List of English words of Brittonic origin

Few English words are definitively known to come directly from Brittonic, the language of the Celtic inhabitants of Britain prior to the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain. Words of Celtic origin have entered the English language by a number of different pathways, and some have been attributed to Brittonic as well as its descendants or other Celtic languages. This list omits words of Celtic origin from these other pathways: Continental Celtic words adopted by Proto-Germanic speakers in continental Europe, prior to Anglo-Saxon settlement (e.g. down, iron, leather, rich).Douglas Harper, "Online Etymology Dictionary" – down (n.2), retrieved Mar. 1, 2014. Words of Gaulish origin, which outnumber those of Brittonic origin. These words arrived through Norman French, which became the prestige language of England following the Norman Conquest, and was often strengthened in form and use by Church/state Latin (e.g. ambassador, bound, car, carpenter, piece). Words of Welsh origin (including Cornish), both descended from Brittonic (e.g. coracle, corgi, crag, flannel, gull, lawn, wrasse). Words in bold have also been attributed directly to Brittonic. Words of Scottish Gaelic origin (e.g. bog, bother, clan, hubbub, glen, keening, however see Irish below) Words of Irish origin (e.g. bog, clock, galore, gob, keening) Breton has chiefly been the source of local terms in archaeology (e.g. dolmen, menhir)

List Academia recognises beyond all reasonable doubt "fewer than ten" Brittonic loan-words in English that are neither historic nor obsolete.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). 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. WordPossible Brittonic etymologyOED etymologyTypeass Old British *assin or Old Irish *assan,Campbell, A. 1959. Old English Grammar. Oxford: Clarendon Press. p. 220. but more likely from Irish.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).Celtic (OED1)historic (widely used in the Bible instead of donkey)bannock Etymologised by the OED as from Gaelic bannach, ? < Latin pānicium < pānis bread."bannock, n." OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2017. Web. 1 September 2017 But possibly Old Brittonic *bannoc.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).Gaelic (OED1)historicbasket On one theory, it is from Latin bascauda "kettle, table-vessel," said by the Roman poet Martial to be from Celtic British and perhaps cognate with Latin fascis "bundle, faggot," in which case it probably originally meant "wicker basket." But OED frowns on this, and there is no evidence of such a word in Celtic unless later words in Irish and Welsh, sometimes counted as borrowings from English, are original.Unknown (OED Online)commonbeck Agricultural implement with two hooks. Etymologised in the OED as from a 'Celtic root bacc-' (possibly via French)."beck, n.3." OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2017. Web. 1 September 2017. The similar Old English becca "fork" has been proposed as a Brittonic loan, though this has been questioned.French (OED1)technicalbin Often considered to be from Old Brittonic *benna, but possibly a borrowing from Gallo-Roman.Probably Celtic (OED1)commonbrat 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."brat, n.1." OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2017. Web. 1 September 2017.Breeze, Andrew. 1995. ‘Irish brat ‘cloak, cloth’: English brat ‘child’.’ Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie 47, 89-92. 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".Douglas Harper, "Online Etymology Dictionary" - brat (n.), retrieved Nov. 16, 2016. "Brat" is still used in parts of Northern England to refer to a rough working apron.Issue no 48, October 1999, British Archaeology. Retrieved November 17, 2016.Irish bratt (OED1)common, pejorativebrockFrom Brittonic *brocco-s, meaning "badger".Celtic (OED1)technicalcarr From carreg such as in Welsh, meaning 'rock'.Old Northumbrian (OED1)technical, localcoombFrom Old Brittonic *kumba, meaning "valley". Frequently used as a place-name element in southwestern England.Probably Brittonic (OED1)localcrag 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'."crag, n.1." OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2017. Web. 1 September 2017.Celtic (OED1)commondoe Possibly from a Brittonic root *da-,Douglas Harper, "Online Etymology Dictionary" - doe (n.), retrieved Mar. 1, 2014. but could also be from Latin.Latin dāma (OED1)technicaldun According to the OED, 'perhaps < Celtic: compare Irish and Gaelic donn brown, Welsh dwn'."dun, adj." OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2017. Web. 1 September 2017.Celtic (OED1)commongavelock 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'."gavelock, n." OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2017. Web. 1 September 2017. Now thought to have been borrowed into English from Old Norse, which borrowed it from Old Irish.Breeze, Andrew. 1993b. ‘Celtic etymologies for Old English cursung ‘curse’, gafeluc ‘javelin’ [etc.].’ Notes and Queries 238, 287-97.Celtic (via Old French?) (OED1)technicalgull Probably from Brythonic Celtic; compare Welsh gwylan "gull," Cornish guilan, Breton goelann; all from Old Celtic *voilenno-. Replaced Old English mæw.Welsh or Cornish (OED Online)commonhog Possibly from Brittonic *hukk.D. Gary Miller, External Influences on English: From Its Beginnings to the Renaissance (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012), pp. 19–20. 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)commonpeat Probably from a Celtic root *pett- (source also of Cornish peyth, Welsh peth "quantity, part, thing," Old Irish pet, Breton pez "piece").Unknown (OED Online)commonsark Derived by Andrew Breeze from the Brittonic ancestor of Welsh seirch 'armour, trappings' (itself from Latin sarcīre 'patch').Andrew Breeze, 'Old English Syrce "Coat of Mail": Welsh Seirch "Armour" ', Notes and Queries, 40.3 (1993), 291-93.Germanic *sarki-z (OED1)historictor'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’.;"tor, n." OED Online. Oxford University Press, June 2017. Web. 1 September 2017. possibly via Latin turris (tower) such as Glastonbury Tor. Especially used in Devon..Celtic (OED1)technical, localwan Possibly from Brittonic *wanno- and related to Welsh gwan, which has a similar meaning to the English word.Unclear (OED Online)commonyan, tan, tethera etc. And variants. Most common in northern England, and ultimately from Brittonic *oinā, *deŭai, *tisrīs, etc., though heavily corrupted over time.Unclearlocal, historic

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. 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. luh 'pool', in use in the Northumbrian dialect of Old English. The modern English cognate, 'loch', is taken from Scottish Gaelic. milpæþ 'army road', the first element of which is possibly from the Brittonic ancestor of Welsh mil 'thousand, army'.Andrew Breeze, 'Exodus, Elene, and The Rune Poem: Milpæþ "Army Road, Highway" ', Notes and Queries, 38.4 (1991), 436-38. prass 'pomp, array', perhaps from the Brittonic ancestor of Welsh pres 'soldiers in array'.Andrew Breeze, 'Maldon 68: Mid Prasse Bestodon', English Studies, 73 (1992), 289-91 (cf. s.v. oliprance, n. OED3) stor 'incense, wax'.Breeze, Andrew. 1998. ‘A Brittonic etymology for Old English stor ‘incense’.’ Anglia 116, 227-30. However, the Oxford English Dictionary regards it as a Latin loan. toroc 'bung.' Highly disputed. Possibly not even an English word–or an English word but not of Celtic origin. wassenas 'retainers', possibly from Brittonic.Andrew Breeze, 'Old English Wassenas "retainers" in Godpatrick's Writ', Notes and Queries, 39.3 (1992), 272-75.

List of English words of Brittonic origin

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