Focal an Lae #121
The Word of the Day in Irish
Word: lucht (LOKHT) [loxt]
Meaning: lucht = load, cargo; class or type of people
Usage:
- Thóg siad an lucht ar bord. (HOHG SHEE-uhd uhn LOKHT ehr BOHRD) [hoːg s′iəd ən loxt er′ boːrd] = They lifted the cargo on board.
- an lucht éisteachta (uhn LOKHT AYSH-chuhkh-tuh) [ən loxt eːs′t′əxtə] = the audience (lit., the people of hearing)
- lucht an airgid (LOKHT uhn A-ruh-guhj) [loxt ən ær′əg′əd′] = the moneyed class (lit., people of the money)
History: Old Irish “lucht”, Welsh “llwyth” (tribe; load) and Gaulish “luxtos” (load) have been traced to the Indo-European
root *leug- (to break), giving these words the core meaning of “portion, part”.
The only cognate in English is the semantically distant “lugubrious”, from Latin “lugere” (to mourn <- to break emotionally).
The name of the Norse god famous for promoting discord, Loki, also probably goes back to this root.
Scottish Gaelic: luchd