Words from Proto-Celtic
7 words in Curio passed through Proto-Celtic on their way into English.
About Proto-Celtic
Ancestor of the Celtic languages, a descendant of Proto-Indo-European · reconstructed by scholars, never written down
Where
Western Europe, often associated with the Urnfield and Hallstatt cultures
When
Speakers
No reliable count
Reconstructed by scholars. Never written down.
Family path
- Proto-Indo-European
- Proto-Celtic
- FrenchGaulishPrimitive IrishProto-GermanicProto-Brythonic
- English
Dashed: reconstructed, never written down
Where it came from
Proto-Celtic is the reconstructed ancestor of all known Celtic languages, and it descends from Proto-Indo-European. It is generally thought to have been spoken between 1300 and 800 BC, after which it began to split into different languages. Features shared with the Italic languages suggest there may once have been an Italo-Celtic unity.
Source: Wikipedia
Family
Proto-Celtic grew out of Proto-Indo-European.
Languages that grew out of Proto-Celtic: Gaulish.
The words, A to Z
- bourbon
A whiskey named for a place named for a dynasty named for a god of bubbling water.
- garter
A word for a leg-band that once simply meant the leg itself.
- hooligan
Behind this word for a rowdy troublemaker may lurk a whole Irish family name.
- iron
A metal so old its name may still carry the memory of blood.
- javelin
This throwing spear's name traces back to a word for a simple forked branch.
- mutton
The meat on your plate once had to leap a chain of languages before it got there.
- penguin
A bird whose name might mean 'white head' — or might just mean 'fat.'