Oicheil

Oicheil is a term that appears in a limited set of Gaelic-language texts, but its exact meaning and use are not well established in standard references. In contemporary Gaelic, the common word for “night” is oíche in Irish and oidhche in Scottish Gaelic, whereas oicheil does not form part of everyday vocabulary.

Etymology and interpretation are uncertain. The form oicheil resembles the Irish oíche (“night”) with a derivational suffix, and some scholars have suggested a historical link to oíche. However, there is no widely accepted or well-documented etymology, and attestations of oicheil remain scarce.

Usage and context are similarly limited. When oicheil does appear, it is typically in older or literary texts and is more likely to be encountered as a poetic or archaic noun or as a proper name rather than as a common lexical item. It may also surface in place names or family names in certain Gaelic-speaking regions, though such occurrences are uncommon.

Because reliable, comprehensive information on oicheil is lacking, this article remains a concise stub. Readers seeking a precise definition or historical attestations should consult specialized Gaelic dictionaries, etymological studies, or historical manuscripts for specific examples and scholarly discussion. Related terms include oíche, the standard Irish word for night, and oidhche, the corresponding term in Scottish Gaelic, which provide the familiar baseline for comparison.