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Etymology of 'leaba' > 'leth +‎ buith'

Cathaoirleach · 2011-04-19 20:24:54

Today I learned from a friend that 'leaba' is 'lova' in Lithuanian, so did a bit of Googling to see if there was any connection. I don't think there is. 'Leaba' comes from Old Irish 'lepaid', which according to Wiktionary is 'leth‎ buith'. http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lepaid 'Leth' is half, but what does 'buith' mean?

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19-04-2011 9:24pm

#1

Cathaoirleach

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Today I learned from a friend that 'leaba' is 'lova' in Lithuanian, so did a bit of Googling to see if there was any connection. I don't think there is.

'Leaba' comes from Old Irish 'lepaid', which according to Wiktionary is 'leth‎ buith'. http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/lepaid

'Leth' is half, but what does 'buith' mean?

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#2 19-04-2011 10:35pm
Micilin Muc

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Leth according to eDIL can mean 'a division'.

Buith means 'being'.

So, in my opinion it could mean 'a division for being'. I think 'dwelling' would be the closest English equivalent.

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