Focal an Lae #114
The Word of the Day in Irish
Word: tuath (TOO-uh) [tuə]
Meaning: tuath = countryside; (common) people, laity; tribe; territory
Usage:
- amuigh faoin tuath (uh-MOO fween TOO-uh) [əmu fiːn tuə] = out in the country
- cléir agus tuath (KLAYR ah-guhs TOO-uh) [k′l′eːr′ agəs tuə] = clergy and laity
- Tuatha Dé Danann (TOO-uh-huh JAY DAH-nuhn) [tuəhə d′eː danən] = The Tribes of the Goddess Danu, a mythical race that preceded the Celts in Ireland
History: Old Irish “túath”, Welsh “tud” (people, country), Breton “tud” (people) and Gaulish “teuta” (tribe)
all come from Common Celtic *towtā, from the Indo-European word *teutā (tribe).
“Teutates” was an important Gaulish deity, “the God of the Tribe”, whom Julius Caesar identified with Mercury.
The name of a Germanic tribe of the Roman period gives us the English cognate “teutonic”.
Scottish Gaelic: tuath