Focal an Lae #58
The Word of the Day in Irish
Word: iníon (IH-nee-uhn)
Meaning: iníon = daughter; young woman; miss
Usage:
- Tá mac agus iníon acu. (TAW MAHK uh-guhs IH-nee-uhn AH-koo) = They have a son and a daughter.
- Rugadh iníon di. (ROO-goo IH-nee-uhn jih; first OO as in “book”, second oo as in “moon”) = She gave birth to a daughter.
(lit., was-born daughter to-her)
- Iníon Uí Bhriain (... ee VREE-ihn) = Miss O’Brien
History: Old Irish “ingen” comes from a reconstructed Common Celtic *eni-genā meaning something like
“she who is born within (the family)”, from the Indo-European *en (in) and the root *gen- (to give birth).
The Latin word “indigena” (native) contains the same elements, but with the broader sense of “born within the tribe or region”.
The obvious English cognate is “indigenous”.
Scottish Gaelic: nighean