Skip to main content

Let's get etymological!


Hemm a dheu a bost Facebook koth, mes pur dha ywa genev, ytho my a wra y ranna omma keffrys. My a wra assaya skrifa moy a bostow yn-kever etymologieth y'n termyn a dheu ynwedh :)

_______________

The Cornish word for red is "rudh", the Welsh reads as "coch". Okay, easy peasy.

BUT, the Cornish word for crimson is "kogh" and the Welsh is, if you hadn't alread guessed/known it, "rhudd" - OMG, what is with all this swapping malarkey! ;) 

According to our dearest friend Wiktonary, rudh/rhudd come from the proto-celtic "*rowdos", which is also the source for the other celtic words (both Q and P) for red or a shade thereof. 

The Cornish "rudh" turns up in the placename "Resrudh" ("res" = ford), so logically one would assume that the name in English would be "Redford". However, we have seen, instead, a transliteration into "Redruth" taking place. "Red" makes its way into the name, but not in the right way.

In the case of kogh/coch, on the other hand, there is a much more exciting story awaiting us (or, at least, those of us who find the etymology of celtic words to be exciting)! They both stem from the Ancient Greek "κόκκος" meaning "berry" or "grain". This developed into the Latin "coccum" meaning a "scarlet red berry" or being used to describe a scarlet coloured dye/the insect it came from. And thus, through the invasions of the Romans, the insular brythonic Celts gained their words for red/crimson (though why the swap took place is only to be speculated, late at night, around a bonfire, with marshmallows and sausages on sticks).

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

MiSkriBa 2024 - 11 / 04 - Dy' Yow

Rag  #MiSkriBa  11 yma res skrifa bardhonek unlinen. For   #NaPoWriMo  11 we have to write a monostich, a one line poem. Dy' Yow An petal finek re godhas a'n lester flourys, ow koska yn hwell agesov. Thursday The final petal has fallen from the vase, sleeping better than I.

MiSkriBa 2024 - 14 / 04 - Luck

 Rag #MiSkriBa 14, res yw skrifa bardhonek a dheg linen po moy a dhalleth gen an keth ger. Awen an darn ma yw an levow bian a er y'm penn ha my owth assaya bos person gwir... For #NaPoWriMo 14, we have been asked to write a poem of ten or more lines beginning with the same word. The inspiration for this poem are the little voices that babble in my head as I'm trying to be a real human... Luck Mar kalsen vy, yth evsen vy ow 'nafas yr heb y ankevi'n yeyn ha'y drefya dhe'n new. Mar kalsen vy, y fynnsen gorra'n golgh yn-mes kyns an glaw dhe dhos ha dampnya'n hav. Mar kalsen vy, y hworfennsen oll a'n ober chi dhe hebaskhe ow brys a bub preder. Mar kalsen vy, y kavsen hansel yagh dhe nerthe ow horf gen dader bara glas koth. Mar kalsen vy, y hylsen ponya pub dydh dhe-ves a dhelitys bewnans ha mos ha bos Adnois gay. Mar halsen vy, yth omglowsen yn ta despit dhe'n reden klappya a grav orth ow dewlin. Mar kalsen vy, y kowssen yn tiskwith dhe stoppya ow t...

MiSkriBa 2024 - 09 / 04 - Od an Drogenter usi y'm Bonden (arta)

#MiSkriBa chaptra naw, hag ynno yma res a skrifa od a solempen tra bubdydhyek yn gis Pablo Neruda. Selyes yw ow bardhonek war hwarvos gwir a'n diwettha seythen...  #NaPoWriMo chapter nine, in which we must write your own ode celebrating an everyday object in the style of Pablo Neruda. My poem comes from a real event from last week... Od an Drogenter usi y'm Bonden (arta) Krev os, y hwonn, ha konnyk, konnykka agesov awos ni dhe vetya unweyth arta. Pryv horn os, a gram a vostedhes amal an fordh, kellys a'th tre byttele hwath omma, ow tollhe dhe wedhyn. Ankor prenn ha kestevyn hag estyllennow, ankor vy, usi lemmyn spernen y'm paw. Ha nyns eus logosen dhe'm sawya. Res yw dhymm dha fetha awos dha vos rath, a gni war ow sens. Mes ty a'm herdh rag mayth eneppiv ow own ha tevi dhe vos ow gwella honan yn park-kerri karrji diskont orth dha vosa gen arghans bysyel. Mar grev avellos mar wocki avellov y hwonn dha vos konnyk hag y'th hwelvydhav unweyth arta. Ode to the Sc...