Focal an Lae #10

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The Word of the Day in Irish

Word: dia (JEE-uh or DyEE-uh)

Meaning: dia = god

Usage:

• Usually uppercase: Dia.
• The all-purpose greeting in Irish is “Dia duit!” (JEE-uh ditch) or its more colloquial variant “Dia dhuit!” (JEE-uh ghwitch - find an Irish speaker to demonstrate that last word).
• This means “God to you/for you”, and the canonical reply is “Dia ’s Muire duit!” (JEE-uhs MwIH-ruh ditch), “God and Mary to you”.

History: Old Irish “día”, Sanskrit “devas” and Latin “deus” all derive from the hypothetical Indo-European word *deiwos (god), from the root *dei- (to shine). Modern cognates are “deity” and “divine”.