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Webster 1913 Edition

Druid

Dru′id

,
Noun.
[L.
Druides
; of Celtic origin; cf. Ir. & Gael.
draoi
,
druidh
, magician, Druid, W.
derwydd
Druid.]
1.
One of an order of priests which in ancient times existed among certain branches of the Celtic race, especially among the Gauls and Britons.
☞ The Druids superintended the affairs of religion and morality, and exercised judicial functions. They practiced divination and magic, and sacrificed human victims as a part of their worship. They consisted of three classes; the bards, the vates or prophets, and the Druids proper, or priests. Their most sacred rites were performed in the depths of oak forests or of caves.
2.
A member of a social and benevolent order, founded in London in 1781, and professedly based on the traditions of the ancient Druids. Lodges or groves of the society are established in other countries.
Druid stones
,
a name given, in the south of England, to weatherworn, rough pillars of gray sandstone scattered over the chalk downs, but in other countries generally in the form of circles, or in detached pillars.

Webster 1828 Edition

Druid

DRUID

,
Noun.
A priest or minister of religion, among the ancient Celtic nations in Gaul, Britain and Germany. The Druids possessed some knowledge of geometry, natural philosophy, &c., superintended the affairs of religion and morality, and performed the office of judges.

Definition 2024

Druid

Druid

See also: druid

English

Noun

Druid ‎(plural Druids)

  1. Alternative letter-case form of druid
    You can find hundreds of Druids at Stonehenge.

Coordinate terms

druid

druid

See also: Druid

English

Noun

druid ‎(plural druids)

  1. 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.

Derived terms

Translations

Irish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /d̪ˠɾˠɪdʲ/

Etymology 1

From Old Irish truit f ‎(“starling”), from Proto-Celtic *trozdi-, from Proto-Indo-European *trozdo- ‎(“thrush”); compare Latin turdus, German Drossel, and English thrush.

Noun

druid f ‎(genitive singular druide, nominative plural druideanna)

  1. starling
Declension
Alternative forms
  • druideog f

Etymology 2

From Old Irish druitid ‎(“shuts, closes; moves close (to), presses (against); approaches; moves away from, abandons”), possibly related to Welsh drws ‎(“door”).

Verb

druid ‎(present analytic druideann, future analytic druidfidh, verbal noun druidim, past participle druidte)

  1. (Ulster) close, shut
  2. move relative to something
    1. (with le) move close to, draw near, approach
    2. (with ar) close upon
    3. (with ó) move away from
Conjugation

Etymology 3

Noun

druid m

  1. genitive singular of drud

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical Lenition Eclipsis
druid dhruid ndruid
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

  • "druid" in Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla, An Gúm, 1977, by Niall Ó Dónaill.
  • “truit” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.
  • “druitid” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology 1

From Old Irish truit f ‎(“starling”), from Proto-Celtic *trozdi-, from Proto-Indo-European *trozdo- ‎(“thrush”).

Noun

druid f ‎(genitive singular druide, plural druidean)

  1. starling

Etymology 2

From Old Irish druitid ‎(“shuts, closes; moves close (to), presses (against); approaches; moves away from, abandons”), possibly related to Welsh drws ‎(“door”).

Verb

druid ‎(past dhruid, future druididh, verbal noun druideadh, past participle druidte)

  1. shut closely
  2. cover
  3. enclose, surround
  4. advance, come up
  5. join
  6. hasten
  7. step toward
  8. approach, draw near
Alternative forms
  • truid

References

  • Faclair Gàidhlig Dwelly Air Loidhne, Dwelly, Edward (1911), Faclair Gàidhlig gu Beurla le Dealbhan/The Illustrated [Scottish] Gaelic-English Dictionary (10th ed.), Edinburgh: Birlinn Limited, ISBN 0 901771 92 9
  • “truit” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.
  • “druitid” in Dictionary of the Irish Language, Royal Irish Academy, 1913–76.

Etymology

Borrowing from French druide, from Old French [Term?], via Latin [Term?], from Gaulish [Term?]. The earliest record of the term in Latin is in Julius Caesar in the first century B.C. in his De Bello Gallico. 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 [Term?]. The word is cognate with the later insular Celtic words, Old Irish druí ‎(“druid, sorcerer”) and early Welsh dryw ‎(“seer”). The proto-Celtic word may be *druwits ‎(literally “oak-knower”), from Proto-Indo-European *dóru ‎(“tree”) and *weyd- ‎(“to see”).

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈdɹuː.ɪd/

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