Focal an Lae #40
The Word of the Day in Irish
Word: teach (CHAX, A as in “cat”, X as ch in “loch”)
Meaning: teach = house
Usage:
- teach mór (CHAX MOHR) = a big house
- teach pobail (... PO-bwil) = a church (lit., house of people, community)
- teach gloine (... GLIH-huh) = a greenhouse (lit., house of glass)
- fear an tí (FAR uh CHEE, A as in “cat”) = the man of the house; also, the master of ceremonies
History: Old Irish “tech” derives from the reconstructed Indo-European word *tegos (roof), from the root *(s)teg- (to cover).
Cognates in other Celtic languages are Welsh “tŷ” and Breton “ti”.
Cognates in English are “thatch”, “deck” and “protect”.
Scottish Gaelic: taigh