TORTHAÍ
IN FOCLÓIR GAEILGE—BÉARLA
fáth1, m. (gs. ~a, pl. ~anna).1. Cause, reason. ~ a bheith agat le rud, to have a reason for sth. ~ a dhéanta, the reason for doing it. Is é ~ mo bhuartha (go), the cause of my sorrow is (that). Cén ~? For what reason? Why? Fios ~a ruda a fháil, to ascertain the cause of, get to the bottom of, sth. Tá fios ~a an scéil anois agat, you now have the ins and outs of the story. ~ a chur le rud, to give a reason, an explanation, for sth. Dá mbeadh ~ ar bith leis, if there were any cause for it. Gan ~, without cause, needlessly. Agus ní gan ~, and not without reason. Gan ~ gan ábhar, for no reason at all. Níl ~ cainte air, there is no need to discuss it. 2. (In phrases) (a)Rud a chur i bh~ ar dhuine, to impress sth. on s.o.; to admonish s.o. about sth. Ní chuirim i bh~ é, I take no account of it, do not consider it important. Tú féin a chur i bh~, to make oneself clear, to assert oneself. (b)I bh~ le = i bhfách le :fách.
fáth-2, pref. Mystic, figurative; wise, witty.
ABAIRTÍ
IN FOCLÓIR GAEILGE—BÉARLA
Gan fáth gan ~, for no reason whatever.
Bhunaigh sé fáth a theachta, he set out the reason for his coming.
Cén fáth? For what reason? Why?
~ ar bith cén fáth a bhí aige leis, whatever reason he had for it.
Fáth ~, another, an additional, reason.
Dá bhfaighfí fios fátha an scéil, if the ins and outs of the story could be ascertained.
Fáth mo scartha leo, the reason why I parted from them.
Ná ~ ainm Dé gan fáth, don’t take God’s name in vain.
An fáth ~ a ndearna é, the reason why he did it.