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In this episode we discover the flatulent Celtic roots of words for to bray and related things in English, French and other languages.
The Proto-Celtic word *bragyeti means to fart or flatulate and comes from Proto-Celtic *braxsman (fart), from Proto-Indo-European *bʰreHg- (to stink, smell, have a strong odour) [source].
Related words in the modern Celtic languages include:
- broim [bˠɾˠiːmʲ] = fart in Irish
- braim [brãũm] = fart, breaking of wind in Scottish Gaelic
- breim = fart in Manx
- bram [bram] = fart, gentle puff in Welsh
- bramm = fart in Cornish
- bramm [brãmː ] = fart in Breton
For more about words for fart and related things in Celtic languages, see the Celtiadur post: Breaking the Wind.
Words from the same Proto-Celtic root, Gaulish *bragiū (fart) and Latin bragiō (to bray, cry, weep), include (to) bray in English, braire (to bray, shout, cry, weep) and brailler (to shout, yell, speak very loudly) in French, and sbraitare (to shout, scream, yell, rant) in Italian [source].
Words from the same PIE root possibly include braña (mire, bog, fen, march, moorland) in Galician, flair, fragrant in English, flairer (to smell, sniff, scent, sense) in French, fragare (to smell) in Italian, and cheirar (to smell) in Portuguese [source].
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