Focal an Lae #345
The Word of the Day in Irish
Word: foinse (FWEHN-shuh) [fen′s′ə]
Meaning: foinse = fountain, spring, source
Usage:
- foinse uisce mianraí (... ISH-kyuh MEE-uhn-ree) [... is′k′ə m′iːənriː] = a spring of mineral water
- Tá foinse agam a deir... (TAW FWEHN-shuh AH-guhm uh JEHR) [taː fen′s′ə agəm ə d′er′] = I have a source that says...
- “Foinse” is also the name of a relatively new Irish-language weekly newspaper that is published in Conamara, but is national in scope.
Léim gach seachtain é. Tá sé go han-mhaith!
History: Old Irish “foinse” was evidently borrowed from Latin “fons, fontis” (spring, fountain),
which comes from Indo-European *dhon-ti-, from the root *dhen- (to flow).
Cognates in English include “font” and “fountain”.