oíche (Irish)
Where does "oíche" come from?
The Irish noun 'oíche', meaning 'night', 'nightfall', or 'eve', descends from the Old Irish forms 'aidche' and 'aidchi'. These terms functioned as the oblique cases of 'adaig', which is also related to the Classical Gaelic 'adhaigh'. While the ultimate origins of these words remain unknown, scholars have proposed potential links to the Latin 'āter' meaning 'dark' and the Sanskrit 'andha' meaning 'blind'.
Full etymology tree
- oíche (Irish), 'night'
- inherited aidche (Old Irish), 'genitive singular/dual/plural of adaig'
- inherited adaig (Old Irish), 'night'
- inherited *adekʷī (Proto-Celtic)
- inherited adaig (Old Irish), 'night'
- inherited aidche (Old Irish), 'genitive singular/dual/plural of adaig'
Ancestors
- aidche (Old Irish)
Cognates and doublets
- adhaigh (Classical Gaelic)
- ater (Latin)
- अन्ध (Sanskrit)
Descendants and derived words
- anoíche (Irish)
- cailleach oíche (Irish)
- meán oíche (Irish)
- Oíche Inide (Irish)
- Oíche na Gloine Briste (Irish)
- Oíche Nollag (Irish)
- Oíche Shamhna (Irish)
Updated August 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris