Focal an Lae #237
The Word of the Day in Irish
Word: fiú (FYOO) [f′uː]
Meaning: fiú = worth; even
Usage:
- Is fiú punt é. (ISS FYOO PUNT ay) [is f′uː punt eː] = It’s worth a pound. (lit., tis worth pound it)
- Ní fiú dom fanacht anois. (nee FYOO duhm FAH-nuhkht uh-NIHSH) [n′iː f′uː dum fanəxt ənis′]
= It’s not worth it for me to wait now. (lit., tis-not worth for-me waiting now)
- Níl sé ina dhúiseacht fiú. (NEEL shay uh-nuh GHOO-shuhkht FYOO) [n′iːl′ s′eː ənə ghuːs′əxt f′uː]
= He’s not even awake. (lit., is-not he in-his waking even)
History: Old Irish “fíu” (worthy, fitting; worth) and Welsh “gwiw” (fit) come from the Indo-European root *wēsu- (good).
Another Irish word from the same root is “feabhas” (excellence, improvement). There do not appear to be any English cognates.
Scottish Gaelic: fiù