Today we’re looking at the words for raw and related things in Celtic languages.
| Proto-Celtic | *omos = raw |
|---|---|
| Old Irish (Goídelc) | om [oṽ] = raw, uncooked |
| Middle Irish (Gaoidhealg) | om = raw, uncooked; crude, undigested, immature; rude, unrefined, barbarous |
| Irish (Gaeilge) | amh [ˈavˠ / ˈaw] = raw, uncooked amhábhar = raw material, staple aimhe = rawness, crudeness amhainse = sharpness, astuteness amhainseach = sharp, astute amhchaoin = rough, uncouth amhola = crude oil |
| Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) | amh [af] = raw, uncooked; extra rare, blue (meat); uncouth, crude amhachd [avəxg] = rawness |
| Manx (Gaelg) | aw = crude, raw, uncooked, undressed awid = crudeness, rawness, rareness awaneagh = moron, oaf; oafish, raw, rude, uncivilsed, vain feill aw = raw meat ooill aw = crude oil |
| Proto-Brythonic | *oβ̃ = raw |
| Middle Welsh (Kymraec) | of = crude, uncooked, raw |
| Welsh (Cymraeg) | of [braːɨ̯n / brai̯n] = crude, untreated, uncooked, raw, bitter, sharp, nauseating, sickly ofaf, ofi = to decompose, crumble, analyse |
Etymology: from the Proto-Indo-European *h₂eh₃mós (raw, uncooked, bitter, sour), probably from *h₂eh₃- (to be hot, burn) [source].
Words for copper and bronze in Celtic languages possibly come from the same Proto-Celtic root, via the word *omiyom [source].
The Greek word ὠμός [oˈmos] (raw, uncooked, crude, brutal) comes from the same PIE root [source].
| Middle Welsh (Kymraec) | cri = crude, uncooked, raw |
|---|---|
| Welsh (Cymraeg) | cri [kriː] = raw, fresh, new, crude, coarse, unfulled (cloth), unleavened bara cri = unleavened bread defnyddiau cri = raw materials teisen gri = griddle cake, Welsh cake |
| Middle Cornish (Cernewec) | criv = rude, raw, green, newly made, unripe |
| Cornish (Kernewek) | kriv = crude, fresh, raw, uncooked, unripe krivder = rawness gossen griv = raw umber |
| Middle Breton | criz, cry = raw, crude, cruel, rough |
| Breton (Brezhoneg) | kriz = raw, crude, cruel, rough gopr kriz = gross salary hollad kriz = gross total obar kriz = act of barbarism |
Etymology: possibly from the Latin crūdus (raw, bloody), from the Proto-Italic *krūros (bloody), from the Proto-Indo-European *kruh₂rós (bloody), from *krewh₂- (raw meat, fresh blood). The English words crude and cruel come from the same Latin root, and raw comes from the same PIE root [source].
| Middle Welsh (Kymraec) | amrwt = raw, uncooked |
|---|---|
| Welsh (Cymraeg) | amrwd [ˈamrʊd] = raw, uncooked, unprocessed, undigested, crude, untreated, unrefined, rough, approximate |
Etymology: from the Proto-Celtic *an (un-) and *brutus (boiling heat), from the Proto-Indo-European *bʰrewh₁- (to boil, brew) [source].
Other words from the Proto-Celtic root *brutus include brwd (eager, keen, passionate, zealous) and brwdfrydedd (enthusiasm) in Welsh, and bruth (heat, rash, eruption, nap, pile, surf) in Irish [source].
Words marked with a * are reconstructions.
Sources: Wiktionary, Am Faclair Beag, Online Manx Dictionary, Teanglann.ie, eDIL – Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language, In Dúil Bélrai English – Old Irish glossary, Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru, Gerlyver Kernewek, Gerlyvyr Cernewec, Dictionaire Favereau, TermOfis, Le dictionnaire diachronique du breton, Geriafurch, English – ProtoCeltic WordList (PDF), Etymological Dictionary Of Proto Celtic
