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North, South. East, West.
The root oir means front: iar means back.
440. The ancients faced the rising sun in naming the points of the compass; hence ṪOIR, east; ṪIAR, west; ṪUAIḊ, north; ṪEAS, south.
441.
| Rest | Motion from the speaker towards the | Motion towards the speaker from the | Prepositional use, east of, west of, north of, south of, |
| ṫoir, east | soir | anoir | [1]lastoir de; ar an taoḃ ṫoir de; dia[2] ṫoir de |
| ṫiar, west | siar | aniar | [1]laistiar de; ar an taoḃ ṫiar de; dia ṫiar de |
| ṫuaiḋ, north | ó ṫuaiḋ | adtuaiḋ | [1]lastuaiḋ de; ar an taoḃ ṫuaiḋ de; dia ṫuaiḋ de |
| ṫeas, south | ó ḋeas | andeas | [1]laisteas de; ar an taoḃ ṫeas de; dia ṫeas de |
442. The noun “north,” etc., is AN TAOḂ ṪUAIḊ, AN TAOḂ ṪEAS, etc., or tuaisceart, deisceart, iarṫar, and oirṫear. These latter words are obsolescent.
443.
| The | North | wind, | an ġaoṫ | adtuaiḋ | N.W. | wind, | gaoṫ aniar adtuaiḋ |
| „ | South | „ | „ | andeas | S.E. | wind, | gaoṫ anoir andeas |
| „ | East | „ | „ | anoir | etc., | etc. | |
| „ | West | „ | „ | aniar | Notice the change of position in Irish. | ||
444. With reference to a house, siar is inwards; soir is outwards.
