Words for otter in Celtic languages.
| Proto-Celtic | *dubrokū = otter, beaver |
|---|---|
| Old Irish (Goídelc) | doburchú [ˈdovurˌxuː] = otter dobrán = otter, beaver |
| Irish (Gaeilge) | dobharchú = otter dobhrán = otter, dull-witted, stupid, person |
| Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) | dobhar-chù [do.ərxu] = otter dòbhran [dɔːran] = otter |
| Manx (Gaelg) | dooarchoo = otter, beaver |
| Proto-Celtic | *düβrgi = otter, beaver |
| Middle Welsh (Kymraec) | deuerky, deifyrgi, dyfyrgi, dwfyrgi = otter |
| Welsh (Cymraeg) | dyfrgi [ˈdəvrɡɪ / ˈdəvrɡi] = otter dyfrast = she-otter dwrgi = otter ci dŵr = otter |
| Old Cornish | doferghi = otter |
| Middle Cornish | dofergi = otter |
| Cornish (Kernewek) | dowrgi = otter |
| Breton (Brezhoneg) | dourgi = otter |
Etymology: from the Proto-Celtic *dubros (water) and *kū (dog) [source].
The words for water beginning with d in the Goidelic languages only appear in this compound.
| Irish (Gaeilge) | madra uisce [ˈmˠad̪ˠɾˠə ˈɪʃcɪ] = otter |
|---|---|
| Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) | madadh-uisge [ˈmadəɣ ˈɯʃgʲə] = otter |
| Manx (Gaelg) | moddey ushtey = otter |
Etymology: from the Old Irish madrad /matrad (dog); and the Old Irish uisce (water), from the Proto-Celtic *udenskyos (water), from the Proto-Indo-European *wódr̥ (water) [source].
Words marked with a * are reconstructions.
Sources: Wiktionary, Am Faclair Beag, MacBain’s Dictionary, In Dúil Bélrai English – Old-Irish Glossary, teanglann.ie, On-Line Manx Dictionary, Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru, Gerlyver Kernewek, Dictionnaire Favereau
Thank you, Simon, for another fascinating post. I note that you say “The words for water beginning with d in the Goidelic languages only appear in this compound”; however, it is worth commenting that the word in Gaelg (Manx Gaelic) for ‘reservoir; dam’ is doour, which presumably also comes from the *dubros root.