Words for small and related words in Celtic languages.
| Proto-Celtic | *bikkos = small, little |
|---|---|
| Old Irish (Goídelc) | bec(c) [ˈbʲeɡ] = small, little |
| Irish (Gaeilge) | beag [bʲɔɡ / bʲɞɡ / bʲɛɡ] = little, small, small amount; few beagadán = diminutive person, little one beagaigh = to lesson, diminish beagán = little, a few, a little, somewhat beagchainteach = silent, taciturn beagchéillí = senseless, foolish |
| Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) | beag [beg] = small, little, wee; minor; petty, puny, trifling; slight beag(adh) = to diminish, lessen, reduce |
| Manx (Gaelg) | beg = small, short, slight, few, poky, model, narrow, quiet, dwarf beggan = somewhat, slightly, partly, faintly, a few, little, small piece |
| Proto-Brythonic | *bɨx = small |
| Middle Welsh (Kymraec) | bychan [ˈbəχan] = small, little |
| Welsh (Cymraeg) | bach [baːχ] = small, little, short; not fully grown or developed, young; insignificant, unimportant, humble; small (business); lower-case (letter); dear, beloved; poor bach (y) nyth = runt, spoilt youngest child fy mach i = my dear pen bach = big-head, conceited person bychan [ˈbəχan] = little, small, minute, diminutive; inconspicuous, obscure, unimportant, petty; young inexperienced; little one, young child bychanaf, bychanu = to abase, disparage, disregard, slight, minimize bychander, bychandod = littleness, smallness, scarcity, contempt, pettiness bychanig = very little/small, minute, diminutive, bit, piece bychan bach very little |
| Cornish (Kernewek) | byghan [‘bɪhan] = little, small byghanhe = to reduce, make smaller byghanna = smaller bara byghan = roll bys byghan = little finger flogh byghan = baby lavrek byghan = underpants, briefs |
| Breton (Brezhoneg) | bihan = small, insufficient, modest, little bihanaat = diminutive, pet name bihanadur = miniature bihanniver = minority |
Etmology: possibly from the Proto-Indo-European *bʰég-ko-s, from *bʰeg- (to break) + the suffix *-kos
Words marked with a * are reconstructions.
Sources: Wiktionary, Am Faclair Beag, Online Manx Dictionary, Teanglann.ie, eDIL – Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language, Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru, Gerlyver Kernewek, Dictionaire Favereau, TermOfis
