uisce beatha

Irish

Etymology

    Etymology tree
    Proto-Indo-European *wed-
    Proto-Indo-European *-r̥
    Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥der.
    Proto-Celtic *udenskyos
    Old Irish uisce
    Irish uisce
    Proto-Indo-European *gʷeyh₃-
    Proto-Indo-European *-wós
    Proto-Indo-European *gʷih₃wós
    Proto-Celtic *biwos
    Proto-Celtic *-tūts
    Proto-Celtic *biwotūts
    Old Irish bethu
    Irish beatha
    Medieval Latin aqua vītaecalq.
    Irish uisce beatha

    From uisce (“water”) + beatha (“life”), a calque of Medieval Latin aqua vītae (“water of life”). Compare Scottish Gaelic uisge beatha.

    Pronunciation

    • IPA(key): /ˈiʃcə ˈbʲahə/

    Noun

    uisce beatha m (genitive singular uisce bheatha)

    1. whiskey
      Synonyms: beathuisce, fuisce

    Derived terms

    • uisce beatha Albanach (“Scotch whisky”)
    • uisce beatha braiche (“malt whiskey”)
    • uisce beatha seagail (“rye whiskey”)
    • uisce beatha te (“hot whiskey”)

    Descendants

    • → English: usquebaugh, whiskey, water of life
    • → Yola: usquebaugh, usbaugh

    Mutation

    Mutated forms of uisce beatha
    radical eclipsis with h-prothesis with t-prothesis
    uisce beatha n-uisce beatha huisce beatha not applicable

    Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Modern Irish.
    All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

    Further reading

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