Druid
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: /ˈdɹuË.ɪd/
Origin
From French druide, from Old French, via Latin, from Gaulish.
The earliest record of the term is reported in Greek as ΔÏÏ…Îδαι (plural), cited in Diogenes Laertius in the 3rd century CE. The native Celtic word for "druid" is first attested in Latin texts as druides (plural) and other texts also employ the form druidae (akin to the Greek form). It is understood that the Latin form is a borrowing from Gaulish. The word is cognate with the later insular Celtic words, Old Irish druà ("druid, sorcerer") and early Welsh dryw ("seer"). The proto-Celtic word may be *dru-wid-s (literally, "oak-knower"), from Proto-Indo-European *dóru ("tree") and *weyd- ("to see").
Full definition of druid
Noun
druid
(plural druids)- One of an order of priests among certain groups of Celts before the adoption of Abrahamic religions.
- 2004, Fitch, E. J. Right Action and the environment: a common environmental catechism, fundamentalism, and political extremism. Interdisciplinary Environmental Review, 6(2), 132-139.Druidic faiths to the loose coupling one found in the Roman rites. The ascendance to dominance, at least in terms of number of adherents, of the three monotheistic Abrahamic faiths marked a decline...
Usage notes
Often capitalized: Druid.