Focal an Lae #347
The Word of the Day in Irish
Word: éan (AY-uhn) [eːn]
Meaning: éan = bird, chick
Usage:
- éan ceoil (AY-uhn KYOH-ihl) [eːn k′oːl′] = songbird (lit., bird of-music)
- éan gé (AY-uhn GYAY) [eːn g′eː] = gosling (lit., chick of-goose)
- Scaip an seabhac na héin eile. (SKAP uh SHOWK nuh HAYN EH-luh) [skap′ ə s′auk nə heːn′ el′ə] = The hawk scattered the other birds.
History: Old Irish “én”, Welsh “edn” and Breton “evn” all come from Indo-European *petno-, from the root *pet- (to fly).
The “p” ofIndo-European was lost completely in Proto-Celtic.
The earliest attestation of this word in Irish is in the Ogam inscription ENABARR
[I], meaning “bird-headed”.
Cognates in English include “feather”, “pen” and “pinnate”.
Scottish Gaelic: eun