{"id":9335,"date":"2026-10-08T20:49:23","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T19:49:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/?p=9335"},"modified":"2026-10-08T20:49:25","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T19:49:25","slug":"seaweed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/2026\/10\/08\/seaweed\/","title":{"rendered":"Seaweed"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In this post we&rsquo;re looking into words meaning <strong>dulse<\/strong>, <strong>seaweed<\/strong> and related things in Celtic languages. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Dulse<\/strong> (<em>Palmaria palmata<\/em>) is a reddish-brown type of seaweed which is sometimes eaten in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and other places. The English word <strong>dulse<\/strong> was borrowed from Irish and\/or Scottish Gaelic. It is also written <strong>dilisk<\/strong>, <strong>dillisk<\/strong>, <strong>dilsk<\/strong> or <strong>dulce<strong>.<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a data-flickr-embed=\"true\" href=\"https:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/oregonseagrant\/48898421926\/in\/photolist-2huZcf7-2hv1cbd-G5wCW2-cRj7uu-aYviUk-KweexA-2nC2MhR-LTZe2s-5UYHZp-ekvMzZ-UeiVj7-Kwseke-9bAPJr-8hEv42-i7yc5p-9qUuwL-6HmX7a-9bDVMs-9bDVvS-62j44M-8oNvCy-FYGCDq-9bDVnf-qM3qCg-7PcB7o-2nC7K3Q-8Ym42y-7PocKw-2nC2NYg-2nCag9w-2nC9aAt-2nC9aYN-2nC9aQb-96XktX-7WRLhQ-eDj9xd-9gmfZD-cLcwzQ-hfWsSR-2aTGmaG-6HmX7p-RfMXN2-6HrepQ-8M4gqf-2nC7M3G-4NWk9Q-8hHKR9-6Hreq5-6HrhxA-9SyK4X\" title=\"dulse003TW\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/live.staticflickr.com\/65535\/48898421926_c814cbee04_z.jpg\" width=\"640\" height=\"376\" alt=\"dulse003TW\"><\/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>*doliskos<\/strong> =  dulse, dilisk (edible seaweed of the species <em>Palmaria palmata<\/em><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Old Irish (Go&iacute;delc)<\/th>\n<td><strong>duilesc<\/strong> = dulse<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Middle Irish (Gaoidhealg)<\/th>\n<td><strong>duilesc, duilleasg, duileasg<\/strong> [&#712;d&#810;ul&#690;&#601;sk] = dulse, seaweed with skinny horns, sea-grass<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Irish (Gaeilge)<\/th>\n<td><strong>duileasc<\/strong> = dulse<br>\n<strong>duileascar<\/strong> = rock moss<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Scottish Gaelic (G&agrave;idhlig)<\/th>\n<td><strong>duileasg<\/strong> [dul&#601;sg] = (red) dulse, sea lettuce flakes<br>\n<strong>duileasg na h-aibhne<\/strong> =  pondweed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Manx (Gaelg)<\/th>\n<td><strong>dullish<\/strong> = dulse<br>\n<strong>dullish awin<\/strong> =  pondweed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Proto-Brythonic<\/th>\n<td><strong>*d&ouml;l&#616;sk<\/strong> = dulse<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Middle Welsh (Kymraec)<\/th>\n<td><strong>dilysc, delysc, dylysc<\/strong> = dulse, edible seaweed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Welsh (Cymraeg)<\/th>\n<td><strong>delysg, dylysg, dylusg<\/strong> [&#712;d&#603;l&#736;&#616;&#798;sk \/ &#712;de&#720;l&#618;sk] = dulse, edible seaweed, palmated seaweed; stuff which is cast up by the sea, offscouring, filth, sweepings<br>\n<strong>delysg y m&ocirc;r<\/strong> = edible seaweed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Breton (Brezhoneg)<\/th>\n<td><strong>tellesk<\/strong> = dulse<br>\n<strong>telleskek<\/strong> = where dulse is abundant<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>Etymology<\/strong>: from Proto-Celtic <em>*dol-<\/em> (leaves), from Proto-Indo-European <em>*d&#688;elh&#8321;-<\/em> (to well forth, to spring forth, to flourish, to green) [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/Reconstruction:Proto-Celtic\/doliskos\">source<\/a>]. Words from the same roots include <strong>dal<\/strong> (to exist, go out, leave) in Albanian, <strong>&#1380;&#1381;&#1394;<\/strong> (de&#289; &ndash; drug, medicine, poison) in Armenian, <strong>&#4315;&#4307;&#4308;&#4314;&#4317;<\/strong> (mdelo &ndash; meadow) in Georgian, <strong>foglio<\/strong> (sheet) in Italian, <strong>full<\/strong> (sheet of paper) in Catalan, <strong>dail<\/strong> (leaves, sheets [of paper]) in Welsh, and <strong>dulse<\/strong>, <strong>foil<\/strong>, <strong>folio<\/strong>, and possibly <strong>dill<\/strong> in English [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European\/d%CA%B0elh%E2%82%81-\">source<\/a>].<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th>Proto-Celtic<\/th>\n<td><strong>*wimmon&#257;<\/strong> = seaweed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Old Irish (Go&iacute;delc)<\/th>\n<td><strong>femmuin<\/strong> = seaweed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Middle Irish (Gaoidhealg)<\/th>\n<td><strong>fem(m)ain, femman, femmuin<\/strong> = seaweed<br>\n<strong>femnach<\/strong> = seaweed, edible water-weed<br>\n<strong>femnachda<\/strong> = resembling seaweed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Irish (Gaeilge)<\/th>\n<td><strong>feamainn<\/strong> [&#712;f&#690;am&#736;&#601;n&#800;&#690;] = seaweed, wrack, eelgrass, seawrack (<em>Zostera marina<\/em>)<br>\n<strong>feamainneach<\/strong> = clustered (as seaweed), tressed, ringleted (of hair)<br>\n<strong>feamnaigh<\/strong> = to cover with seaweed<br>\n<strong>talamh a fheamn&uacute;<\/strong> = to spread seaweed onland, to fertilize land with seaweed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Scottish Gaelic (G&agrave;idhlig)<\/th>\n<td><strong>feamainn<\/strong> [f&#603;m&#618;n&#810;&#690;] = seaweed, sea algae, seaweed used as fertiliser, marsh plant(s); fertilse with seaweed, harvest seaweed<br>\n<strong>feamainneach<\/strong> [f&#603;m&#618;n&#810;&#690;&#601;x] = like or pertaining to seaweed, fucoid, alginic<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Manx (Gaelg)<\/th>\n<td><strong>famlagh<\/strong> = seaweed, kelp, wrack<br>\n<strong>fammyragh<\/strong> = seaweed, wrack<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Proto-Brythonic<\/th>\n<td><strong>*gw&#616;mon<\/strong> = seaweed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Middle Welsh (Kymraec)<\/th>\n<td><strong>guimon, gwimon, gwymon, gwmon<\/strong> = seaweed, laver, dulse<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Welsh (Cymraeg)<\/th>\n<td><strong>gwymon, gw(i)mon<\/strong> [&#712;&#609;w&#616;&#798;m&#596;n \/ &#712;&#609;&#650;i&#815;m&#596;n] = seaweed, laver, dulse, freshwater alga, mean worthless thing<br>\n<strong>gwymona<\/strong> = to gather seaweed (for use as manure)<br>\n<strong>gw(y)monog, gwmanog<\/strong> = abounding in seaweed, covered with seaweed, seaweedy<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Middle Cornish (Cernewec \/ Kernuak)<\/th>\n<td><strong>gumman<\/strong> = seaweed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Cornish (Kernewek)<\/th>\n<td><strong>gomonen<\/strong> = seaweed, kelp<br>\n<strong>gomonna, gomodna<\/strong> = to gather seaweed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Old Breton (Brethonoc)<\/th>\n<td><strong>goumon, gueimmonou<\/strong> = seaweed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Middle Breton (Brezonec)<\/th>\n<td><strong>goaymon, goumon<\/strong> = seaweed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Breton (Brezhoneg)<\/th>\n<td><strong>gouemon, go(u)mon<\/strong> [&#712;&#609;um&#720;&#596;&#771;n] = seaweed, kelp<br>\n<strong>gouemona<\/strong> = to search for \/ gather seaweed<br>\n<strong>gouemonaer<\/strong> = seaweed harvester<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>Etymology<\/strong>: uncertain, possibly from PIE <em>*weyb-<\/em> (to wind around). The words <strong>gam&oacute;<\/strong> (asphodel, mullein) in Catalan, <strong>gam&oacute;n<\/strong> (asphodel) in Galician <strong>gam&atilde;o<\/strong> (backgammon) in Portuguese might also come from the same Proto-Celtic roots [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/Reconstruction:Proto-Celtic\/wimmon%C4%81\">source<\/a>]. The French word <strong>go&eacute;mon<\/strong> (wrack [seaweed], kelp) was borrowed from Middle Breton <em>gwemon<\/em> [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/wiki\/go%C3%A9mon#French\">source<\/a>]. <\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<th>Old Irish (Go&iacute;delc)<\/th>\n<td><strong>fithrech<\/strong> = dulse, edible seaweed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Middle Irish (Gaoidhealg)<\/th>\n<td><strong>fithrech, fithreoch<\/strong> = dulse, edible seaweed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<th>Scottish Gaelic (G&agrave;idhlig)<\/th>\n<td><strong>fithreach<\/strong> = dulse, edible seaweed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><strong>Etymology<\/strong>: ?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.japanesepod101.com\/member\/go.php?r=759259&amp;i=b0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/images\/banners\/banner_japanesepod.jpg\" alt=\"The Fastest Way to Learn Japanese Guaranteed with JapanesePod101.com\" width=\"630\" height=\"83\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Sources: <em><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wiktionary.org\/\">Wiktionary<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.faclair.com\/\">Am Faclair Beag<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mannin.info\/Mannin\/fockleyr\/m2e.php\">Online Manx Dictionary<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.teanglann.ie\/en\/fgb\/ceann\">Teanglann.ie<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/dil.ie\/\">eDIL &ndash; Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language<\/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:\/\/geiriadur.ac.uk\/gpc\/gpc.html\">Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cornishdictionary.org.uk\/browse?field_word_value=penn\">Gerlyver Kernehe, itk<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.arkaevraz.net\/dicobzh\/index.php\">Dictionaire Favereau<\/a>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.brezhoneg.bzh\/87-termofis.htm\">TermOfis<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wales.ac.uk\/Resources\/Documents\/Research\/CelticLanguages\/EnglishProtoCelticWordList.pdf\">English &ndash; ProtoCeltic WordList<\/a> (PDF), <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.org\/embed\/EtymologicalDictionaryOfProtoCeltic\">Etymological Dictionary Of Proto Celtic<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<div align=\"center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/our.kualo.com\/uk\/go\/00572\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.kualo.com\/rewards\/uk-unlimited2-468x60.gif\" width=\"468\" height=\"60\" border=\"0\" alt=\"Unlimited he, itb Hosting - Kualo\"><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In this post we&#8217;re looking into words meaning dulse, seaweed and related things in Celtic languages. Dulse (Palmaria palmata) is a reddish-brown type of seaweed which is sometimes eaten in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and other places. The English word dulse was borrowed from Irish and\/or Scottish Gaelic. It is also written dilisk, dillisk, dilsk or [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,66,114,16,101,26,19,44,24,119,21,83,3,22,5,6,37,7,27,8,10,93,11,12,13,23,72,43,18,14],"tags":[52,80,51,484,145,48,47,53,49,55,483,50],"class_list":["post-9335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adjectives","category-albanian","category-armenian-","category-breton","category-catalan-catala","category-kernewek-cornish","category-english","category-french","category-galician","category-georgian-","category-gaeilge-irish","category-italian-italiano","category-language","category-gaelg-manx","category-middle-breton","category-middle-cornish","category-middle-irish","category-middle-welsh-kymraec","category-nouns","category-old-breton","category-old-irish-goidelc","category-portuguese-portugues","category-proto-brythonic","category-proto-celtic","category-proto-indo-european","category-gaidhlig-scottish-gaelic","category-trees","category-verbs","category-cymraeg-welsh","category-words","tag-breton","tag-celtic","tag-cornish","tag-dulse","tag-etymology","tag-gaelic","tag-irish","tag-language","tag-manx","tag-scottish-gaelic","tag-seaweed","tag-welsh"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9335","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=9335"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9335\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9338,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9335\/revisions\/9338"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.omniglot.com\/celtiadur\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}