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Old Breton Glosses
The list below is taken from Old Breton Glosses by Whitley Stokes (1879). The glosses themselves occur in several old texts: (a) Amalarius' De Divinis Oficiis, written ad 952; (b) The Berne Codex; (c) several copies of the Collatio Canonum written in the 8th century. The comments are based on Stokes' work, with additional information and alternative explanations in some cases.
| Old Breton | Latin Gloss | Comments |
| aaltin | ferula 'cane' | A bad gloss, the word is B. aotenn 'razor' preceded by the preposition a 'of, from'. c |
| acepriou | laquearibus 'panelled ceilings' | The source reads: laquearibus .i. aninou vel acepriou. B. kebr 'rafter' with the plural ending B. -ioù. The initial a- is the preposition B. a 'of, from'. b |
| aceruission | hirsutis 'rough, shaggy, hairy' | A derivative of B. garv 'rough', preceded by the preposition a 'of, from' and ending with the plural B. -ien. Stokes refers -iss- to the ending of adjectives such as W. dilys 'genuine, certain, sincere', hysbys 'known, evident; conscious' (also dyrys 'wild, rough; cunning, clever', echrys 'terrible', melys 'sweet'), though W. -ys is not a productive derivative suffix. The ending occurs in B. melis 'honeyed', which has clearly been taken as a derivative of B. mel 'honey', so it's possible that the ending spread and became productive at an early time, though it has left little trace in the modern language. It should be noted, however, that garv is an adjective and not a noun, as mel is. Overall, quite uncertain. c |
| acronnmain | cylindro 'cylinder' | B. krenn 'round' and maen 'stone', preceded by the preposition a 'of, from'. b |
| admet | passae 'dishevelled, dried' | B. azv, aneved 'ripe'. c |
| aguirtitou | fusis 'spindles' | B. gwerzhid 'spindle' with the plural ending -où. The initial a- is the preposition B. a 'of, from'. b |
| aiul | ultro 'voluntarily' | Based on B. youl, ivoull 'will, desire' preceded by the preposition a 'of, from'. c |
| amsauath | vicarius 'substitute; vicar' | Modern Breton has emsavadeg 'lifting, raising', an adjective based on this word. The elements are Br. *ambe- 'around' (W. am-), B. sav 'rising', and the agent ending B. -ad. b |
| amuoet | fastu 'pride' | Perhaps equivalent to W. ymchwydd 'swelling, pride' (literally 'self-swelling', B. c'hwezh 'inflation, swelling; vanity') though the form does not fit well. Alternatively, equivalent to W. mwyad 'an increase' < mwy 'more', B. mui preceded by the preposition B. a 'of, from'. c |
| aninou | laquearibus 'panelled ceilings' | The source reads: laquearibus .i. aninou vel acepriou. The equivalent of W. nen 'ceiling' with the plural ending -où. The initial a- is the preposition B. a 'of, from'. b |
| annaor | quandoquidem 'since' | The exact equivalent of W. nawr 'now' < MW. yn awr 'this hour'. B. eur 'hour'. b |
| aruanta | ultro ambit 'voluntarily goes around' | Possibly a verb with PC. *φari- 'fore-' and B. c'hoantaat 'to desire, envy'. c |
| ar uuo art hui | vos fascinavit 'has charmed or enchanted you' | Possibly for *aruuoart hui from a verb PC. *φari-wo-gar- < *φari- 'fore- pre-', *wo- 'below, sub-' and the root *gar- 'call, speak' which gives a wealth of words across Brythonic and Gaelic: OI. fogur 'a sound' (< PC. *wo-gar-), W. gawr 'shout, cry, clamour', WB. garm 'shout, cry', G. goir 'call, cry', G. farraid 'ask, inquire' (< PC. *wo-gar-t- ?), W. gair 'word', BC. ger 'word'. Of particular note are: (i) OI. adobragart, the perfect of adgair 'sues, prosecutes, impleads, accuses; forbids, prevents' (< PC. *ati-gar- 'speak to'), which also glosses L. vos fascinavit 'he has seduced you'; (ii) OI. argair 'forbids, hinders, prevents' (< PC. *φari-gar- 'fore-speak') and the abstract noun airgart 'something prohibited; ban, prevention'. The latter is another name for OI. geis, the kind of curse or taboo placed on a literary character preventing them from doing certain things; hence we can see connections between our proposed word *aruuoart and concepts of bewitching, or controlling through words. OI. argart and ararogart, the preterite and perfect of argair, also show the stem had a t-preterite, which might explain the final -t of *aruuoart (c.f. MW. cymerth 'he took' from cymeraf 'I take'). The final element hui is B. c'hwi 'you'. c |
| attanoc | musca volitans 'flying fly' | The source reads: musca volitans .i. attanoc .i. clehurin. B. adanek 'winged'. b |
| biunrun | epimachus [ophiomachus] 'grasshopper; locust' | Perhaps for *bianran from B. bihan 'small' and ran 'frog' (< L. rāna 'frog'), a descriptive name for a grasshopper. c |
| blinder | segnitia 'slowness, sloth' | B. blinder 'exhaustion'. a |
| bocion | putres 'rotten, crumbling' | Plural of B. bouk 'soft' (see buc below). b |
| bodin | manus 'hand; host' | Like W. byddin 'army, host'. b |
| broolion | patrias 'country, fatherland' | An adjectival derivative of B. bro 'country' with the plural ending now B. -ien. b |
| buc | putris 'rotten, crumbling' | B. bouk 'soft'. b |
| buorth | bovello 'cow yard' | B. buorzh 'enclosure for cows'. c |
| camadas | habilis 'suitable, skillful, nimble' | Equivalent to W. cyfaddas 'suitable, fit, proper'. a |
| caubal | lembum 'fast ship' | W. ceubal, C. kowbal 'ferry' < L. caupulus. b |
| cauell | vannus 'winnowing basket' | B. kavell 'cradle'. b |
| caul | piacula 'sacrifice, sin, guilt' | Equivalent to W. cŵl 'fault, blame, offence; sin'. c |
| cest | fiscina 'small basket' | The source reads: fiscina .i. ser vel cest. B. kest 'hive, basket'. b |
| clehurin | musca volitans 'flying fly' | The source reads: musca volitans .i. attanoc .i. clehurin. W. cleren, clehyryn 'horsefly'. b |
| clou | acitamenta ? | Uncertain. The gloss may be for acutamenta 'thing made sharp' and clou may be a borrowing of L. clāvus 'nail' (c.f. B. enklaouiñ 'to nail'). |
| cnoch | tumulus 'mound, hill' | B. krec'h 'summit, mount'. b |
| coarcholion | canabina [cannabina] 'hemp' | D derivative of B. kouarc'h 'hemp' with the plural ending, now B. -ien. b |
| cocitou | intiba 'endive' | B. kegid 'hemlock' with the plural ending -où. b |
| controliaht | controversiam 'quarrel, dispute, lawsuit' | B. kontreliezh 'objection, contradiction; argumentativeness' from kontrel, kontrol 'contrary, unfavourable; the opposite', a borrowing from L. contrārius 'opposite, opposed' with the abstract ending -iezh. c |
| corcid | ardea 'heron' | B. kerc'heiz 'heron'. b |
| cornigl | cornix 'crow' | B. kornigell, W. cornicyll 'lapwing' < L. cornīcula 'little crow'. b |
| cosmid | serum 'whey' | The source reads: serum .i. meid vel cosmid. A compound of B. keuz, W. caws 'cheese' and W. maidd 'whey'. b |
| costadalt | aeditui 'sacristan, priest' | The first element may be borrowed from L. custōdem (acc.) 'custodian, guardian' and the second may be equivalent to OI. alt 'house', though this explanation is not very satisfactory since neither word has any cognates in any of the Brythonic languages, except W. cwstos 'custodian', which is late and learned. c |
| couann | noctuam 'owl' | B. kaouenn 'owl'. c |
| couarcou | serta 'bound together, interwoven' | Seemingly the same word as W. cyfarch 'greeting, address' with the plural ending B. -où. b |
| cunnaret boestol | beluina rabies 'animal madness, bestial rage' | B. kounnar, konnar 'rabies' (W. cynddaredd 'rage, anger; rabies') and a borrowing from L. bēstia 'beast' (W. bwyst 'beast') with the adjective ending B. -el (e.g. aelel 'angelic' < ael 'angel'). c |
| cunrunt | vorticem montis 'moutain summit' | The first element may be related to OI. conn 'bulge, protuberance', to W. cwnnu 'raise' (the origins of which are obscure), or to the slightly dubious Gaul. cuno- 'high'. The second may be B. ront 'round'. c |
| dadlou, dadluo | andronas 'places where men talk'; curiae 'courts, meeting-houses' | B. dael 'debate, assembly' (W. dadl 'argument, dispute, meeting') in the plural daeloù. It seems that the word meant 'meeting place' as well as 'assembly', c.f. B. daeldi 'court'. c |
| daliu | fuscus 'dark, black' | An error for *duliu 'black colour'. B. du 'black', liv 'colour'. b |
| dehlouetic | accommodata 'suitable, appropriate' | Formed like W. delwedig 'motionless, formed', a verbal adjective of a denominative verb from delw 'image, form, mode, manner' (B. delv 'statue'). The meaning is probably closer to W. delwig 'comely, shapely, well-formed'. c |
| daureth | foedam 'filthy, foul, disgusting' | Unknown. b |
| deleiou | antemnarum 'yards, antennas' | B. delez 'yard, antenna' with plural ending -ioù. b |
| deuo | attacus 'locust' | Unknown. Perhaps related to B. deviñ 'to burn' (cf. W. deifio 'to singe, burn, scorch, blight, blast'), in the sense of something which causes total destruction. c |
| discou | lances 'dishes, platters' | Borrowed from L. discus 'dish, discus' with the plural ending -où. B. disk 'disk'. b |
| doromantorion | auspicibus 'augurs, priests' | A strange word, supposedly equivalent to L. praemonitor 'one who forewarns'. Some form of Proto-Celtic stem with PC. *φro- 'before' and *men- 'mind, thinking' is possible, but the agent suffix -or is Latin, so the word may simply be L. monitor 'admonisher' with the Celtic prefix added. The first element do- is the preposition B. da 'to' and the final element is the plural ending, now B. -ien. b |
| douretit angruit | turpi 'ugly, foul' | Unknown. |
| duglas | ceruleus 'dark blue' | A compound of B. du 'black' and glas 'blue'. W. dulas 'deep blue', B. glasdu 'dark blue'. b |
| elestr | hibiscum 'mallow' | B. elestr 'iris, gladioli'. b |
| endlim | fenus [faenus] 'interest, gain, profit' | Perhaps a verbal noun like W. ennill 'to win, earn; gain, profit, income' with the Breton verb noun ending -iñ. |
| ent crafho | inopportunius 'unsuitable' | crafho may be for B. krafoc'h, the comparative of B. kraf 'greedy; a miser; a grip, hold', C. kraf 'greedy, miserly', W. craff 'tenacious, keen, firm, steadfast; a hold, grip'. The relationship to inopporunius is not clear. The first element, ent is probably the same as that seen in B. end-eeun 'precisely', an adverb formed from eeun 'right' (W. iawn 'right; very'). This is a remnant of an older form of B. en 'in', seen elsewhere as an adverb-forming particle: W. yn, C. en and possibly OI. in, ind, int. c |
| enterafib | ambit 'goes around' | The elements are probably B. etre- 'inter-, between' (C. ynter, yntra 'between') and B. fiñ 'movement', fiñal 'move', related to W. chwŷf 'motion'. c |
| ercentbidite | notabis 'you will note' | The source reads: notabis .i. agnosces vel signabis .i. ercentbidite. B. argantvoud 'perceive' with the 2nd person pronoun te 'you' (B. argantvezi-te). b |
| esceilenn | cortina 'curtain' | Formed from the same root as G. sgàil 'shade, shadow' with the singulative ending B. -enn. b |
| ethin | rusco, rusci 'butcher's broom' | C. eythin, W. eithin 'gorse, furze'. b |
| gloiatou | labet | Actually glosses nitentia 'shining, glittering, bright'. B. gloev 'clear'. b |
| guaan | scurilis [scurrilis] 'jeering' | Perhaps the same word as B. gwan 'weak, vain' or a derivative of B. gwa 'misfortune, mishap, bad luck' (W. gwae 'woe, anguish, adversity'). The connection with L. scurra 'jester, dandy' and possibly OB. guanorion 'actors' makes the latter explanation more attractive. c |
| guanorion | istriones 'actors' | Perhaps related to B. gwaner 'person who is punished; ascetic' from gwan 'weak', with the plural ending B. -ien. (see also guaan above). c |
| guascotou | frigora 'cold' | Actually glosses umbras 'shadows, shades'. B. gwasked 'shelter, refuge' with plural ending -où. b |
| guilannou | fulice [fulicae] 'coots' | B. gouelan 'gull' with the plural ending -où. b |
| guinodroitou | plagae 'hunting nets | A compound with a now lost borrowing from L. vēnātus 'hunting' (cf. B. gwinaer 'hunter' < L. vēnātor) and B. roued 'net' < L. rēte 'net'. b |
| guinuclou | venabula 'hunting spears' | Perhaps from some Vulgar Latin diminutive based on the stem of L. vēnor 'I hunt', vēnātus 'hunting', as if L. vēnābulum was replaced with vēnāculum in line with numerous other diminutives (c.f. F. oreille 'ear' < VL. oricula < auris 'ear', Spanish oveja 'sheep' < VL. ovicula < L. ovis 'sheep'). For the first syllable see guinodroitou above and for the second, see cornigl). The ‹u› of -ucl- is hard to explain, except as a scribal error or misreading of ‹i›. Stokes' assertion that 'the suffix -ucla is Celtic' based on W. mwnwgl 'neck' is incorrect: the origin is PC. -iklo-, as seen in cognate OI. muinél, and the Welsh is due to assimilation. b |
| gulcet | agipam ? | B. golc'hed 'duvet, quilt'. c |
| guohethe | probum [probrum] 'disgraceful, infamous' | B. gwashañ 'worst', superlative formed from gwazh 'worse' (W. gwaeth, gwaethaf 'worse, worst', C. gweth, gwettha 'worse, worst'). c |
| guohi | fucos 'drone' | The source reads: fucos .i. satron vel guohi. C. gohien 'wasp'. b |
| guorail | supercilium 'eyebrow' | B. ael 'eyebrow' with the prefix gour- 'over'. b |
| gutric | defer [differ] 'delay, defer' | The equivalent of W. godrig 'stay, remain; delay' < trigo 'stay, dwell, remain'. c |
| heuanemdoguot | se ingerit 'carries himself' | Initial heu- is B. eñ 'he' and -anem- is the reflexive particle B. en em (e.g. en em lazhet 'killed himself'). The stem -dog- is probably that of B. dougen 'carry' whilst -uot may be the verb noun ending B. -oud or some verbal ending. c |
| huital | pabule [papulae] 'pimples' | B. c'hwidolenn 'anthrax', W. chwydalen 'blister, pustule'. b |
| ihepcorim | cassum 'empty, lacking useless' | Like W. hebgor 'to despense with, forgo, omit' with the verb noun ending, now B. -iñ. The initial i- is the preposition en 'in'. b |
| int coucant | non minus 'not less' | The source reads: nihilominus nihil minus sic quoque .i. non minus nahulei vel int coucant. Identical to W. yn geugant 'certainly'. For an explanation of int, see ent crafho above. a |
| inuanetou | incaenis [enæniis] 'secular festivals' | Highly uncertain. The first element is probably B. en- 'in-' and the last is certainly the plural ending -où. The meaning of -uanet- is uncertain. Possibly related to or an error for B. banvez 'banquet' (G. banais 'wedding (feast)', OI. banais 'wedding feast, inauguration feast, banquet, feast'). c |
| iscartholion | stupea 'of tow' | The plural of an adjective formed with B. -ien. B. eskarzh 'excretion', skarzh 'drained', karzh 'cleaning, flushing', W. carth 'tow; sweepings, excrement', ysgarth 'excrement, dregs'. b |
| latic | agipam ? | A borrowing from L. lōdīx 'blanket'. c |
| libiriou | lapsus 'slipping, gliding' | The source reads: lapsus .i. libiriou vel stloitprenou. Perhaps the same as W. llyfr 'runner (of sledge etc.)' with the plural ending B. -ioù Though that word is not recorded until 1803, it is probably a derivative of PC. *slib-, which gives B. levn 'smooth, polished', lemm 'sharp', W. llyfn 'smooth', llym 'sharp', llymu 'sharpen, whet' etc. The word is related to E. slip, L. lūbricus 'slippery, slimy'. b |
| libiriou | transtris 'crossbeam; thwart' | Possibly an error for *dibiriou 'saddles' (B. dibr, C. diber, W. dibr 'saddle'. b |
| limn | lentum 'sticky, slow, flexible' | B. levn 'polished, smooth'. b |
| limncollin | tilia 'lime tree' | Literally 'smooth hazel tree' from B. levn 'smooth' and kollenn 'hazel'. b |
| limncollou | tiliae | Plural form of limncollin, with the ending -où. b |
| luscou | oscilla 'little masks' | The scribe must have thought oscilla meant 'swings' from L. oscillāre 'to swing'. The word here is B. lusk 'movement, motion' with the plural ending -où. b |
| mabcauuelou | conabula [cunabula] 'cradles' | B. mab 'son' (previously 'boy') and kavell 'cradle' (< VL. cauuella 'basket') with the plural ending -où. b |
| meid | serum 'whey' | The source reads: serum .i. meid vel cosmid. W. maidd 'whey'. b |
| melgabr | ligustra 'privets' | The first element is cognate with C. myll 'poppy', W. meillion 'clover'; the second is B. gavr 'goat'. Hence 'goat poppy', a type of flower. b |
| mod | gomor 'gomer; measure of dry weight' | A borrowing from L. modus 'measure, size'. c |
| nahulei | non minus 'not less' | The source reads: nihilominus nihil minus sic quoque .i. non minus nahulei vel int coucant. Probably an attempt to directly translate L. nihilōminus 'nonetheless', the first element is B. na 'not' and the last is the equivalent of W. llai 'less'. Stokes says that nahu- is the same as naou- in B. naouac'h 'nevertheless, however', but that word is a compound of B. na 'not' and c'hoazh 'yet, again', so naou- is not a real element. No explanation of -hu- is forthcoming. a |
| nionuret | idem venturos (.i. nos) tollemus in astra nepotes 'it is we who will raise to the stars the descendants who shall come after' | The first elements are B. ni 'we' and hon 'our'. The last element may be a scribal error for *unet, a borrowing from L. unitas 'unity, sameness, oneness' (W. uned 'unity; unit') or some other derivative of B. un 'one' meaning 'the same'. If so, the word would be the equivalent of B. ni hon-unan 'us ourselves'. b |
| nith | nepta [*neptia] 'niece' | B. nizez (previously nizh) 'niece'. c |
| ousor | opilio 'shepherd' | W. heusor 'shepherd', from the same root as OI. oí 'sheep'. b |
| pritiri | iactura 'about to throw, send, emit' | An error by the scribe. The word is B. prederi 'worry, concern; thought, reflection'. b |
| racloriou | proscenia 'prosceniums' | A compound of B. rag 'before' and leur 'floor, area' with the plural ending -ioù. b |
| rannou | climatibus 'regions' | B. rann 'part, division' with the plural ending -où. c |
| saltrocion | graciles 'slender, thin' | Actually glosses vitiosae 'faulty, corrupt, wicked'. B. saotr 'trampled, fouled, sullied; a sprain, stain, blemish' with the adjectival ending B. -ek and the plural -ien. c |
| satron | fucos 'drone' | The source reads: fucos .i. satron vel guohi. B. sardonenn 'bumblebee'. b |
| scobarnocion | auritos 'having large ears' | B. skouarneg 'long-eared bat', skouarnek 'white-eared', the meanings is probably closer to the C. skovarnek 'hare; big-eared'. The ending is the plural, now B. -ien. b |
| ser | fiscina 'small basket' | The source reads: fiscina .i. ser vel cest. Possibly borrowed from L. sēria 'tall jar' or a scribal error for per 'cauldron, basin' (W. pair 'cauldron'). b |
| stloitprenou | lapsus 'slipping, gliding' | The source reads: lapsus .i. libiriou vel stloitprenou. The second element is B. prenn 'wood' with the plural ending -où. The first is related to B. stlejal 'drag, tow', stlej 'trailing; train' and shares its origins with E. slide. Hence stloitprenou means something like 'wooden sliders'. b |
| tar | ventrem 'belly, stomach, womb' | B. tor 'belly, paunch, abdomen'. b |
| torleberieti | phitonistarum [pythonissarum] 'witches' | A literal translation of late L. ventriloquus < venter 'stomach, belly' and loquī 'to speak', originally a method of divination or clairvoyance. The word is a compound of B. tor 'belly, paunch, abdomen', lavar 'to speak' and the agent suffix -iad with the plural ending -i (now B. -idi as in lazhidi 'victims'). c |
| tracl | larum 'gull' | Perhaps intended to be B. drask 'thrush' (W. tresglen 'thrush'), or a borrowing of L. trochilus 'a small bird'. c |
| trot | strutionem 'ostrich' | Possibly a loan from the Latin strūtiō, strūthiō 'ostrich' (C. strus, W. estrys 'ostrich'; modern B. lotrus is < OF. l'ostruce), though it looks much like B. tred 'starling' (W. drudwen, C. troos 'starling'). c |
| truch | obtusi 'dull, blunt' | B. trouc'ha 'slice, cut', W. trwch 'broken', C. tregh 'a cut, slice'. b |
| ueruencou | verbenas 'vervain' | A loan from L. verbenāca. b |
| uileou | violas 'violets' | A loan from the Latin with the plural ending B. -où. b |
| utgurthconeti | obnixus 'resisted, opposed' | The initial elements are prepositions: ut is now lost in the Brythonic languages, but occurs as a prefix in Gaelic, e.g. OI. ossad 'respite, truce', odbrann 'ankle'; gurth is B. ouzh 'against', W. wrth 'against'. The final element is probably an error for the verbal adjective *-etic (W. -edig). The verb itself may be related to W. cwnnu 'rise, rise up', the origins of which are not clear. b |