The Old Irish word tuath (plural tuatha) means "tribe, folk, people"; dé is the genitive case of día and, depending on context, can mean "god, gods, goddess" or more broadly "supernatural being, object of worship". In the earliest writings, the mythical race are referred to as the Tuath Dé, "tribe of gods", or Tuatha Dé, "tribes of gods". In the Lebor Bretnach their name is translated into Latin as plebes deorum, "god-folk". However, Irish monks also began using the term Tuath Dé to refer to the Israelites, with the meaning "People of God". Apparently to avoid confusion with the Israelites, writers began to refer to the mythical race as the Tuath(a) Dé Danann or Tuath(a) Dé Donann (). This is generally translated "folk of the goddess Danu". It may also have been a way of humanizing them: instead of 'god-folk' they were now the folk of a particular goddess. Early Christian writers also referred to them as the fir dé (god-men) and cenéla dé (god-kindreds), again possibly to avoid calling them simply 'gods'. Some of the Tuatha Dé Danann are occasionally called the clann Eladan, "children of art".
The Old Irish word tuath (plural tuatha) means "tribe, folk, people"; dé is the genitive case of día and, depending on context, can mean "god, gods, goddess" or more broadly "supernatural being, object of worship". In the earliest writings, the mythical race are referred to as the Tuath Dé, "tribe of gods", or Tuatha Dé, "tribes of gods". In the Lebor Bretnach their name is translated into Latin as plebes deorum, "god-folk" However, Irish monks also began using the term Tuath Dé to refer to the Israelites, with the meaning "People of God". Apparently to avoid confusion with the Israelites, writers began to refer to the mythical race as the Tuath(a) Dé Danann or Tuath(a) Dé Donann (). This is generally translated "folk of the goddess Danu". It may also have been a way of humanizing them: instead of 'god-folk' they were now the folk of a particular goddess. Early Christian writers also referred to them as the fir dé (god-men) and cenéla dé (god-kindreds), again possibly to avoid calling them simply 'gods'. Some of the Tuatha Dé Danann are occasionally called the clann Eladan, "children of art".