Focal an Lae #13
The Word of the Day in Irish
Word: uisce (ISH-kyuh)
Meaning: uisce = water
Usage:
- uisce fuar (ISH-kyuh FOO-uhr) = cold water
- uisce faoi thalamh (... fwee HAH-luhv) literally means “water under ground”, but the figurative meaning is “intrigue, plotting”
- uisce beatha (ISH-kyuh BA-huh, BA as in “bat”) = water of life = whiskey. Whiskey is simply “uisce”, a bit mangled by English.
Interestingly, Irish later borrowed the word “whiskey” back, in the form “fuisce”.
History: Uisce comes from the Indo-European root *wed- (wet, water), via a derivative *ud-skio- (the suffixed zero-grade, for those who care).