''Dictionary of the Irish Language: Based Mainly on Old and Middle Irish Materials'' (also called "the DIL"), published by the
Royal Irish Academy
The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier learned society and one its leading cultural i ...
, is the definitive
dictionary of the origins of the
Irish language
Irish (an Caighdeán Oifigiúil, Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic languages, Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European lang ...
, specifically the
Old Irish
Old Irish, also called Old Gaelic ( sga, Goídelc, Ogham script: ᚌᚑᚔᚇᚓᚂᚉ; ga, Sean-Ghaeilge; gd, Seann-Ghàidhlig; gv, Shenn Yernish or ), is the oldest form of the Goidelic/Gaelic language for which there are extensive writte ...
,
Middle Irish
Middle Irish, sometimes called Middle Gaelic ( ga, An Mheán-Ghaeilge, gd, Meadhan-Ghàidhlig), is the Goidelic language which was spoken in Ireland, most of Scotland and the Isle of Man from AD; it is therefore a contemporary of late Old Eng ...
, and
Early Modern Irish
Early Modern Irish ( ga, Gaeilge Chlasaiceach, , Classical Irish) represented a transition between Middle Irish and Modern Irish. Its literary form, Classical Gaelic, was used in Ireland and Scotland from the 13th to the 18th century.
External ...
stages up to c. 1700; the modern language is not included. The original idea for a comprehensive dictionary of early Irish was conceived in 1852 by the two preeminent Irish linguists of the time,
John O'Donovan John O'Donovan may refer to:
*John O'Donovan (scholar) (1806–1861), Irish language scholar and place-name expert
*John O'Donovan (politician) (1908–1982), Irish TD and Senator
*John O'Donovan (police commissioner) (1858–1927), New Zealand pol ...
and
Eugene O'Curry; however, it was more than sixty years until the first
fascicle (the letter D as far as the word , compiled by
Carl J. S. Marstrander) was published in 1913. It was more than sixty years again until the final fascicle (only one page long and consisting of words beginning with H) was published in 1976 under the editorship of
E. G. Quin
E is the fifth letter of the Latin alphabet.
E or e may also refer to:
Commerce and transportation
* €, the symbol for the euro, the European Union's standard currency unit
* ℮, the estimated si