Focal an Lae #59
The Word of the Day in Irish
Word: mac (MAHK)
Meaning: mac = son
Usage:
- A Mhac! (uh WAHK) = Hey guy! (lit., O Son!)
- mac tíre (MAHK CHEE-ruh) = wolf (lit., son of land)
- mac léinn (MAHK LAYNy, Ny as in “canyon”) = student (lit., son of learning)
- Is ait an mac an saol. (iss ATCH uh MAHK uh SEE-uhl) = Life is strange. (lit., tis odd the son the world)
History: Old Irish “macc” comes from Archaic Irish *makwkwos (maqqos), from Common Celtic *makw- (maq-).
Compare Welsh “mab” (son, boy) and the Gaulish “Maponos” (The Divine Youth; Welsh “Mabon”).
The earliest surviving written form of the Irish word is the genitive form MAQQI (of-son), which is common in Ogam inscriptions.
The ultimate source of this word is the Indo-European *maghu- (young person, of either sex).
Another Irish descendant of this root is “mogh” (slave, bondman).
An English cognate which reaches back to the non-gender-specific IE root is “maid”.
Scottish Gaelic: mac