Words for good in Celtic languages.
| Proto-Celtic | *matis = good |
|---|---|
| Old Irish (Goídelc) | maith [maθʲ] = good |
| Irish (Gaeilge) | maith [mˠa(h) / mˠaɪ(h)] = good; goodness, kindness; good things; fertility |
| Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) | math [ma] = good, well |
| Manx (Gaelg) | mie [maɪ] = good, nice, moral, fair, pious, ready, goodness, favourable, virtuous, virtue, goodly |
| Proto-Brythonic | *mad = good |
| Middle Welsh (Kymraec) | mad [maːd] = good |
| Welsh (Cymraeg) | mad [maːd] = good, lucky, fortunate, suitable, auspicious, beneficial, virtuous, holy, fair, pleasant, beautiful |
| Cornish (Kernewek) | mas [ma:z / mæ:z] = good, respectable, moral |
| Middle Breton | mat = good |
| Breton (Brezhoneg) | mat / mad [maːd] = good, good product, moral, well (done), sweet |
Etymology
From Proto-Indo-European *meh₂tis (ripe, good), from *meh₂- (to ripen, to mature) [source].
Note: mad is not commonly used in modern Welsh. The usual word for good is da.
Words marked with a * are reconstructions.
Sources: Wiktionary, Am Faclair Beag, Online Manx Dictionary, Teanglann.ie, Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru, Gerlyver Kernewek, Dictionnaire Favereau
One context (admittedly, poetic) in which “mad” is commonly heard in modern Welsh is in the third line of the national anthem:
gwladgarwyr tra mad : splendid (lit. “very good”) patriots
I wonder, though, how many people (like me) learned to sing these words long before they were altogether sure what they meant! 🙂
The word “tra” (extremely, exceedingly = very) is another one seldom found outside such “frozen phrases” as “tra charedig” (most kind).