{"id":8979,"date":"2025-09-04T14:12:55","date_gmt":"2025-09-04T13:12:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/?p=8979"},"modified":"2025-09-04T14:12:55","modified_gmt":"2025-09-04T13:12:55","slug":"winnowing-wheat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/2025\/09\/04\/winnowing-wheat\/","title":{"rendered":"Winnowing Wheat"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Words for <strong>wheat<\/strong>, <strong>winnow<\/strong> and related things in Celtic languages.<\/p>\n<p><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/jamie8848\/8938348180\/in\/photolist-eBRnvo-nRN5ov-2kGmXSr-XH2BAc-iQRkyo-2egDzcU-nRuY9g-Fhk8Lr-FuVwcZ-XEhQ1G-pfeSHY-2mhhY56-2o3UPEv-2nWRySM-o5urzo-2qBkHzN-8DHGEB-8DLNYQ-3954ab-a38LEs-GnNtK-836o8E-5uF1jQ-5UxG95-26rcbUG-dCpnJe-2nRtvUi-bXcA4t-2mYXeqw-2nugT9A-Gz32Uo-ffXweS-2nUcdSG-22ARK21-2nAyP58-fwNwBo-2nBboRv-2niXbD9-2nunave-hdrE-ffGooM-9UHmKM-2nupAmV-2nBdZ3M-6ysR3t-2nUcdTU-B99WSN-2nRs4xK-fp3FyW-nRcg6b\" title=\"Winnowing\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/8938348180_1d25b681db_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" alt=\"Winnowing\"><\/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>*nixtos<\/strong> = (something) winnowed, wheat<br>\n<strong>*u&#632;o-nixtos<\/strong> = (?)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Old Irish (Go&iacute;delc)<\/th>\n<td><strong>*necht<\/strong> = (?)<br>\n<strong>cruithnecht<\/strong> = wheat<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Middle Irish (Gaoidhealg)<\/th>\n<td><strong>cruithnecht, cruithneachd<\/strong> = wheat<br>\n<strong>cruithnechtach, cruithneachtach<\/strong> = abounding in wheat<br>\n<strong>cruithnechtdae<\/strong> = relating to wheat<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Irish (Gaeilge)<\/th>\n<td><strong>cruithneacht<\/strong> [&#712;k&#638;&#736;&#618;(h)n&#690;&#601;xt&#810;&#736;] = wheat<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Scottish Gaelic (G&agrave;idhlig)<\/th>\n<td><strong>cruithneachd<\/strong> [kr&#623;n&#810;&#690;&#601;xg] = wheat, best of somethign<br>\n<strong>cruithneachd-choitcheann<\/strong> = common \/ bread wheat (<em>triticum aestivum<\/em>)<br>\n<strong>cruithneachd-Innseanach<\/strong> = maize, corn (<em>zea mays<\/em>)<br>\n<strong>cruithneachd nan gaisgeach<\/strong> = the greatest of heroes<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Manx (Gaelg)<\/th>\n<td><strong>curnagh(t)<\/strong> = wheat<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Proto-Brythonic<\/th>\n<td><strong>*ni&theta;<\/strong> = (something) winnowed, wheat<br>\n<strong>*gw&ouml;ni&theta;<\/strong> = wheat<br>\n<strong>*ni&theta;j&#616;d<\/strong> = to winnow<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Old Welsh (Kembraec)<\/th>\n<td><strong>gueinth<\/strong> = wheat<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Middle Welsh (Kymraec)<\/th>\n<td><strong>guenith, gwenith, g&#7933;enith<\/strong> = wheat<br>\n<strong>gwenithaidd<\/strong> = excellent, fine, of the purest, wheaten<br>\n<strong>gwenythdyr, gwenithdir<\/strong> = land under wheat, land suitable for wheat-growing<br>\n<strong>gwenithuein, gwenithfaen<\/strong> = granite<br>\n<strong>gwenith gwrwf, gwenithgwrw<\/strong> = wheat-ale<br>\n<strong>nithiau, nithiaw, nithio<\/strong> = to winnow, sift<br>\n<strong>nithydd, nithiwr<\/strong> = winnower<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Welsh (Cymraeg)<\/th>\n<td><strong>gwenith<\/strong> [&#712;&#609;w&#603;n&#618;&theta; \/ &#712;&#609;we&#720;n&#618;&theta;] = wheat, good people, excellence, purity, fine man or woman, one of the best, a real good sort<br>\n<strong>gwenithaidd<\/strong> = excellent, fine, of the purest, wheaten<br>\n<strong>gwenithlyd, gwenithog<\/strong> = abounding in wheat<br>\n<strong>gwenithol<\/strong> = wheaten, fine, of the highest quality, pure<br>\n<strong>nithio<\/strong> = to winnow, sift<br>\n<strong>nithiedig<\/strong> = winnowed, sifted<br>\n<strong>nithiol<\/strong> = winnowing, sifting<br>\n<strong>nithiwr, nithydd<\/strong> = winnower, winnowing machine<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Middle Cornish (Cernewec)<\/th>\n<td><strong>gwaneth<\/strong> = wheat<br>\n<strong>nothlen<\/strong> = a winnowing sheet<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Cornish (Kernewek)<\/th>\n<td><strong>gwaneth<\/strong> [&#712;&#609;wan&#603;&theta;] = wheat<br>\n<strong>gwanethek<\/strong> = wheat field<br>\n<strong>gwanethen<\/strong> = (ear of) wheat<br>\n<strong>gwanettir<\/strong> = wheat land<br>\n<strong>notha, nothya<\/strong> = to winnow<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Middle Breton<\/th>\n<td><strong>guiniz<\/strong> = birch<br>\n<strong>niza<\/strong> = to winnow<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Breton (Brezhoneg)<\/th>\n<td><strong>gwinizh<\/strong> [&#712;&#609;&#613;&#297;&#720;nis] = wheat<br>\n<strong>gwinizheg<\/strong> [&#609;w&#297;.&#712;ni&#720;.z&#603;k] = wheat field<br>\n<strong>gwinizhenn<\/strong> = stalk of wheat<br>\n<strong>gwinizhus<\/strong> = abundant in wheat<br>\n<strong>nizh, nizhadeg, nizherezh<\/strong> = winnowing<br>\n<strong>nizha&ntilde;<\/strong> = to winnow<br>\n<strong>nizher<\/strong> = winnower<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>Etymology<\/strong>: from Proto-Indo-European <em>*nik-t&oacute;-s<\/em>, from <em>*neyk-<\/em> (to winnow) &amp; <em>*-t&oacute;s<\/em> (<em>creates verbal adjectives from verb stems<\/em>) [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/Reconstruction:Proto-Celtic\/nixtos\">source<\/a>]. Words from the same PIE roots include <strong>&lambda;&#943;&kappa;&nu;&omicron;<\/strong> (l&iacute;kno &ndash; cradle) and <strong>&lambda;&iota;&chi;&nu;&#943;&zeta;&omega;<\/strong> (likhn&iacute;z&#333; &ndash; to thresh) in Greek, <strong>niekoti<\/strong> (trifle) in Latvian, and <strong>niek&#257;t<\/strong> (nothing) in Lithuanian [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/betulla#Latin\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th>Old Irish (Go&iacute;delc)<\/th>\n<td><strong>tuirenn<\/strong> = wheat<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Middle Irish (Gaoidhealg)<\/th>\n<td><strong>tuirenn, tuirinn<\/strong> = wheat<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Irish (Gaeilge)<\/th>\n<td><strong>tuireann<\/strong> = (<em>lit.<\/em>) wheat, faithful following, band, company<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Scottish Gaelic (G&agrave;idhlig)<\/th>\n<td><strong>tuireann<\/strong> [t&#623;r&#690;&#601;n&#810;&#736;] = wheat (<em>genus triticum<\/em>)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>Etymology<\/strong>: unknown, possibly related to <strong>tuireann<\/strong> (a spark of fire from an anvil) [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikisource.org\/wiki\/An_Etymological_Dictionary_of_the_Gaelic_Language\/T\">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","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Words for wheat, winnow and related things in Celtic languages. Words marked with a * are reconstructions. Proto-Celtic *nixtos = (something) winnowed, wheat *u\u0278o-nixtos = (?) Old Irish (Go\u00eddelc) *necht = (?) cruithnecht = wheat Middle Irish (Gaoidhealg) cruithnecht, cruithneachd = wheat cruithnechtach, cruithneachtach = abounding in wheat cruithnechtdae = relating to wheat Irish (Gaeilge) [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,26,115,21,3,109,110,22,5,6,37,7,10,40,11,12,13,23,18,14],"tags":[52,80,51,145,48,47,53,49,55,50,285,287,288],"class_list":["post-8979","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-breton","category-kernewek-cornish","category-greek-","category-gaeilge-irish","category-language","category-latvian-latviesu-valoda","category-lithuanian-lietuviu-kalba","category-gaelg-manx","category-middle-breton","category-middle-cornish","category-middle-irish","category-middle-welsh-kymraec","category-old-irish-goidelc","category-old-welsh","category-proto-brythonic","category-proto-celtic","category-proto-indo-european","category-gaidhlig-scottish-gaelic","category-cymraeg-welsh","category-words","tag-breton","tag-celtic","tag-cornish","tag-etymology","tag-gaelic","tag-irish","tag-language","tag-manx","tag-scottish-gaelic","tag-welsh","tag-wheat","tag-winnow","tag-winnowing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8979","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=8979"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8979\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8983,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8979\/revisions\/8983"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8979"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8979"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8979"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}