druid

/ˈdɹuːɪd/

Etymology

Borrowed from French druide, from Old French, via Latin Druidae, from Gaulish *druwits, from Proto-Celtic *druwits (literally either “oak-knower” or “firm knower, great sage”), from either Proto-Indo-European *dóru (“tree”) or *drew- (“solid, firm, hard”) and *weyd- (“to see, to have knowledge”) (whence also English wizard; Proto-Slavic *vědьma (> Russian ве́дьма (védʹma))). The earliest record of the term in Latin is by 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). Cognate with the later insular Celtic words, Old Irish druí (“druid, sorcerer”) and early Welsh dryw (“seer”).

Why this word is great

DRUID — [Noun] A member of the ancient Celtic priestly class, serving as religious leaders, legal authorities, and scholars, or a modern adherent of neo-pagan traditions. From French druide, from Latin Druidae, from Gaulish *druwits, from Proto-Celtic *druwits (literally 'oak-knower' or 'firm knower'), from Proto-Indo-European *dóru ('tree') or *drew- ('solid, firm') + *weyd- ('to see, to know'). Unlike "shaman" (a mediator of spirits in disparate indigenous traditions) or "priest" (a generic term for religious functionaries), the druid is bound to the sacred grove, the oak's wisdom, and the turning of the Celtic year. They are the mist-shrouded figure chanting beneath the boughs of a lightning-struck tree, the keeper of laws inscribed not on parchment but in the patterns of birdflight, the one who knows that to name a thing is to hold its power—and that all knowledge, in the end, returns to the earth.

noun

One of an order of priests among certain groups of Celts before the adoption of Abrahamic religions.
A priest or mage who uses magic based on nature or trees.
A member of a benefit society founded in 1781, the Ancient Order of Druids.