Today we’re looking at words for foreheads, brows and related things in Celtic languages.
| Old Irish (Goídelc) | étan = brow, forehead |
|---|---|
| Irish (Gaeilge) | éadan [ˈeːd̪ˠənˠ] = front, face, forehead, flat surface, facet, end éadanán = headstall éadanchlár = fascia in éadan = against, opposed to as éadan = one by one, in (rapid) succession, indiscriminately |
| Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) | aodann [ɯːdən̪ˠ] = face, front, dial aodannan = little face, mask, frontispiece aodann-clò = typeface aodann-fuadain = mask dà-aodannach = two-faced, double-skinned (in architecture) |
| Manx (Gaelg) | eddin = apron (of a dam), rockface, countenance, dial, disc, facade, face, facet, facial, fascia, front, frontage far-eddin = mask eddin harroo = sour-faced |
Etymology: from the Proto-Indo-European *h₂ent- (forehead) [source].
Words from the same root include end, answer and antimony in English, and ante (before, earlier, instead of) in Italian [source].
| Proto-Celtic | *talu = front, forehead |
|---|---|
| Gaulish | *talu = ? |
| Celtiberian | talukokum = ? |
| Old Irish (Goídelc) | tul, taul, tel, til = protruberance, projecting part, swelling, boss of a shield |
| Irish (Gaeilge) | tul = protuberance, prominence, front, forehead tulach = low hill, hillock, mound tulán = protuberance, mound, knoll, hummock |
| Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) | tul [tul̪ˠ] = face |
| Manx (Gaelg) | tool = ? tool-vuilley = forehand stroke |
| Proto-Brythonic | *tal |
| Old Welsh | tal = end |
| Middle Welsh (Kymraec) | tal = end |
| Welsh (Cymraeg) | tâl [taːl] = end (of an object), gable end, extremity, top, side, edge, rampart, front, face (of shield), forehead, brow, head tâl bainc, talbainc = end of bench, place of honour, best kind, first class ar dâl = at the top, end, by the side, near talaith = state, province, district, area, principality talar = headland (of ploughed field), boundary talaraf, talaru = to reach the headland, set a boundary |
| Middle Cornish (Cernewec) | tal = the front, forehead, end, top |
| Cornish (Kernewek) | tal = brow, forehead, front, temple talar = headland talgamma = to frown plegya tal = to frown, knit one’s brows |
| Middle Breton (Brezonec) | tal = forehead taleg = sb with a big forehead |
| Breton (Brezhoneg) | tal = face, forehead |
Etymology: possibly from the Proto-Indo-European *telh₂- (ground, bottom), or from *teHlu- [source].
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, Dictionaire Favereau, TermOfis, English – ProtoCeltic WordList (PDF), Etymological Dictionary Of Proto Celtic
