duiu

Old Welsh

Etymology

From Proto-Brythonic *duɨw, from Proto-Celtic *dēwos, from Proto-Indo-European *deywós.

Noun

duiu m or f

1. god, goddess, divinity
2. (Christianity) God

Usage notes

This word is principally attested in three sources:

• As part of the name of the River Dee in Wales, whose feminine gender is confirmed by Ancient Greek Δεουα (Deoua),
• In the derived name Guasduiu (“Servant of God”), and
• In the early Irish Sanas Cormaic, where the glossary author occasionally used the Old Welsh word to etymologize some obscure terms.

Derived terms

• Dubr Duiu
• duiutit
• Guasduiu

Descendants

• Middle Welsh: duu, diu, duw
  • Welsh: duw