Alive & Living

Words for alive & living in Celtic languages.

Proto-Celtic *biwos = alive, living, mortal
Old Irish (Goídelc) béo [bʲeːu̯] = alive, living
Irish (Gaeilge) beo [bʲoː / bʲɔː] = living, alive; live, active; living being; life; livelihood; quick; to live
Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) beò [bjɔː] = alive, live, living; lively; vivid; vital; quick, lively, sprightly
Manx (Gaelg) bio [bʲoː] = alive, live, lifelike, bright, hot, activated, pictorial, afloat, live person, spring tide after neap
Proto-Brythonic *bɨw = alive, living
Welsh (Cymraeg) byw [bɨu̯ / bɪu̯] = alive, living, having life, animate, quick, existing, actual; lively, full of life, vivacious, vigorous, sprightly, spirited, eager, sparkling; vivid, graphic; susceptible to
byw (verb) = to live, lead one’s life, subsist, exist; dwell, inhabit, to animate, revive
Cornish (Kernewek) bew [beˑʊ] = active, agile, alive, lively, living,
switched on
bewa = to live, be alive
Breton (Brezhoneg) bev = alive, living, lively
bevañ = to live, feed

Etymology: from Proto-Indo-European *gʷih₃wós (alive, living) [source].

Old Irish (Goídelc) forig, fuirset = to remain, stay
Irish (Gaeilge) fuirigh = to hold back, delay, wait, stay
Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) fuirich [fuɾʲɪç] = to stay, wait, delay, linger, abide
Manx (Gaelg) fariagh [bʲoː] = to stay
Old Irish (Goídelc) cómnuigim = I rest
congaib [konˈɡavʲ] = to contain, preserve, keep, uphold
Middle Irish (Gaoidhealg) cómnuigim = I rest
congaib [konˈɡavʲ] = to contain, preserve, keep, uphold
Irish (Gaeilge) cónaigh [ˈkoːn̪ˠɪɟ / ˈkoːnˠə / ˈkɔːnˠi] = living, alive; live, active; living being; life; livelihood; quick; to live
Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) cumail [kumal] = (act of) keeping, holding, retaining; witholding; celebrating, observing
còmhnaidh [kɔ̃ːnɪ] = (act of) occupying, inhabiting, dwelling, residing; occupancy, occupation, habitation, residence; (act of) abiding; abode
Manx (Gaelg) cummal = to grip, hold, keep, arrest, contain, retain, live, inhabit

Etymology: from the Old Irish com- (with) and gaibid (to hold, grasp, take, seize, capture) [source].

Old Irish (Goídelc) maraid [ˈma.rəðʲ] = to last, persist, remain; to survive, live
Irish (Gaeilge) mair = to live, to last
Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) mair [marʲ] = to live, to exist, to continue

Etymology: from Proto-Indo-European *merh₂- (to seize, grip) [source].

Welsh (Cymraeg) trigio = to live (in), dwell, reside, lodge, stay, remain, delay, linger
godrig(af) = to stay, tarry, remain, abide, dwell, sojourn; stay or tarry for; rest upon, insist; linger, delay.
Middle Cornish trege, trega, tryga, tryge = to remain, stay, dwell
Cornish (Kernewek) triga = to remain, stay, dwell
Old Breton guotric = to stay

Etymology: from Latin trīcō (to delay) [source].

The word for to live in Breton, chom, comes from the Old French chômer (to be idle, to be out of work), from the Late Latin caumāre, from caumō (I rest during the heat), from the Ancient Greek καῦμα (kaûma – heat). [source].

Words marked with a * are reconstructions.

Sources: Wiktionary, Am Faclair Beag, Online Manx Dictionary, Teanglann.ie, Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru, Gerlyver Kernewek, Dictionnaire Favereau

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