Talk:dúil

dúil etymology

@Angr, do you know of any source that discusses the etymology for dúil (“desire”) besides MacBain? Thanks! —JohnC5 23:04, 10 November 2017 (UTC)

No, I don't, but it's actually Etymology 2 'creation, element' that's said to come from the PIE word for 'smoke'. —Aɴɢʀ (talk) 08:01, 11 November 2017 (UTC)

Ranko Matasović, Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic, Introduction pg. 3:

I have also tried to avoid all ‘last resort’ etymologies, which are often repeated in the handbooks simply because there do not seem to be any better Indo-European etymologies of particular words. A case in question is, e.g., OIr. dúil ‘creation’, which is commonly derived from PIE *dʰulh₂li‑, from the root *dʰuh₂‑ ‘smoke’ (Lat. fūmus, etc.). Now, although it is possible to imagine a series of steps in semantic development that would lead from ‘smoke’ to ‘creation’, I find it difficult to believe this etymology: it seems to me that accepting it would be a sign of desperation, rather than the result of a sound consideration of probabilities.

☸ Moilleadóir ☎ 05:19, 15 October 2024 (UTC)