Celtic Pathways – Grinding Pebbles

9th November 202411th November 2024 By Simon

In this episode of the Celtic Pathways podcast, we discover the possible Celtic roots of words for gravel in English and other languages.

Gravel [ˈɡɹævəl] is small fragments of rock, used for laying on the beds of roads and railways, and as ballast, and other things (other meanings are available).

It comes from Middle English gravel / gravail(le) (sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles), from Old French gravele (gravel), a diminutive of grave (gravel, seashore), from Medieval Latin grava, possibly from Gaulish grava, from Proto-Celtic grāwā (gravel, pebbles), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰroh₁weh₂, from *gʰreh₁w- (to grind) [source].

Words from the same Proto-Celtic roots in the modern Celtic languages include gro (gravel, shingle, gravelly shore, strand) in Welsh, grow (gravel) in Cornish, and grouan (gravel) in Breton [source].

For more details of words for gravel and related things in Celtic languages, see the Celtiadur post Gritty Gravel.

Words from the same Proto-Celtic roots in the non-Celtic languages include grava (gravel) in Catalan, grève (flat, sandy land along the sea or a large river) in French, grava (gravel) in Spanish, and grave (gravel, shore, gravelly ground) in Occitan [source].

Words from the same PIE roots in other languages include: grit, groat, grout and gruel in English, Grieß (semolina) in German, grjót (coarse stones, rubble) in Icelandic, gryt (a badger’s sett, a fox’s den) in Swedish, riutta (reef) in Finnish, and grúodas (frozen mud or earth) in Lithuanian [source].

Incidentally, one Old English word for gravel was ċeosol [ˈtʃeo.sol], which comes from Proto-West-Germanic *kesul (small stone, pebble). This became chisel and chessil (gravel or pebbles) in modern English, and is cognate with Kiesel (pebble) in German, kiezel (pebble, flint, silicon) in Dutch, and kisel (silicon) in Swedish [source].

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Celtic Pathways – Garters

12th October 2024 By Simon

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In this episode, we discover the Celtic roots of words for garter in English and French.

The English word garter refers to a band around the leg to hold up a sock or stocking. It comes from Old Northern French gartier (garter), from Old French garet (knee, leg), from Vulgar Latin *garra (shank, calf), from Gaulish *garrā (leg), from Proto-Celtic *garros (calf, shank), possibly from PIE *ǵʰes- (hand, to take) [source].

Words in the modern Celtic languages from the same Proto-Celtic root include: gar [ɡar] (leg, shank, thigh, ham) in Welsh, garr [ɡarː/ɡɒr] (leg, stem) in Cornish, and gar [ɡɑːr] (leg, paw) in Breton [source].

Words from the same Proto-Celtic root in other languages include: jarret (hock) and jarretière (garter) in French, and possibly garra (claw, talon, hand, paw, spirit) in Spanish, and garra (shank, tail, claw) in Catalan [source].

Words from the same PIE root include chiropractor, million and surgeon in English; dorë (hand) in Albanian; paže (arm) in Czech, and pažastis (armpit) in Lithuanian [source].

Chiropractor comes from Ancient Greek χείρ (kheír – hand) & πρᾶξις (prâxis – action, activity, practice) [source]; million comes ultimately from the PIE root *ǵʰéslom (thousand) or literally “full hand” [source]; and surgeon comes from Ancient Greek χειρουργός (kheirourgós – craftsman, surgeon), from χείρ (kheír – hand) & ἔργον (érgon – work) [source]

Incidentally, the English word hock [hɒk/hɑk] (also written hough) can refer to the hollow behind the knee, the tarsal joint of an animal such as a horse or pig, and the meat from that part of an animal. It’s also the name of a type of wine from the Hochheim region of Germany [source].

See the Celtiadur post Legs & Feet for more details of words for shank, calf, leg, foot and related things in Celtic languages. I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the Omniglot Blog.

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Adventures in Etymology – Folk

27th July 2024 By Simon

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In this Adventure in Etymology we’re looking into the origins of the word folk.

Some folk playing folk music

Folk [fəʊk / foʊk] can refer to:

People, persons
One’s relatives, especially one’s parents (e.g. my folks)
Short for folk music
A people; a tribe or nation; the inhabitants of a region, especially the native inhabitants. (Archaic)

It comes from Middle English folk [fɔlk] (people, nation, group, family, kin, relatives, humanity), from Old English folc [folk] (people, nation, tribe, crowd) from Proto-Germanic fulką [ˈɸul.kɑ̃] (people, tribe), *fulkaz (crowd, army), possibly from PIE *pleh₁- (to fill) [source].

Words from the same roots include fill, pleb, plenty, plural, plus and public in English, pul̃kas [ˈpʊlkɐs] (flock, crowd, regiment) in Lithuanian, pułk [puwk] (regiment) in Polish, and Volk [fɔlk] (people, native, tribe) in German [source].

The French word plouc [pluk] (country bumpkin, yokel) also comes from the same roots, via Breton plouk [pluːk] (yokel), from ploue [pluːe] (parish, countryside) Proto-Brythonic *pluɨβ (countryside, parish, common people) and Latin plēb(ē)s (common people, plebians) [source].

Related words in other Celtic languages include pluw (parish) in Cornish, and plwy(f) [pluːɨ̯(v) / plʊi̯(v)] (parish, poor relief, parishioners, people) in Welsh [source].

For more details, see the post about Land, Parishes & Enclosures on the Celtiadur.

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I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the Omniglot Blog, and I explore etymological connections between Celtic languages on the Celtiadur blog.

Celtic Pathways – Heather

6th July 20246th July 2024 By Simon

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In this episode we look into the Celtic roots of words for heather in some Romance languages.

The Proto-Celtic word *wroikos means heather. Its origins are uncertain, and it possibly comes from a non-Indo-European substrate source [source].

Related words in the modern Celtic languages include:

fraoch [fˠɾˠeːx] = heather, heath, moor in Irish
fraoch [frɯːx] = heather in Scottish Gaelic
freoagh = heather, heath in Manx
grug [ɡrɨːɡ / ɡriːɡ] = heather, heath in Welsh
grug [ɡryːɡ / ɡriːɡ] = heather, heath in Cornish
brug [bryːk] = heather in Breton

Words from the same Proto-Celtic roots, via Gaulish and Latin, include brezo (heath) in Spanish, breixo (heather) in Galician, brugo (heather) and brughiera (heath, moor) in Italian, and bruyère (heath, heather, brier) in French [source].

Related words in other languages possibly include vřes (heather) in Czech, wrzos (heather) in Polish, viržis (heather) in Lithuanian, and ericaceous (Of or pertaining to the heath family; Acid-loving, acidic) in English [source].

Incidentally, the word heather comes from Old English *hǣddre (heather), from hǣþ (wasteland, wilderness, heath), from Proto-Germanic *haiþī [ˈxɑi̯.θiː] (heath, wasteland), possibly from PIE *kóy-t-os (forest, wasteland, pasture) [source].

Other words from the same roots include heath in English, heide (heath, heathland, heather) in Dutch, Heide (heath, heathland, nation, country) in German [source], and also coed (forest, wood, trees) in Welsh, koos (forest) in Cornish, and koad (wood, forest) in Breton [source].

More about words for Heather, and Trees, Wood(s) & Forests, in Celtic languages.

You can find more connections between Celtic languages on the Celtiadur blog. I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the Omniglot Blog.

Radio Omniglot podcasts are brought to you in association with Blubrry Podcast Hosting, a great place to host your podcasts. Get your first month free with the promo code omniglot.

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Podcasts about languages and words

Category: Lithuanian (lietuvių kalba)

Celtic Pathways – Grinding Pebbles

Celtic Pathways – Garters

Adventures in Etymology – Folk

Celtic Pathways – Heather