{"id":6352,"date":"2022-01-29T20:51:44","date_gmt":"2022-01-29T20:51:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/?p=6352"},"modified":"2025-08-09T21:46:45","modified_gmt":"2025-08-09T20:46:45","slug":"wings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/2022\/01\/29\/wings\/","title":{"rendered":"Wings"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Today we&rsquo;re looking at the words for <strong>wing<\/strong>, <strong>feather<\/strong> and related things in Celtic languages.<\/p>\n<p><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/bansal98\/2043090451\/in\/photolist-47xnBr-sc4XRR-emPJ99-7gJE9-y5Zfv-2m7bvKT-7fy3Yy-7vkAyH-9FPfDk-frQJiP-2h3T8fw-brcaz6-nLFhs2-brfUSD-omwdh-xypNY-9HQAW-6n2n5E-5J5JhE-8djz3J-9HcE2H-2kNGXNY-2mEDJ95-6pXfBY-5rwMHU-soPrg-5VGqwL-CkgdQh-8qbWfe-zDhDqq-eLYE13-59yV4A-qDzoXm-bnivq7-eLYEgS-8s9cC-r4kVgq-7x8xKj-6MsvbZ-2mFeivy-dh2a3-bAdm4c-4sKnsS-2hGPFao-2iPLWF6-SoAaX3-7Hs4VK-9kAYH2-2jpZBW7-4CqeS4\" title=\"Wings\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/2197\/2043090451_534e066333_z.jpg\" alt=\"Wings\" width=\"640\" height=\"475\"><\/a><script async=\"\" src=\"\/\/embedr.flickr.com\/assets\/client-code.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Words marked with a * are reconstructions.<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th>Proto-Celtic<\/th>\n<td><strong>*&#632;eto\/*feto-<\/strong> = to fly<br>\n<strong>*fatar\/*fatanos\/*fetnos<\/strong> = wing, bird<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Old Irish (Go&iacute;delc)<\/th>\n<td><strong>ette<\/strong> [&#712;et&#690;e] = wing, pinion, fin, feather, plume<br>\n<strong>ettech\/ittech<\/strong> = winged, finned, flying, fluttering<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Irish (Gaeilge)<\/th>\n<td><strong>eite<\/strong> [&#712;&#603;t&#690;&#601;] = wing, pinion, wing feather, fin, vane<br>\n<strong>eiteach<\/strong> = winged, pennate, plumed, feathered, finned<br>\n<strong>eiteog<\/strong> = wing, (little) wing feather, (little) fin, wing-like<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Scottish Gaelic (G&agrave;idhlig)<\/th>\n<td><strong>ite<\/strong> [i&ccedil;d&#690;&#601;] = feather, plume, fin, overlap, blade<br>\n<strong>iteach<\/strong> [ihd&#690;&#601;x] = feathery, feathered, finned<br>\n<strong>itealach<\/strong> = winged, flying, hovering, fluttering<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Manx (Gaelg)<\/th>\n<td><strong>fedjag<\/strong> [&#712;faia&#609;] = feather, plume, quill, pinion<br>\n<strong>fedjagagh<\/strong> = pinnate, feathery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Proto-Brythonic<\/th>\n<td><strong>*atan&#299;<\/strong> = wing<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Middle Welsh (Kymraec)<\/th>\n<td><strong>adain<\/strong> = wing, fin<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Welsh (Cymraeg)<\/th>\n<td><strong>adain<\/strong> [&#712;adai&#815;n\/&#712;ad&#603;n\/&#712;a&#720;d&#603;n] = wing, fin, arm, sleeve<br>\n<strong>adeiniog<\/strong> = winged<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Old Cornish<\/th>\n<td><strong>aden<\/strong> = leaf of a book<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Old Breton<\/th>\n<td><strong>attanoc<\/strong> = wing<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>Etymology<\/strong>: from the Proto-Indo-European <em>*peth&#8322;-<\/em> (to fly, to spread out) [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/ette#Old_Irish\">source<\/a>]. The English words such as <strong>feather<\/strong>, <strong>petal<\/strong>, <strong>pinion<\/strong> and <strong>helicopter<\/strong> come from the same PIE root [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/Category:English_terms_derived_from_the_Proto-Indo-European_root_*peth%E2%82%82-\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>Words for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/2020\/06\/06\/birds-and-larks\/\">birds and larks<\/a> come from the same Proto-Celtic roots.<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th>Middle Irish (Gaoidhealg)<\/th>\n<td><strong>ascall<\/strong> = armpit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Irish (Gaeilge)<\/th>\n<td><strong>ascaill<\/strong> [&#712;as&#736;k&#601;l&#800;&#690;\/&#712;as&#736;k&#601;l&#810;&#736;] = armpit, recess, avenue, axil<br>\n<strong>ascl&aacute;n<\/strong> = something carried under arm, armful, gusset<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Scottish Gaelic (G&agrave;idhlig)<\/th>\n<td><strong>asgall<\/strong> [asg&#601;l&#810;&#736;] = breast, bosom, armpit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Manx (Gaelg)<\/th>\n<td><strong>aghlish<\/strong> = axil, armful, armpit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Proto-Brythonic<\/th>\n<td><strong>*askell<\/strong> = wing<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Middle Welsh (Kymraec)<\/th>\n<td><strong>asgell, askell<\/strong> = wing<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Welsh (Cymraeg)<\/th>\n<td><strong>asgell<\/strong> [&#712;as&#609;a&#620; \/ &#712;aska&#620;] = wing, feather, fin, flank, side<br>\n<strong>asgellog<\/strong> = winged, feathered, flying, finned, scaly, barbed<br>\n<strong>asgellwr<\/strong> = winger, wing-forward (<em>in sports<\/em>)<br>\n<strong>asgellu<\/strong> = to feather (an arrow), put wings on, grow wings, shelter\/protect (with wings)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Old Cornish<\/th>\n<td><strong>ascall<\/strong> = wing<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Cornish (Kernewek)<\/th>\n<td><strong>askel<\/strong> = wing<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Breton (Brezhoneg)<\/th>\n<td><strong>askell<\/strong> [&#712;as.k&#603;l] = wing, fin, flipper<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>Etymology<\/strong>: from the Latin <em>ascella<\/em> (wing), from <em>axilla<\/em> (little wing, axilla, armpit), a diminutive of <em>&#257;la<\/em> (wing, armpit, shoulder blade) from the Proto-Indo-European <em>*h&#8322;e&#7729;s-<\/em> (axis) [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/asgell#Welsh\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th>Old Irish (Go&iacute;delc)<\/th>\n<td><strong>cl&uacute;m<\/strong> = feathers, down, plumage, fur<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Middle Irish (Gaoidhealg)<\/th>\n<td><strong>cl&uacute;m, cl&uacute;im, cl&uacute;mh<\/strong> = feathers, plumage, down, hair, vegetation, foliage<br>\n<strong>cl&uacute;mach, clumhach, clumach<\/strong> = plumage, feathers, down<br>\n<strong>cl&uacute;mdae<\/strong> = downy<br>\n<strong>cl&uacute;m(th)ach, cl&uacute;mhach<\/strong> = downy, soft, hairy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Irish (Gaeilge)<\/th>\n<td><strong>cl&uacute;mh<\/strong> [kl&#810;&#736;u&#720;v&#736; \/ kl&#736;&#361;&#720;] = down, feathers, hair, fur, coat, foliage<br>\n<strong>cl&uacute;mhach<\/strong> fluff, fuzz, hairy, flurry, coated, fluffy, fluzzy, fleecy<br>\n<strong>cl&uacute;mhad&oacute;ir<\/strong> = feather dealer<br>\n<strong>cl&uacute;mh&uacute;il<\/strong> = downy, mildewed<br>\n<strong>cl&uacute;mh&uacute;lacht<\/strong> = downiness<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Scottish Gaelic (G&agrave;idhlig)<\/th>\n<td><strong>cl&ugrave;imh, cl&ograve;imh<\/strong> [kl&#810;&#736;&#361;&#720;&#297;v \/ kl&#810;&#736;&#596;&#720;j] = wool, down (feathers), moult<br>\n<strong>cl&ugrave;imhteach<\/strong> [kl&#810;&#736;&#361;&#720;&#297;d&#690;&#601;x] = down (feathers) mop of hair<br>\n<strong>cl&ograve;imhneag<\/strong> [kl&#810;&#736;&#596;&#771;&#720;in&#810;&#690;ag] = small feather, snowflake<br>\n<strong>cl&ograve;imhteach<\/strong> [kl&#810;&#736;&#596;&#771;&#720;&#297;d&#690;&#601;x] = down, downy, mop of hair<br>\n<strong>cl&ograve;imhteachan<\/strong> [kl&#810;&#736;&#596;&#771;&#720;&#297;d&#690;&#601;xan] = eiderdown<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Manx (Gaelg)<\/th>\n<td><strong>clooie<\/strong> = down, feather, plumage, bloom (on fruit), fluff, fur, fuzz<br>\n<strong>clooieagh, clooiagh<\/strong> = downy, feathered, feathery, woolly, fleecy<br>\n<strong>clooiesag, clooisag<\/strong> = pillow<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Proto-Brythonic<\/th>\n<td><strong>*pl&#649;&beta;&#771;<\/strong> = feathers<br>\n<strong>*pl&#649;&beta;&#771;&#7885;g<\/strong> = cushion, pillow<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Old Welsh (Kembraec)<\/th>\n<td><strong>*plum<\/strong> = feathers<br>\n<strong>plumauc<\/strong> = pillow, cushion<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Middle Welsh (Kymraec)<\/th>\n<td><strong>pluawr, plu, pluf, plvf<\/strong> = feathers, plumes<br>\n <strong>plufaw, pluo<\/strong> = to pluck, despoil, fleece<br>\n<strong>pluoc<\/strong> = feathered, feathery<br>\n<strong>plyvog<\/strong> = pillow, cushion<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Welsh (Cymraeg)<\/th>\n<td><strong>plu(f)<\/strong> [pl&#616;&#720; \/ pl&#616;&#720;] = feathers, plumes, (fishing) flies, quills, birdies (in golf)<br>\n<strong>plu(f)en<\/strong> = feather, plume<br>\n<strong>pluad<\/strong> = plumage<br>\n<strong>plu(f)aidd<\/strong> = feathery, feathered<br>\n<strong>pluo, pluf(i)o<\/strong> = to pluck, despoil, fleece<br>\n<strong>pluog<\/strong> = feathered, adorned or covered with feathers, feathery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Old Cornish<\/th>\n<td><strong>*pluf<\/strong> = feathers<br>\n<strong>plufoc<\/strong> = bolster<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Middle Cornish (Cernewec)<\/th>\n<td><strong>pl&ucirc;v, plyv<\/strong> = feathers<br>\n<strong>pluven, plyven<\/strong> = feather, plen<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Cornish (Kernewek)<\/th>\n<td><strong>pluv<\/strong> = plumage<br>\n<strong>pluven<\/strong> = feather, pen, quill<br>\n<strong>pluven blomm\/blobm<\/strong> = pencil<br>\n<strong>pluvennek, pluvednek<\/strong> = feathered<br>\n<strong>pluvek<\/strong> = cushion, pillow<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Old Breton (Brethonoc)<\/th>\n<td><strong>*plum<\/strong> = feathers, plumage<br>\n<strong>plumoc<\/strong> = bolster<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Middle Breton (Brezonec)<\/th>\n<td><strong>pluff, pl&uuml;<\/strong> = feathers, plumage<br>\n<strong>pluuenn, pluffenn, pluenn, pl&uuml;en<\/strong> = feather<br>\n<strong>pluffec<\/strong> = bolster<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Breton (Brezhoneg)<\/th>\n<td><strong>plu&ntilde;v<\/strong> [&#712;pl&#7929;&#720;] = feathers, plumage<br>\n<strong>plu&ntilde;venn<\/strong> = feather<br>\n<strong>plu&ntilde;vaat<\/strong> = to feather oneself, to enrich oneself<br>\n<strong>plu&ntilde;a&ntilde;<\/strong> = to pluck<br>\n<strong>plu&ntilde;vek<\/strong> = feathery, covered in feathers<br>\n<strong>plu&ntilde;vet<\/strong> = feathered, fledged, feathery<br>\n<strong>plueg<\/strong> [&#712;ply&#720;.ek] = cushion, bolster, pillow<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>Etymology<\/strong>: from Latin <em>pl&#363;ma<\/em> (feather, plume), from Proto-Italic <em>*plouksm&#257;<\/em>, from Proto-Indo-European <em>*plewk-smeh&#8322;<\/em>, from Proto-Indo-European <em>*plewk-<\/em> (to fly flow, run) [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/pluma#Latin\">source<\/a>]. Words from the same PIE roots include <strong>flea<\/strong>, <strong>flee<\/strong>, <strong>flight<\/strong>, <strong>flock<\/strong>, <strong>fly<\/strong>, <strong>fowl<\/strong>, and <strong>plume<\/strong> in English, <strong>fl&egrave;che<\/strong> (arrow, spire, needle) in French, <strong>pluma<\/strong> (plume) in Portuguese, and <strong>pl&aacute;ukas<\/strong> (hair) in Lithuanian [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European\/plewk-\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<p>Sources: <em><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/\">Wiktionary<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/embed\/EtymologicalDictionaryOfProtoCeltic\">Etymological Dictionary Of Proto Celtic<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www3.smo.uhi.ac.uk\/sengoidelc\/duil-belrai\/english.html\">In D&uacute;il B&eacute;lrai English &ndash; Old Irish glossary<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/dil.ie\/\">eDIL &ndash; Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.teanglann.ie\/en\/fgb\/ceann\">Teanglann.ie<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.faclair.com\/\">Am Faclair Beag<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikisource.org\/wiki\/An_Etymological_Dictionary_of_the_Gaelic_Language\">An etymological dictionary of the Gaelic language<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/dictionaryq.com\/gaelg\/\">Fockleyreen: Manx &ndash; English Dictionary<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mannin.info\/Mannin\/fockleyr\/m2e.php\">Online Manx Dictionary<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/corpus.gaelg.im\/\">Gaelg Corpus<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/geiriadur.ac.uk\/gpc\/gpc.html\">Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/details\/lexiconcornubrit00willuoft\/page\/n5\/mode\/2up\">Lexicon cornu-britannicum : a dictionary of the ancient Celtic language of Cornwall<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cornishdictionary.org.uk\/\">Gerlyver Kernewek<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/devri.bzh\/\">Devri : Le dictionaire diachronique du breton<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/geriafurch.bzh\/fr\">Geriafurch<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.brezhoneg.bzh\/87-termofis.htm\">TermOfis<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-5001128073855040\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br>\n<!-- Blog horizontal --><br>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-5001128073855040\" data-ad-slot=\"1685480124\" data-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins><br>\n<script>\n (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\n<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today we&#8217;re looking at the words for wing, feather and related things in Celtic languages. Words marked with a * are reconstructions. Proto-Celtic *\u0278eto\/*feto- = to fly *fatar\/*fatanos\/*fetnos = wing, bird Old Irish (Go\u00eddelc) ette [\u02c8et\u02b2e] = wing, pinion, fin, feather, plume ettech\/ittech = winged, finned, flying, fluttering Irish (Gaeilge) eite [\u02c8\u025bt\u02b2\u0259] = wing, pinion, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73,84,16,26,19,20,21,3,22,7,27,8,9,10,41,11,12,13,23,18,14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-animals","category-birds","category-breton","category-kernewek-cornish","category-english","category-etymology","category-gaeilge-irish","category-language","category-gaelg-manx","category-middle-welsh-kymraec","category-nouns","category-old-breton","category-old-cornish","category-old-irish-goidelc","category-parts-of-the-body","category-proto-brythonic","category-proto-celtic","category-proto-indo-european","category-gaidhlig-scottish-gaelic","category-cymraeg-welsh","category-words"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6352","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6352"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6352\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8923,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6352\/revisions\/8923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6352"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6352"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6352"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}