Focal an Lae #20
The Word of the Day in Irish
Word: fionn (FIN)
Meaning: fionn = white, bright, fair haired
Usage:
- bean fhionn (BAN IN) = a blonde woman
- Fionn Mac Cumhaill (anglicized as Finn Mac Cool) = the Blond, son of Cumhall
History: Old Irish “find” comes from reconstructed Common Celtic *wind-os.
Compare Gaulish “Vindo-bona”, the ancient name of Vienna, meaning “white
spring” or “white city”, the second element being uncertain. Welsh has
“gwyn” and Breton “gwenn”, both meaning “white”. The original sense of
the Common Celtic *wind-os seems to be “clearly visible”, from the
Indo-European root *weid- (to see).
Scottish Gaelic: fionn (FYOON)