uisce beatha
Irish edit
Etymology edit
From uisce (“water”) + beatha (“life”), a calque of Latin aqua vītae (“water of life”). Compare Scottish Gaelic uisge beatha.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
uisce beatha m (genitive singular uisce bheatha)
- whiskey
- Synonyms: beathuisce, fuisce
Derived terms edit
- uisce beatha Albanach (“Scotch whisky”)
- uisce beatha braiche (“malt whiskey”)
- uisce beatha seagail (“rye whiskey”)
- uisce beatha te (“hot whiskey”)
Descendants edit
- English: whiskey, water of life
- → Yola: usquebaugh, usbaugh
Mutation edit
| Irish mutation | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Radical | Eclipsis | with h-prothesis | with t-prothesis |
| uisce beatha | n-uisce beatha | huisce beatha | not applicable |
| Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. | |||
Further reading edit
- Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977) “uisce”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
- Entries containing “uisce beatha” in English-Irish Dictionary, An Gúm, 1959, by Tomás de Bhaldraithe.
- Entries containing “uisce beatha” in New English-Irish Dictionary by Foras na Gaeilge.