Brehon

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A judge or magistrate in ancient Irish law, responsible for resolving disputes and administering justice
2. An individual tasked with interpreting customary laws in early Ireland, serving as an authoritative legal figure
3. A legal practitioner in traditional Gaelic society, overseeing matters of law and adjudication among the people

Etymology: The Irish legal system that English speakers call "brehon law" was administered by judges whose title, in its Irish form, was "breitheamh." English took the word in an anglicized oblique form, such as the genitive "breitheamhan" or dative "breitheamhain," and reshaped it into "brehon," so the English word does not look much like the Irish one it came from. The Irish word traces back to Old Irish "brithem," which in turn comes from "breth," meaning "judgment." The same root sits behind the modern Irish word for judgment, so a brehon was, in the most literal sense, a person who gave judgments. The title therefore names the office by its function rather than by rank or station.

Synonyms: judge, lawyer, arbiter