dà

a Two, In counting in Gaelic, for 1, 2, 3, &c, it is usual to say, a h-aon, a dhà, a trì, &c. [Dà aspirates a noun following, as, dà dhuine, two men; dà thaigh, two houses; dà shaighdear, two soldiers. Dà governs a noun following it in the dat. sing and the adjective qualifying that noun in the n. sing fem. The dative so-called is really the accusative of the old dual number in such an expression as, chunnaic mi dà chloich, I saw two stones, and dà properly speaking has no governing influence. The nom. dual fem. was like the dative singular and the genitive dual was like the genitive singular. For all practical modern purposes, however, it will be easiest for beginners to follow the rule as usually expressed and put a noun following dà in the dat. sing and its qualifying adjective in the nom. sing fem. Dà mhnaoi (better dithis bhan) two women; dà sheachdain, two weeks; dà chaol-chù, two gaunt hounds; có an dà lunndaire mhór seo? who are these two great loons; dà fhear dheug is pìobaire, twelve men and a piper (Here deug is an adj. to fear); an dà mhnaoi mhór, the two big women, This curious government gives way upon occasion, when other influences are too powerful, as, buinn mo dhà bhròige, the soles of my two shoes; ruith coin an dà fhéidh, the running of the dog of the two deer — said of people with divided aims; rudha nan dà ghleann deug, the promontory of the twelve glens; is e coslas dà bhean-uasal a tha ann, it seems to be two ladies; is duine còir fear dà bhò, the man who has two cows is a decent man. When used absolutely, e.g. without a noun, dà becomes a dhà, as, tha a dhà agam, I have two; a-nuas a dhà dhiubh, bring down two of them. When combining with deug, ten and no noun being expressed, it is both aspirated and aspirating, as, aon bhò a bhriseas an gàradh agus a dhà dheug a leumas, one cow breaks the dyke and a dozen leap it. When used to express multiplicity, a dhà uiread agus, twice as much as, is said; (here the a and the aspirate in dhà are the sign of the old possessive masculine or neuter, used proleptically. The literal meaning, therefore, is, its twice as much as).

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