Focal an Lae #5
The Word of the Day in Irish
Word: maith (MAHH) [Note: “th” in Irish is pronounced “h”]
Meaning: maith = good
Usage: Adjectives follow the noun in Irish, and adjectives following a
feminine noun are subject to mutation:
- fear maith = a good man
- bean mhaith = a good woman (WAHH)
Maith is also a noun, meaning “the good, what is good”, for example,
in the common phrase for “thank you”:
- go raibh maith agat (guh ruh MAH-huhguht) (lit., may there be what-is-good at-you)
History: Maith descends from the Indo-European root *ma- (good), via the
Common Celtic *mati-. The earliest evidence we have for this word is on
the Coligny Calendar, a bronze plaque of Gaulish provenance, where the
auspicious months are marked “MAT”. Modern Breton “mat” (good) is a
cognate. A distant cognate is “mature”.