ACADEMY OF SAINT GABRIEL REPORT 1387 http://www.s-gabriel.org/1387 ************************************ 12 Nov 1998 From: (Josh Mittleman) Greetings from the Academy of Saint Gabriel! You asked for help choosing an Old Irish name appropriate for a man living between 500 and 800 that sounds similar to and has a positive meaning, and you wondered if the word "blessing" would do the trick. This letter is a brief answer to your question. The Irish word was borrowed from Latin ; one early form is , probably pronounced something like \BEN-dahkht\ or \BEN-ahkht\, with the \E\ sounding more like the vowel in than the one in . \kh\ represents the rasping sound in the Scottish word or the German [1, 2]. However, a common word isn't a name. Normal words were not used as names in most medieval languages, including Old Irish. We strongly recommend that you not use as a name. The most similar name we found is , the name of one a disciple of Saint Patrick. It derives from the Latin name , which itself derives from the word for "benign". It is pronounced \BEN-ane\ [3]. The slash is the name represents an accent on the previous letter. We hope this brief letter has been useful. Please write us again if you have any questions. I was assisted in researching and writing this letter by Talan Gwynek. For the Academy, Arval Benicoeur 12 Nov 1998 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - References [1] Royal Irish Academy, _Dictionary of the Irish Language: based mainly on Old and Middle Irish materials_ (Dublin : Royal Irish Academy, 1983), s.v. bennacht. [2] Thurneysen, Rudolf, _A Grammar of Old Irish_, trans. by D.A. Binchy & Osborn Bergin (Dublin: The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1975), sect. 727. [3] O/ Corra/in, Donnchadh and Fidelma Maguire, _Irish Names_ (Dublin: The Lilliput Press, 1990).