List of English words of Brittonic origin

Few English words are known to come directly from Brittonic. More can be proven to derive from Gaulish, which arrived through Norman French, often strengthened in form and use by Church/state Latin.

This list omits words of Celtic origin coming from later forms of Brittonic and intermediate tongues:

  • See Gaulish (e.g. ambassador, bound, car, carpenter, piece), via Norman/Old French
  • Other Continental Celtic (e.g. down), via Germanic[1]
  • See List of English words of Welsh origin a list which includes Cornish (e.g. coracle; crag; corgi (type of dog), likely flannel; likely gull (type of bird), iron, lawn, wrasse (type of fish))
  • See Gaelic (e.g. keening, bog, bother, hubbub, glen, clan)
  • See Breton (chiefly local terms in archaelogy: dolmen, menhir)

List

Academia recognises beyond all reasonable doubt "fewer than ten" Brittonic loan-words in English that are neither historic nor obsolete.[2] The following list derives mainly from surveys of possible Brittonic loanwords in English by Richard Coates, Dieter Kastovsky, and D. Gary Miller. Etymologies from the Oxford English Dictionary are included to indicate the view of this authoritative (but not necessarily definitive) source, distinguishing between the first, second, third and online editions. Words that are the most widely accepted as Brittonic loans are in bold.

word possible Brittonic etymology OED etymology Type
ass Old British *assin or Old Irish *assan,[3] but more likely from Irish.[4][3] Celtic (OED1) historic/proverbal (widely used in the Bible instead of donkey)
bannock Etymologised by the OED as from Gaelic bannach, ? < Latin pānicium < pānis bread.[5] But possibly Old Brittonic *bannoc.[6] Gaelic (OED1) historic
beck Agricultural implement with two hooks. Etymologised in the OED as from a 'Celtic root bacc-' (possibly via French).[7] The similar Old English becca "fork" has been proposed as a Brittonic loan, though this has been questioned.[4] French (OED1) technical
bin Often considered to be from Old Brittonic *benna, but possibly a borrowing from Gallo-Roman.[6] Probably Celtic (OED1) common
brat Possibly from a Brittonic root meaning "cloak, cloth" (Old Welsh *breth or *brath), cognate with Old Irish bratt. However, the OED and recent scholars see the English word as coming from Irish.[8][9] In Old English, bratt meant "cloak", but later came to mean "ragged garment", then "beggar's garment", and then "beggar's child", whence it attained its current meaning of "unruly child".[10][11] "Brat" is still used in parts of Northern England to refer to a rough working apron.[12] Irish bratt (OED1) common, pejorative
brock From Brittonic *brocco-s, meaning "badger".[4][6] Celtic (OED1) technical
carr From carreg such as in Welsh, meaning 'rock'.[6] Old Northumbrian (OED1) technical, local
coomb From Old Brittonic *kumba, meaning "valley".[4][6] Frequently used as a place-name element in southwestern England. Probably Brittonic (OED1) local
crag According to the OED 'apparently of Celtic origin: compare Irish and Gaelic creag, Manx creg, cregg, Welsh craig rock. None of these, however, exactly gives the English crag, cragg'.[13] Celtic (OED1) common
doe Possibly from a Brittonic root *da-,[14] but could also be from Latin. Latin dāma (OED1) technical
dun According to the OED, 'perhaps < Celtic: compare Irish and Gaelic donn brown, Welsh dwn'.[15] Celtic (OED1) common
gavelock A kind of spear. Cf. 'Old Norse gaflak, gaflok neuter javelin (perhaps adopted < English), Welsh gaflach (said to mean ‘bearded arrow’), Irish gabhla lance, Old Northern French gavelot (12th cent.), gaverlot, gavrelot, garlot (= Central French javelot, Italian giavelotto ) javelin, whence Middle Dutch gavelot, gaverloot, Middle High German gabilôt'.[16] Now thought to have been borrowed into English from Old Norse, which borrowed it from Old Irish.[17] Celtic (via Old French?) (OED1) technical
hog Possibly from Brittonic *hukk.[18] Given by the OED as a Celtic loan, related to Cornish "hoch"; Welsh "hwch," a pig or a sow, its connotation being a large instance. Celtic (OED Online) common
sark Derived by Andrew Breeze from the Brittonic ancestor of Welsh seirch 'armour, trappings' (itself from Latin sarcīre 'patch').[19] Germanic *sarki-z (OED1) historic
tor 'Generally held to be Celtic', per the OED, which cites Old Welsh twrr ‘heap, pile’ and Gaelic tòrr ‘hill of an abrupt or conical form, lofty hill, eminence, mound, grave, heap of ruins’.;[20] possibly via Latin turris (tower) such as Glastonbury Tor. Especially used in Devon.[21] Celtic (OED1) technical, local
wan Possibly from Brittonic *wanno- and related to Welsh gwan, which has a similar meaning to the English word.[18] Unclear (OED Online) common
yan, tan, tethera etc. And variants. Most common in northern England, and ultimately from Brittonic *oinā, *deŭai, *tisrīs, etc., though heavily corrupted over time. Whether this is a legitimate Brittonic survival or a later borrowing from Welsh and Cornish remains open to scholarly debate. Unclear local

In extinct uses, seven main others are proposed, mainly by Andrew Breeze, seen in Old English. Though less controversial than others, some of the seven have been disputed:

funta
'fountain, spring.' Latin fontana and Church Latin (still used) font loaned into Brittonic and borrowed from either/both into Old English.[4] Used in nine sets of settlements across counties west of London and east of Gillingham, Dorset: (Bedfont, (the) Chalfont(s), Mottisfont, Fonthill Bishop, Fontmell Magna, Fontwell, Teffont and Urchfont). Phrase the 'fount of all wisdom/knowledge' is cognate, seen to endure as a shorthand, poetic form of fountain.[22]
luh
'pool',[4] in use in the Northumbrian dialect of Old English. The modern English cognate, 'loch', is taken from Scottish Gaelic.[23]
milpæþ
'army road', the first element of which is possibly from the Brittonic ancestor of Welsh mil 'thousand, army'.[24]
prass
'pomp, array', perhaps from the Brittonic ancestor of Welsh pres 'soldiers in array'.[25]
stor
'incense, wax'.[26] However, the Oxford English Dictionary regards it as a Latin loan.
toroc
'bung.' Highly disputed. Possibly not even an English word[3]─or an English word but not of Celtic origin.[4]
wassenas
'retainers', possibly from Brittonic.[27]

See also

References
  1. Douglas Harper, "Online Etymology Dictionary" – down (n.2), retrieved Mar. 1, 2014.
  2. David N. Parsons, 'Sabrina in the thorns: place-names as evidence for British and Latin in Roman Britain', Transactions of the Royal Philological Society, 109.2 (July 2011), 113–37 (p. 120).
  3. Campbell, A. 1959. Old English Grammar. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 220.
  4. Coates, Richard, ‘Invisible Britons: The View from Linguistics’, in Britons in Anglo-Saxon England, ed. by Nick Higham, Publications of the Manchester Centre for Anglo-Saxon Studies, 7 (Woodbridge: Boydell, 2007), pp. 172–91 (pp. 177-80).
  5. "bannock, n." OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2017. Web. 1 September 2017
  6. Kastovsky, Dieter, ‘Semantics and Vocabulary’, in The Cambridge History of the English Language, Volume 1: The Beginnings to 1066, ed. by Richard M. Hogg (Cambridge, 1992), pp. 290–408 (pp. 318-19).
  7. "beck, n.3." OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2017. Web. 1 September 2017.
  8. "brat, n.1." OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2017. Web. 1 September 2017.
  9. Breeze, Andrew. 1995. ‘Irish brat ‘cloak, cloth’: English brat ‘child’.’ Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie 47, 89-92.
  10. Douglas Harper, "Online Etymology Dictionary" - brat (n.), retrieved Nov. 16, 2016.
  11. "Episode 30: The Celtic Legacy". History of English Podcast (Podcast). September 6, 2015. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
  12. Issue no 48, October 1999, British Archaeology. Retrieved November 17, 2016.
  13. "crag, n.1." OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2017. Web. 1 September 2017.
  14. Douglas Harper, "Online Etymology Dictionary" - doe (n.), retrieved Mar. 1, 2014.
  15. "dun, adj." OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2017. Web. 1 September 2017.
  16. "gavelock, n." OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2017. Web. 1 September 2017.
  17. Breeze, Andrew. 1993b. ‘Celtic etymologies for Old English cursung ‘curse’, gafeluc ‘javelin’ [etc.].’ Notes and Queries 238, 287-97.
  18. D. Gary Miller, External Influences on English: From Its Beginnings to the Renaissance (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), pp. 19–20.
  19. Andrew Breeze, 'Old English Syrce "Coat of Mail": Welsh Seirch "Armour" ', Notes and Queries, 40.3 [238] (1993), 291-93.
  20. "tor, n." OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2017. Web. 1 September 2017.
  21. "Tor", Etymology online.
  22. "fountain". Etymonline.
  23. "loch". Etymonline.
  24. Andrew Breeze, 'Exodus, Elene, and The Rune Poem: Milpæþ "Army Road, Highway" ', Notes and Queries, 38.4 [236] (1991), 436-38.
  25. Andrew Breeze, 'Maldon 68: Mid Prasse Bestodon', English Studies, 73 (1992), 289-91 (cf. s.v. oliprance, n. OED3)
  26. Breeze, Andrew. 1998. ‘A Brittonic etymology for Old English stor ‘incense’.’ Anglia 116, 227-30.
  27. Andrew Breeze, 'Old English Wassenas "retainers" in Godpatrick's Writ', Notes and Queries, 39.3 [237] (1992), 272-75.
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