Old Irish

Alternative forms

• eclas
• æclis
• eclis

Noun

eclais f ‎(genitive ecailse or eclaise)

1. The Christian Church, as an institution
   • c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 22^c20

     "i n-ellug inna æcaillse"

   • c. 875, Milan Glosses on the Psalms, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 7–483, Ml. 65^d5

     "rocar crist innęclais"

2. a local church or community of believers
   • c. 800, Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles, published in Thesaurus Palaeohibernicus (reprinted 1987, Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies), edited and with translations by Whitley Stokes and John Strachan, vol. I, pp. 499–712, Wb. 16^d6

     "ↄdidaccadar cach eclis" glosses ostendite in facie aeclesiarum.

3. clergy
4. a church, a building for worship

Inflection

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants

• Irish: eaglais
• Manx: agglish
• Scottish Gaelic: eaglais

References

• “eclais, eclas” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.