It seems to be some form of bracken or fern (rath) with "ath" meaning "another" and "luaid" having something to do with "quickness" or with "moving." 

I'd have to look further to go beyond these initial impressions. Evidently, it must sting or burn somehow but here again I am just using imbas.:-) If I were close to a university library, I'd look further but right now I'm mired in 2 feet of snow. 



Searles O'Dubhain 


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Dennis King" <[log in to unmask]> 
To: [log in to unmask] 
Sent: Saturday, February 6, 2010 12:41:49 PM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern 
Subject: [OLD-IRISH-L] athrathai luaid 

A few years ago I posted an excerpt from one of the tales about Máel   
Odrán here: 

https://listserv.heanet.ie/cgi-bin/wa?A2=ind0611&L=OLD-IRISH-L&P=587 

The hero gives Diarmait three tufts (which normally ought to be grass)   
to wipe his butt with.  They turn out to be tufts of green nettle, of   
thistle, and of a third unidentified plant called (in the dative)   
"athrathai luaid".  I recently posted this text to my blog along with   
a Modern Irish translation and a photo of the mystery term from the MS: 

http://nimill.blogspot.com/2010/02/paipear-leithris.html 

If anyone can figure out what "athrathai luaid" is, I'd love to hear. 

Dennis