a trifling thing.

4. young

   na sionnaich bheaga ― the young foxes

5. sordid, miserly, niggardly

   Is beag sin de Ghàidhlig. ― That is a poor sort of Gaelic.

   Tha e fìor bheag 'n a nàdar. ― He has a very niggardly disposition.

• bìodach
• mean
• meanbh
• mion

• Edward Dwelly (1911) “beag”, in Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan [The Illustrated Gaelic–English Dictionary]‎^[2], 10th edition, Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, →ISBN
• MacLennan, Malcolm (1925) A Pronouncing and Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language, Edinburgh: J. Grant, →OCLC