An adjectival construction indicating lesser degree in early modern Irish

Abstract

Abstract:In English, lesser degree is expressed by a periphrastic construction: in the comparative, adverbial ‘less’ precedes the adjective (‘less successful’); in the superlative, ‘least’ takes the place of ‘less’ (‘least successful’). This note draws attention to an adjectival construction in Late Middle and Early Modern Irish—the use of comparative/superlative forms of non-stable compounds in neamh- —and argues that this construction was used to convey lesser degree.