theca
.
Searchable Lemmata: theca (L), tíag (Ir), twyg (W).
Alternate Forms: teca, teich, téig, tuic, tuigeu.
Definitions and Defining Citations:
1(n.)
Accessory;
in general, anything which encloses; a bag, case, or similar.(ante 700 - ante 1500)
Sex: Male, Female Ceremonial: No
Body Parts:
2(n.)
Garment;
in Middle Welsh as a word referring to some kind of covering garment or robe. There is possibly some confusion with Latin toga (q.v.), though the word twyg is a borrowing < theca.(ante 1400 - post 1800)
Sex: Male, Female Ceremonial: No
Body Parts:
3(n.)
Accessory;
in one late Middle English glossary, equated with a thimble (q.v.).(circa 1440)
Sex: Male, Female Ceremonial: No
Body Parts:
Etymological Evidence:
Definite, Classical Latin from Greek θήκη 'bag, envelope, sheath, container', from the PIE root *teg- 'covers', which lies also behind Irish tuigithir (q.v.), Latin toga (q.v.), etc. The Welsh form twyg does show the expected sound-changes from Latin theca (cf. Welsh wyneb < British *enepo-), but the meaning may have been influenced by knowledge of Latin toga (which, if borrowed into British during the Roman period, does not appear to have left a reflex in Welsh).
WF: Borrowed into the British Isles
Etym Cog: θήκη (Gk).
References:
