Focal an Lae #112
The Word of the Day in Irish
Word: deamhan (JOWN, rhymes with “clown”) [d′aun]
Meaning: deamhan = demon
Usage:
- ó thigh an deamhain go tigh an diabhail (oh HEE uhn JOWN guh CHEE un JOW-ihl) [oː hiː ən d′aun gə t′iː ən d′aul′]
= out of the frying pan and into the fire (lit., from house of the demon to house of the devil)
- (do) dheamhan (= to, for a demon) is used colloquially to make a negative statement, similar to English “damned if ...”:
dheamhan a fhios agam (YOWN, YOON, ISS AH-guhm) [jaun, juːn, is agəm] = damned if I know, I haven’t the slightest idea
- dheamhan duine a bhfaca mé ann = I didn’t see a single person there (lit., demon a person that I saw in-it)
History: Old Irish “demon” was taken from Latin “daemon”, which was borrowed from Greek “daimon” (divine power),
which comes from Indo-European *dai-mon- (divider, provider), from the root *dā- (to divide).
Scottish Gaelic: deamhan