Druid
.A chief priest (Celtic, der, superior; wydd, priest or instructor). In Taliesin we read, Bûm gwŷdd yngwarth an (at length I became a priest or wydd). It was after this period that the wydds were divided into two classes, the Derwydds and the Go-wydds (Dʹruids and Ovidds). Every chief had his druid, and every chief druid was allowed a guard of thirty men (Strabo). The order was very wealthy. (Not derived from the Greek drus, an oak.)
⁂ Patricius tells us that the Druids were wont to borrow money to be repaid in the life to come. His words are, “Druidæ pecuniam mutuo accipiebant in posteriore vita reddituri.”
2
Butler: Hudibras, part iii. canto.
