Words for hide, conceal and related words in Celtic languages.
Words marked * are reconstructions.
| Proto-Celtic | *kelo- = to hide *keleti = to hide, conceal |
|---|---|
| Old Irish (Goídelc) | ceilid = to hide, conceal |
| Middle Irish (Gaoidhealg) | ceilid = to hide, conceal, admit, allow, concede, withhold, hoard, suppress, destroy ceilt = act of hiding, concealing, suppressing cel = concealment, dissolution, extinction, death celt = covering, garment, clothing celtair = concealment, covering, garment, cloak |
| Irish (Gaeilge) | ceil [kɛlʲ] = to conceal, suppress, withhold ceileantas = concealment, secrecy ceileatram = disguise, veneer ceilt = concealment, withholding, denial ceilteanas = concealment |
| Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) | ceil [kʲel] = concealment, death (archaic) ceileadh [kʲeləɣ] =(act of) concealing, hiding ceilear [kʲelər] = concealer, someone who hides, screener ceilt [kʲeldʲ] = concealment ceilte [kʲeldʲə] = concealed, hidden ceilteach [kʲeldʲəx] = concealing, reserved |
| Manx (Gaelg) | keill = to hide keiltyn = to coneal, cover (up), disguies, hide, shelter; concealment, dissimulation, suppression keiltynys = camouflage, furtiveness, hiding |
| Proto-Brythonic | *kelɨd = |
| Middle Welsh (Kymraec) | cêl, cel = hiding, concealment, shelter kelv, kelu, kely = to hide, conceal celadwy, keladwy = hidden, concealed, private, secret keledic = hidden, concealed, secret |
| Welsh (Cymraeg) | cêl [kɛːl/keːl] = hiding, concealment, shelter, bower, hidden, secret celaf, celu [ˈkɛlɨ̞/ˈkeːli/ˈkɛli] = to hide, conceal, keep secret celadwy = hidden, concealed, private, secret celdy = bower, arbour celedig = hidden, concealed, secret, dissembled celedigaeth = concealment, secrecy celedd = secretiveness, caution datgelaf, datgelu = to reveal, detect, blab, solve |
| Middle Cornish (Cernewec) | celes, celys, kelys = to conceal, hide |
| Cornish (Kernewek) | kel = hidden, secret keles = to conceal, hide keles ha kavos = hide-and-seek |
Etymology: from the Proto-Indo-European *ḱéleti (to be covering, hiding), from *ḱel- (to cover) [source].
Words from the same roots include words for cell and church in Celtic languages, cell, cellar, clandestine, conceal, hall, hell, helmet and occult in English, and the name William [source].
Words such as Celt and Celtic, and their equivalents in other languages possibly come from the same Proto-Celtic roots, via the French celtique (Celtic), Latin Celtae (the Celts) and the Greek Κελτοί (Keltoí) / Κέλται (Kéltai), which is what Herodotus called the Gauls. They might have originally meant something like ‘descendents of the hidden one (the underworld deity)’, and according to Julius Caesar, the Gauls claimed descent from an underworld god [source].
In Breton, kuzh means secret and confidential, and kuzhat means to hide. They are cognate with the Welsh words cudd (concealment, secrecy) and cuddio (to hide, conceal), and the Cornish words kudh (concealed, hidden, secret) and kudha (to conceal, hide). See the Celtiadur post Mysterious Secrets for more details.
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, Lexicon Cornu-britannicum: A Dictionary of the Ancient Celtic Language of Cornwall, Dictionaire Favereau, TermOfis, Le dictionnaire diachronique du breton, Etymological Dictionary Of Proto Celtic