Etymology
The surname refers to "a descendant of a devotee of Cathach"; the Cathach commemorated may refer to Saint Cadoc or Catwg, whose name is the Welsh equivalent of Cathach. It has been noted by such experts as Edward McLysaght that it is truly remarkable how little is heard of this family in any of the Medieval Annals or indeed by its modern representatives. The earliest possible reference to any bearer of the surname is to be found in The Annals of Innisfallen where an individual going by the name gilla moenaig omolchatha is mentioned in an entry for 1317AD.
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Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)
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—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)