ceil

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /siːl/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• Rhymes: -iːl
• Homophones: SEAL, seal

Etymology 1

Uncertain; perhaps related to Latin cēlō (“to hide”).

Alternative forms

• ciel

Verb

ceil (third-person singular simple present ceils, present participle ceiling, simple past and past participle ceiled)

1. (transitive) To line or finish (a surface, such as a wall), with plaster, stucco, thin boards, or similar.
   • 1903 June 1, W[illiam] E[dward] Burghardt Du Bois, “Of the Quest of the Golden Fleece”, in The Souls of Black Folk: Essays and Sketches, 2nd edition, Chicago, Ill.: A[lexander] C[aldwell] McClurg & Co., →OCLC, page 139:

     It is nearly always old and bare, built of rough boards, and neither plastered nor ceiled.

Derived terms

• ceiler
• ceiling

Etymology 2

Abbrevation of ceiling, influenced by French ciel

Noun

ceil (plural ceils)

1. (poetic) A ceiling.
   • 1890, Ambrose E. Pratt, Two Hundred and Fiftieth Anniversary Celebration of Sandwich and Bourne, at Sandwich, Massachusetts, September 3, 1889, page 89:

     […] The mossy sward / Beneath their feet, their carpet was, / An azure ceil, the sky above; […]

2. (mathematics) Abbreviation of ceiling.

Derived terms

• ceil function

Translations

ceiling — see ceiling

Verb

ceil (third-person singular simple present ceils, present participle ceiling, simple past and past participle ceiled)

1. (mathematics) To set a higher bound.

Anagrams

• -icle, Celi, ICLE, ILEC, Icel., ciel, lice

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish ceilid, from Proto-Celtic *keleti, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel-; compare Welsh celu, Latin cēlō, Old English helan.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /celʲ/

Verb

ceil (present analytic ceileann, future analytic ceilfidh, verbal noun ceilt, past participle ceilte) (transitive)

1. to hide, conceal

   Synonym: folaigh

2. to cover up, disguise

Conjugation

Conjugation of ceil (first conjugation – A)

verbal noun	ceilt
past participle	ceilte
tense	singular			plural			relative	autonomous
	first	second	third	first	second	third
indicative
present	ceilim	ceileann tú; ceilir†	ceileann sé, sí	ceilimid	ceileann sibh	ceileann siad; ceilid†	a cheileann; a cheileas / a gceileann*	ceiltear
past	cheil mé; cheileas	cheil tú; cheilis	cheil sé, sí	cheileamar; cheil muid	cheil sibh; cheileabhair	cheil siad; cheileadar	a cheil / ar cheil*	ceileadh
past habitual	cheilinn / gceilinn‡‡	cheilteá / gceilteᇇ	cheileadh sé, sí / gceileadh sé, s퇇	cheilimis; cheileadh muid / gceilimis‡‡; gceileadh muid‡‡	cheileadh sibh / gceileadh sibh‡‡	cheilidís; cheileadh siad / gceilidís‡‡; gceileadh siad‡‡	a cheileadh / a gceileadh*	cheiltí / gceilt퇇
future	ceilfidh mé; ceilfead	ceilfidh tú; ceilfir†	ceilfidh sé, sí	ceilfimid; ceilfidh muid	ceilfidh sibh	ceilfidh siad; ceilfid†	a cheilfidh; a cheilfeas / a gceilfidh*	ceilfear
conditional	cheilfinn / gceilfinn‡‡	cheilfeá / gceilfeᇇ	cheilfeadh sé, sí / gceilfeadh sé, s퇇	cheilfimis; cheilfeadh muid / gceilfimis‡‡; gceilfeadh muid‡‡	cheilfeadh sibh / gceilfeadh sibh‡‡	cheilfidís; cheilfeadh siad / gceilfidís‡‡; gceilfeadh siad‡‡	a cheilfeadh / a gceilfeadh*	cheilfí / gceilf퇇
subjunctive
present	go gceile mé; go gceilead†	go gceile tú; go gceilir†	go gceile sé, sí	go gceilimid; go gceile muid	go gceile sibh	go gceile siad; go gceilid†	—	go gceiltear
past	dá gceilinn	dá gceilteá	dá gceileadh sé, sí	dá gceilimis; dá gceileadh muid	dá gceileadh sibh	dá gceilidís; dá gceileadh siad	—	dá gceiltí
imperative
–	ceilim	ceil	ceileadh sé, sí	ceilimis	ceiligí; ceilidh†	ceilidís	—	ceiltear

* indirect relative
† archaic or dialect form
‡‡ dependent form used with particles that trigger eclipsis

Related terms

• ceilteach (“secretive”, adjective)

Mutation

Mutated forms of ceil

radical	lenition	eclipsis
ceil	cheil	gceil

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• Dinneen, Patrick S. (1927), “ceilim”, in Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, 2nd edition, Dublin: Irish Texts Society, page 184; reprinted with additions 1996, →ISBN
• Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “ceil”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN