Celtic cognates

This page contains words for buildings and other man-made structures that are cognate in all or some of the six modern Celtic languages.

Click on the English versions that are links and you will be taken to the Celtiadur, where you can see what each word means, and how some of them are pronounced. There are also details of related words and expressions, and words in older versions of the Celtic languages, such as Middle Welsh and Old Irish. More Celtic Cognates


Buildings

Words for buidlings and other man-made structures that are cognate in all six Celtic languages.

Gaeilge
(Irish)
Gàidhlig
(Gaelic)
Gaelg
(Manx)
Cymraeg
(Welsh)
Kernewek
(Cornish)
Brezhoneg
(Breton)
English
both bothan
bùth
bwaane
bwaag
bwd
bwth
bod† bod booth
hut
cottage
caiseal caisteal cashtal castell kastel kastell fort
fortress
town
city
castle
caladh cala calloo
callee
harbour
landing place
carcair carcair carchyr carchar carhar† karc'har prison
jail
cill cill keeill cell kell kell cell
church
cliath cliath cleea clwyd kloos kloued hurdle
fence
cró crò croa crau
craw
krow krao
kraou
stable
enclosure
doras doras dorrys drws
dôr
daras dor door
dún dùn doon din
dinas
din
dinas
din fort
fortress
town
city
castle
eaglais eaglais agglish eglwys eglos iliz church
lann† lann lann llan lann lann church
parish
land
enclosure
lár làr laare llawr leur leur floor
ground
sráid sràid straid stryd stret straed street
alley
highway
stábla stàball stabyl ystafell stevel staul† stable
room
teach taigh thie chi ti house
tuí tugha thoo to to to roof
thatch

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These words are cognate in some of the Celtic languages.

Gaeilge
(Irish)
Gàidhlig
(Gaelic)
Gaelg
(Manx)
Cymraeg
(Welsh)
Kernewek
(Cornish)
Brezhoneg
(Breton)
English
achadh achadh field
garden
enclosure
hedge
plain
áirí àirigh eairee hill pasture
sheiling
milking place
áth àth aah ford
baile baile balley beili home
town
bailey
balla balla boalley gwal
wal
gwal wall
bóthar bòthar bayr beudr bownder   road
alley
lane
cábán caban cabbane caban koban cabin
hut
booth
caer ker kaer fort
town
cathair cathair caayr fortress
monastery
city
cegin kegin kegin kitchen
cistin cistin kishteen kitchen
cora caradh cored kored weir
dam
cosán casan cassan path
cwch kok kouc'h boat
beehive
dôr dor door
droichead drochaid droghad bridge
forás foras ffordd fordh street
alley
highway
growth
fos fos ffos fos foz wall
butress
ditch
fuinneog uinneag uinnag window
lios lios llys lis lez ringfort
court
fairy mound
long long lhong llong ship
vessel
longfort long-phort lhong-phurt seaport
camp
stronghold
mullach mullach mullagh top
roof
nae noe new nev boat
trough
múr mùr mur mur wall
pailliún pàillean paal(an) pavilhon pavilion
tent
paróiste parasite parish
plwyf pluw ploue parish
countryside
pont pons pont bridge
port port purt porth porth porzh harbour
port
landing place
porth porth porzh portal
door
gate
courtyard
príosún prìosan pryssoon prison prizon prison
puball pùball pabell pabel pabell tent
pavilion
ráth ràth raah rampart
ring-fort
raon rheam run field
garden
enclosure
hedge
plain
réilig réilig
réileag
ruillick
rhullick
graveyard
ossuary
rian rian rane course
path
method
river
rhyd rys red ford
ród rathad raad rhawd roud road
course
route
sabhall sabhal soalt barn
granary
séad séad hynt hens
hyns
hent path
way
course
road
sgìre skeerey
skylley
parish
síbín sibein shebeen shebeen
illicit pub
slí slighe sleayd path
track
offspring
sliabh sliabh slieau mountain
moorland
hillside
sliocht sliochd sluight llwybr path
track
section
offspring
tábhairne tabhairn tafarn tavern tavarn tavern
pub
treibh treabh
treubh
tre(f) trev trev town
house
farmstead
uaigh uaigh oaie
oaye
grave
tomb

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Celtic cognates

Complete Cognates, Partial Cognates . Cognates arranged thematically: Adjectives | Animals | Birds | Clothes | Colours | Conjunctions | Countries | Directions | Food and Drink | Landscape | Buildings | Languages | Metals | Musical terms | Numbers | Parts of the body | People | Pronouns | Prepositions | Sea creatures | Time expressions | Trees and Plants | Verbs | Weather | Tools | Other words | Names

Celtiadur

Celtiadur

The Celtiadur blog is a collection of Celtic cognates, with definitions, pronunciation, etymologies - includes the modern Celtic languages, older versions of these languages, such as Middle Welsh, Middle Breton and Old Irish, and their extinct and reconstructed relatives and ancestors, including Gaulish, Proto-Brythonic and Proto-Celtic.

Celtic Pathways

Celtic Pathways

On the Celtic Pathways podcast I discuss connections between the Celtic languages, and look for words with Celtic roots in non-Celtic languages, such as English, French, Spanish, Galician and Portuguese.

If you would like to make any corrections or additions to this page, or if you can provide recordings, please contact me.

Links

Information about Celtic place names
https://www.logainm.ie/en/
https://getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/guides/the-gaelic-origins-of-place-names-in-britain/
http://asmanxasthehills.com/place-names-on-the-isle-of-man/
http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/fulltext/pn1925/index.htm
https://getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/guides/the-welsh-origins-of-place-names-in-britain/
https://www.cornwalls.co.uk/culture/cornish_place_names.htm
https://www.fr.brezhoneg.bzh/7-noms-de-lieux.htm
http://bcd.bzh/becedia/fr/apercu-des-noms-de-lieux-de-bretagne-les-themes-utilises-dans-les-noms-de-lieux

Information about Celtic languages

Breton, Celtiberian, Cornish, Cumbric, Gaulish, Irish, Lepontic, Lusitanian, Manx, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh

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