A question from a student:

"Ceann" is one of the words I've been struggling with getting a handle on (along with "cuir," which seems to mean just about everything in some context).

Most recently, one of my vocabulary terms was:

oíche chinn bliana: New Year's Eve

"Chinn" there seems to be a séimhiú'd genitive of "ceann". Ó Dónaill does have an entry that seems relevant, but I can't parse the entry itself:



Does that mean that "oíche chinn" is another way of saying "eve"--so "oíche chinn Nollaig" would mean Christmas Eve? If so, why and how does this relate to heads or headship--or is it just what it is?

Or is the "ceann" more literal--is it the eve (oíche) of the beginning (head) of the year?

GRMA in advance, and any useful materials on ceann or cuir would be most welcome.

ceann means "end" here: lá cinn bhliana = last day of year,
Ceann, "end", doesn't mean really "last" but can refer to the beginning, as well (see also: idir dhá cheann an lae, from morning till night, lit. between both ends of the day), so oíche chinn = eve,
oíche chinn féile = eve of festival, Oíche Chinn Bliana = New Year's Eve

There's lá cinn an dá lá dhéag (= 6 Eanáir) and oíche chinn an dá lá dhéag (the night before Epiphany).

But, except for that, it is usually confined to New Year's Eve. So, you don't say "oíche chinn Nollag".

(difference in lenition: [lá [cinn bhliana]] "day of year's end" vs. [[oíche chinn] bliana] "end-night of year")