gu dè

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

From ciod è (older caidhe, caide, goidé) from Old Irish cote (“what is the nature of?, of what kind is?”),[1][2] synchronically analyzable as ciod + e, compare Irish caidé.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /kə ˈtʲeː/, /kə ˈtʃeː/

Pronoun

gu dè

  1. (emphatic) what
    gu dè a chuir an seo thu? ― what brought you here?

Usage notes
  • The unemphatic form is dè.
  • In the Arran Gaelic dialect, which recently became extinct, this was the main form, rather than dè.

Interjection

gu dè?

  1. (emphatic) huh? pardon? what?
    gu dè an domhan? ― what on earth?

References
  1. G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “cote”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
  2. E. G. Quin (1966) “Irish Cote”, in Ériu, volume 20, Royal Irish Academy, →JSTOR, pages 140–150
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