n io, m. (báe good, profit) uselessness, vanity, folly; idleness, play, wantonness: easba .i. diomhaoines, O'Cl. BCC § 399 . mad espe dom a nopridchim if it be useless Wb. 19d17 . bad n-esbae dam du frecur ceill-siu that it is useless for me to worship Thee Ml. 132b3 . fretech cech espi `renunciation of every vanity' Mon. Tall. § 56 . is espa (.i. is feles) a techt, TBC-I¹ 169 (= LU 56b22 ). esba .i. filus, O'Curry 1388 < H 3.18, 630 . ba hespa ecóir imlúad trenḟir ri comai cluchi, LL 228a36 = TTr. 819 . guide cech maicc lére...ní hespae, Fél. Epil. 430 . oc clesrad ┐ oc espai dona slogaib = variis lusit artibus (of a pet fox) Todd Lect. v 85.14 = IT i 46.25 . dia ndernur uabur no esba commit arrogance or folly LL 279a30 . u. na hespa, 33 . YBL 164a5 . érniud mo chesta...corop espa olloman a poet's sport (?) LL 141b29 . In Laws, with ref. to acts performed without serious intention, in the course of play, sport, heedless trifling (opp. to torba, which refers to an act committed in course of business): in torba no in t-esba, iii 96.13 . re becdeithbirius no re espa, 250.27 Comm. mas re hesba atait maraen `if both are (riding) for amusement' 258.10 Comm. a n-esbo `their idle offences' v 150.26 Comm. Of an idle person; one at play: slan don torbach in t-esba the person on business is exempt as regards the idler (if he accidentally injure the latter) iii 258.16 Comm. gen. as attrib.: bud ferr rann espa ocus ríg-scéla 'amusing (?) staves', Cath Almaine 2.21 , cf. TFrag. 34.11 . raind espai ┐ airchetail, LL 12832 . fri forluamain n-espai `idle volatility' Ériu vii 172.18 . Cf. Ailill Cethech...cethech .i. beimnech ut dicitur bemnech fer espai, Rawl. 124a15 . bá saethar n-espa dóib tíchtain a vain labor LL 220b22 = TTr. 255 . dercad espo, Aisl. Tond. 95.16 . gan ridh [reith v.l.] n-espo frivolous running (on Sunday) Anecd. iii 21.5 . re heirim n-espa...re heirim torba riding for amusement...on business Laws iii 258.15 Comm. scian espa useless dagger (a contemptuous epithet) IT iii 102 § 191 = Bruchst. § 73 . In stricter sense useless, invalid: teora nadmand aspa invalid covenants Laws iv 54.6 . i n-esba idle, unoccupied: na bi a n-espa, is ed timarna in Ri, | lubra, legad, ernaigthi, denadh egin na ni, ZCP vii 310.22 . forcetul nó scribend nó cecip tarba, arna beither ind-espa...ut Dominus ait: non apparebis ante me vacu[u]s , iii 29.31 . Cf. comhcetlud a n-espaibh, BNnÉ 305.28 v.l. im raind a tíri d'espaib | dorigset mor d'imresnaib, SR 5125 .