Today we’re looking at the words for sieve and related things in Celtic languages.
Words marked with a * are reconstructions.
| Proto-Celtic | *krētros = sieve |
|---|---|
| Old Irish (Gaoidhealg) | críathar = sieve |
| Middle Irish (Gaoidhealg) | críathar = sieve, riddle críatharach = marsh, morass, boggy wasteland críathrad = act of winnowing, sifting, riddling críathraid = sifts, riddles, spreads |
| Irish (Gaeilge) | criathar [ˈcɾʲiəhəɾˠ / ˈcɾʲiːhəɾˠ] = sieve, riddle criathach = pitted, perforated, swampy criathrú = winnowing, sifting, honeycombing criathradóir = winnower, sifter, maker of sieves criathraigh = to sieve, winnow, riddle, sift, honeycomb criathróir = animal surefooted on boggy ground criathar meala = honeycomb criathar mín = fine sieve |
| Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) | criathar [krʲiə.ər] = riddle, sieve criathar-tomhais = bushel (measure and implement) criathar-garbh = riddle (implement) criatharair [krʲiəhərɛrʲ] = sieve-maker criathradh [krʲiarəɣ] = (act of) filtering |
| Manx (Gaelg) | creear = sieve, riddle creearey = sieve, pan, sift, riddle creear meein = fine sieve creear garroo = rough sieve jannoo creear = to honeycomb |
| Proto-Brythonic | *kruɨdr = wandering, sieve |
| Old Welsh | cruitr = winnowing shovel |
| Middle Welsh (Kymraec) | cruidir, crwydr = sieve |
| Welsh (Cymraeg) | crwydr [ˈkrʰʊɨ̯dr̩ / ˈkrʰʊi̯dr̩] = a wandering, a roaming; misfortune, trouble, confusion, rout, dispersion; a straying, aberration, error; winnowing-fan, winnowing-shovel, sieve crwydro = to wander, roam, stroll, gad about, stray, go astray, deviate, digress crwydredig = wandering, vagrant, roving, stray crwydro = barn, granary, farm building crwydrwr = wanderer, vagrant, vagabond, rover, nomad |
| Old Cornish | croider = sieve, riddle |
| Middle Cornish | croider, crodar = sieve, riddle |
| Cornish (Kernewek) | kroder = coarse sieve, strainer, riddle kroder kroghen = bodhrán, hold-all |
| Old Breton | croitir = sieve, riddle |
| Middle Breton | croezr = sieve, riddle |
| Breton (Brezhoneg) | krouer = sieve, riddle, screen krouerañ = to sift, riddle, sieve krouer liammoù = link generator rakkroueriañ = pre-screening |
Etymology: from the Proto-Indo-European *krey-trom (sieve) from *krey- (to sift, separate, divide) [source]. Words from the same PIE root include crime, crisis, riddle and secret in English, ceart (right, correct, true) in Irish, and crynu (to tremble, shake) and ergryn (horror, dread) in Welsh [source].
| Proto-Celtic | *sītlā = vase |
|---|---|
| Old Irish (Goídelc) | síthal = bucket síthlaid = to filter, sift, strain soithech = container, vessel |
| Middle Irish | síthal, sitheal = a vessel for drawing water, a bucket síthlaid, síthlaigid, síthóilid = to strain, filter, sift, scour, sweep across, flow away, melt soithech, soitheach = vessel, container (for liquids), blood vessel, boat |
| Irish (Gaeilge) | síothal [ʃiː(h)ˈl̪ˠɑːn̪ˠ] = vessel for drawing water, pail, bucket (literary) síothlaigh = to strain, filter, drain away, subside, settle, expire, die síothlán = strainer, filter, colander síothlóir = (of person) strainer, filterer (person), weakly, dying person síothlú = filtration, percolation, subsidence, abatement, expiry, death |
| Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) | sìol [ʃiəl̪ˠ] = compose, settle, filter, strain sìol(t)achan [ʃiəl̪ˠ(d)əxan] = filter, strainer sìoltag [ʃiəl̪ˠdag] = strainer, filter, sieve sìol(t)an [ʃiəl̪ˠ(d)an] = filter, strainer, sieve sìoltachair [ʃiəl̪ˠdəxɛrʲ] = filter feeder sìoltachadh [ʃiəl̪ˠdəxəɣ] = (act of) filter feeding |
| Manx (Gaelg) | sheeley = to flow, run, drip, trickle, dribble, seep, oose, filter, strain, drain sheelaghey = to strain off, to filter, to refine, clarification, sober |
| Proto-Brythonic | *sidl, *hidl = filter, sieve (?) |
| Middle Welsh (Kymraec) | hidl, hidyl, hityl = filter, strainer, sieve hitler, hidlir, hidlaw = to strain, filter, purify, cleanse, percolate, pour, sprinkle, scatter, sift hidleit, hidlaid = strained, clarified, clear, flowing |
| Welsh (Cymraeg) | hidl, hiddl = filter, sieve, strainer hidl(i)ad = straining, filtration, percolation hidlai = strainer, filter hidlaid = strained, clarified, clear, flowing hidlo = to strain, filter, purify, cleanse, percolate, pour, sprinkle, scatter, sift hidlwr, hidlydd = strainer, filter |
| Cornish (Kernewek) | sidhel [ˈɹɔːz] = filter, strainer, colander sidhla = to filter, strain, sift, sieve, percolate, purify, cleanse |
| Middle Breton (Brezonec) | sizl = filter, strainer sila, sizla = to filter |
| Breton (Brezhoneg) | sil [siːl] = filter, strainer silad = filtrate, grout siladenn = filtering siladur = filtering, filtration silañ = to filter silerezh = filtering, percolation |
Etymology: possibly from Proto-Indo-European *seh₁- (to impress, insert, sow, plant), and influenced by Latin situla (a vessel used to hold water, a voting urn, basin, jar) [source]. Words from the same PIE root include siets (sieve, sifter) in Latvian, sito (sieve, filter) in Polish, (to) sow, season, seminar and seed in English, zaaian (to sow, plant seed, spread) in Dutch, sold (sieve) in Danish [source].
| Old Irish (Goídelc) | scacaid = to filter, sift, strain |
|---|---|
| Middle Irish (Gaoidhealg) | scacaid, scacad, sgacadh = to strain, filter, sift, purify |
| Irish (Gaeilge) | scag = to strain, filter, drain off, refine, sift, screen, derive, spring (from a source) scagach = permeable, porour, thin, flimsy, sparse scagachán = filtration scagacht = porosity scagadh = filtration, refinement, assortment, critical examination scagaire = filter, screen, filterer, sifter, refiner scagaireacht = (act of) filtering, sifting, refining |
| Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) | sgag [sgag] = split, crack, chap |
Etymology: possibly from Old Norse [source].
| Proto-Celtic | *wokro- = (?) |
|---|---|
| Middle Welsh (Kymraec) | goger, gogr, gogyr = sieve, riddle, screen, strainer |
| Welsh (Cymraeg) | gogr [ˈɡɔɡɔr / ˈɡoːɡɔr] = sieve, riddle, screen, strainer gogrwr, gogrydd = sieve-maker, sifter gogru [ˈɡɔɡrɨ̞ / ˈɡɔɡri] = to sieve, sift |
Etymology: from PIE *sker- (to separate, cut off) [source].
Sources: Wiktionary, Etymological Dictionary Of Proto Celtic, In Dúil Bélrai English – Old Irish glossary, eDIL – Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language, Teanglann.ie, Am Faclair Beag, An etymological dictionary of the Gaelic language, Fockleyreen: Manx – English Dictionary, Online Manx Dictionary, Gaelg Corpus, Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru, Lexicon cornu-britannicum : a dictionary of the ancient Celtic language of Cornwall, Gerlyver Kernewek, Devri : Le dictionaire diachronique du breton, Geriafurch, TermOfis