Focal an Lae #292
The Word of the Day in Irish
Word: figh, fí (FIH, FEE) [f′i, f′iː]
Meaning: figh = weave, fí = weaving
Usage:
- Fíonn an fíodóir éadach. (FEE-uhn uh FEE-dohr-ihr AY-duhkh) [f′iːən ə f′iːdoːr′ eːdəx] = The weaver weaves cloth.
- Bhí sé ag fí scéalta dúinn ar feadh na hoíche. (VEE shay uh FEE SHKAYL-tuh doo-ihn ehr FA nuh HEE-huh)
[v′iː s′eː ə f′iː s′k′eːltə duːn′ er′ f′æ nə hiːhə] = He was spinning yarns (lit., weaving stories) for us all night long.
History: Old Irish “figid” (weaves), Welsh “gweu, gwau” (weave) and Breton “gwia” come from the Indo-European root *weg- (to weave).
The reflex of IE initial “w” is regularly “f” in Irish and “gw” in Welsh, as shown by these examples from previous “Focals”:
| Indo-European | Irish | Welsh |
| *wiro- (man) | fear | gŵr |
| *windo- (bright) | fionn | gwyn |
| *wēro- (true) | fíor | gwir |
English “veil”, from Latin “velum” (sail, curtain, veil) is a distant cognate of “figh”.
Scottish Gaelic: figh, fighe