Words for graves, ditches and related things in Celtic languages:
| Proto-Celtic | *bodyom = grave, ditch |
|---|---|
| Celtiberian | arkato-bezom = silver mine (?) |
| Proto-Brythonic | *beð = grave |
| Middle Welsh (Kymraec) | bed, bet = grave, tomb medraud, uedraut, bedraud = burial-place, grave, sepluchre, cemetery |
| Welsh (Cymraeg) | bedd [beːð] = grave, tomb, gravestone, tombstone, interred beddaf, beddu, beddo = to bury bedd-dorrwr = gravedigger beddfa = grave, tomb, mausoleum beddfaen = gravestone, tombstone beddrod = tomb, vault, grave, cemetery |
| Middle Cornish (Cernewec) | bedh = grave bedhy = to bury |
| Cornish (Kernewek) | bedh = grave, tomb bedhros = graveyard bedhskrif = epitaph |
| Middle Breton | bez = tomb, tombstone |
| Breton (Brezhoneg) | bez = grave, tomb, sepulchre |
Etymology: from the Proto-Indo-European *bʰedʰ- (to dig, burrow). Words from the same PIE root include fossa (ditch, trench, moat, fosse, grave) in Latin, and possibly bed in English [source].
| Old Irish (Goídelc) | úag = grave |
|---|---|
| Middle Irish (Gaoidhealg) | úag, úaig = grave |
| Irish (Gaeilge) | uaigh [uəɟ/uə] = grave |
| Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) | uaigh [uəj] = grave, tomb, sepluchre uaigh staoin = shallow grave uaigh-thrannsa = passage grave uaigheach = sepulchral, abounding in graves uaigheachd = (act of) burying, burial |
| Manx (Gaelg) | oaie, oaye = grave, pit, sepulchre |
Etymology: unknown [source].
| Old Irish (Goídelc) | reillic = grave |
|---|---|
| Middle Irish (Gaoidhealg) | reilic = burial place, relics (of saints) reilcech = containg cemeteries |
| Irish (Gaeilge) | reilig [ˈɾˠɛlʲɪɟ/ˈɾˠɛlʲɪc/ˈɾˠɨ̞lʲɪɟ] = graveyard, burial ground; relics reiligire = sexton, grave-digger reiligireacht = caring for churchyard, grave-digging |
| Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) | réilig, réileag [r̪ˠeːlɪgʲ] = burial place, ossuary, stone chest réilig-cloiche = ossuary, stone chest réiligeach = like a churchyard, having a churchyard |
| Manx (Gaelg) | ruillick, rhullick = burial ground, cemetery, graveyard, necropolis, churchyard ruillick fo-halloo = catacombs ruillick ny moght = paupers’ grave |
Etymology: from the Latin rēliquiae (remains, relics, remnants, survivors), from relinquō (I abandon, relinquish, forsake, leave), from the Proto-Italic *wrelinkʷō, ultimately from the Proto-Indo-European *leykʷ (to leave) [source].
Words from the same PIE root include loan in English, лишать [lʲɪˈʂatʲ] (to deprive, rob, bereave) in Russian, and possibly dìleab (bequest, inheritance, legacy) in Scottish Gaelic [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
