adj (cumacht) I
powerless:
écmacht arindí nád cumaing
maith do denom (gl. nequam)
Sg. 50a14
. Cf.
is ed nuall
n-ecmacht annsin la Feine, bruidhem im a cuirm, ilach iar
mbuadugad do memraib flatha,
Laws v 358.4
(nuall n-e.¤
shouting without power i.e. empty or idle noise?). Cf. the
people-name pn
Fir Ool n-écmacht
men of weak liquor(?):
do
feraib Ool n-ecmacht do suidib,
Rawl. 118b7
.
co firu Ol
n-ecmacht
,
142b20
.
149b23
. See
Heldensage 76
.
II In an obj. sense
impossible, that which is not feasible:
is écmacht doib denum neich condegar cuccu it is impossible
for them to do what is asked of them (gl. impossibile factu)
Ml. 48a7
.
rod bia...acht ni bes ecmacht dun,
O'Curry 776
=
Laws i 72.7
. is ead ecmacht caich, ni na
tuca the e.¤ of each person is that which he cannot bring
Laws v 466 x
. ni hicar ni i n-ecmacht
(i.e. nothing is paid
when there is no power to pay) ib.
cach n-ecmacht co slan
cuibse,
156.17
(with gl.:
cach ni is eccomachta don fir
amuic[h], co slaintiugad a cubais don fir tall, na caemnacar
a denam indus bu dligthige,
158.25
). ecmachta ratha
things impossible as stock
222.1
.
ecmachta tellaig,
466 w
.
is di ecmachtaib gell la Feine mucca, ar ni tuillet side acht
muicc i muin araile,
404.17
. Hence, in a concrete
sense, n
a place difficult of access (
Ériu ix 40
): rud mar
no ecmacht
a great wood or an inaccessible place
Laws iv
194.21
. as na frithib fogabait i n-ecmacht; ar [a]
annsacht doib in baile asa tucsat is aire is bec berar
uaithibh (`from the estrays which they find in an inaccessible
situation; it is because of the difficulty of the place from
which they took them that so little is levied on them'
Ériu
ix 40
-
41
)
Laws iv 198.9 Comm.
Cf. the follg. from the tract on the Law of Asylum in
Eg. 88, 55ff.
(
O'Gr. Cat. 101
):
is oghslán don ecmacht
ainfis anfaitcis acht luighi nama,
O'Curry 2642
.
Of the slaying of a refugee: is cutruma an luighi ata uadha
iarsna tri gneithibh so .i. ecmacht anfis anfaitchis. ecmacht
.i. nech segar dia ghuin no dia marbadh can cinta. Is é in
t-egmacht ar tús an fear robui ar an comairce ┐ rob
uiriasacht docuaidh rompo d'fechsain na cuitichta
adconnairc seocha, ┐ as iat robui ann a biubudh, ┐ do
cuaidhsim dia marbadh, is [s]lan doibsim a marbadhsom
the e.¤ is the man who was being safeguarded by consent,
and went on before them (his escort) to look at the company
he saw passing by, and it was his enemies who were there,
and he went to slay them; (in that case) they are not held
guilty of slaying him, ib.
2645-6
. Cf.
Laws iv 228
.