Focal an Lae #250
The Word of the Day in Irish
Word: fíoch (FEE-uhkh) [fiːx]
Meaning: fíoch = feud, fury, anger
Usage:
- Tá siad i bhfíoch lena chéile. (TAW shee-uhd uh VEE-uhkh LEH-nuh HYAY-luh) [taː s′iːəd ə v′iːx l′ənə x′eːl′ə]
= They are feuding with each other. (lit., they are in feud...)
- Tá fíoch air. (TAW FEE-uhkh ehr) [taː fiːx er′] = He’s furious. (lit., is fury on-him)
- fíochmhar (FEE-uhkh-wuhr) [fiːxvər] = furious, ferocious
History: Old Irish “fīch” and Welsh “gŵyth” (anger, wrath) come from Common Celtic *wēko-, from Indo-European *weik- (to fight, conquer).
Cognates in English include “wight” (archaic word meaning “brave”) and “victor”.
The earliest attested form of this word in Irish is in the Ogam inscription VEQREQ,
which in Old Irish becomes “Fíchrach”, the genitive of “Fíchraí” (= Energetic or Hostile King).
The Gaulish cognate of this name is “Vēcorīx”. The modern form of this fairly common name is “Fiachra”.