Etymology/Etymologieth: Why are we still underground!?

Post diwyethek, Sowsnek a-woles/Bilingual post, English below.

Post diwyethek, Sowsnek a-woles/Bilingual post, English Below.
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Mar hwi re redyas an dhew bost etymologieth diwettha, hwi a wor y karav geryow balweyth dhe'n pols ma, ha nyns yw an post ma dyffrans dhedha, drog yw genev - mar ny redsowgh an postow diwettha, mirewgh war an dhew gevren ma: 

• Post Onan
• Post Dew

Ytho, hedhyw y fynnav kowsel yn-kever geryow Kernowek re beu asvebys dhe'n Sowsnek meur ras dhe'n diwysyans balweyth. Ny yllis vy trovya etymologieth oll an re ma, dell mar kyllowgh offra nebes gweres dhe leunhe'n bolghow, gesewgh kampol a-woles.

Hwel Jenkin dhe Venyon (Awtour).

Lemmyn, gwryllyn dalleth gans ger komparek dhe valweyth yn Kernow ha Dewnens Soth, hwel. Nyns yw gwreydh an ger ma pur gler, mes yma nebes keslinegow Kembrek dhodho: chwil (hwilas), chwêl/chwŷl (hwel, avel yn domhwel po hweldro). An geryow Proto-Keltek usi ogas dhe'n geryow ma yw *wel(a)- po *swelā a styr treylya po martesen *φlīn-e/o ha *swiljāje/o-  a styr trovya po hwilas. My a vynnsa leverel an dhew kampollys diwettha yw gwirhavalla awos pan balir bal, trovir por hwilir neppyth - mes nyns yw henna saw tybyans. Yn Sowsnek arnowyth, yth apper hwel avel wheal yn henwyn balyow, rag ensampel Wheal Jenkin y'n arenebedh balweyth Bre Garn.

An ger atal a hwer yn Sowsnek keffrys avel attle rag atal bal yn komparek. Atal yw ogas dhe'n ger Kembrek atal, mes ny styr an dhew an keth. An ger Kembrek a styr stoppya po lettya ha dos a-dhyworth ad- (at-) ha dal (sesya). Yma ger Kembrek aral a nesha'n ger attal ha henn yw ad-dâl. Padel a brof y teu atal a'n ger Sowsnek Koth ádela (mostedhes).

Ow kavos gans atal ha skoll, gwryllyn kowsel yn-kever kibel. Yn Sowsnek, an ger kibble a bertayn dhe valweyth yn komparek. Y profir y teu an ger ma a-dhyworth an Ughalmaynek Koth chublī (kelorn), hemm a wrussa profya yth asvabas an ger a-dhesempis a-dhyworth Sowsnek. Byttegyns, yma tybieth ow honan dhymm rag ger tamm moy Kernowek. My a dyb y vos kesker a kib-, a-dhyworth kibya a dheu a-dhyworth an verb kippen (tenna/kibya) hag -el (a styr toul) - ytho, "toul rag tenna".

Stoup yn Bal Crofty Soth (cornwall365.co.uk)

Ow mos yn-dan dhor lemmyn, y hwelyn goffen po coffin yn Sowsnek Kernowek a styr kownans ynn wosa begh (lode) dhe vos stoupyes (stoped) (Gweler an kevren ma rag dyski moy yn-kever stoupya). An Sowsnek a dheu a-dhyworth an ger Kernowek Diwedhes koffen a dheu a-dhyworth an Kernowek Kres koghyn. Hemm yw kesker a kogh/kough (gorher/hod/kougol) hag ynn. Ny allav trovya gwreydhen kogh/kough, mes martesen ev a dheu a-dhyworth an ger Latinek corpus (korf) awos an ger Kembrek rag kough a worhel yw corff.

Tus bal Kernowek owth oberi yn-dann dhor a wrussa oberi yn pare a dheu a-dhyworth para yn Kernowek. Yn trist, ny allav trovya etymologieth an ger ma, mes ev a nesha ger kottha a styr gre po flock - parri (na barthynyans dhe'n hanow). Y fia res dhe pare oberi core (kor) rag bos pes. Mes, arta, nyns yw meur a dhustuni po kedhlow yn-kever hemma. Tristys yn pub le.

Unn ger di-etymologieth finek usi dhymm ragowgh yw spale. Hemm a dheu a spal ha spala mes y styr ev spal usi res rag terri rewlys an bal. Unn pyth a dybav dhe vos didheurek yw an ger spalyer rag nebonan a ober rag bal. Nyns eus ger Kernowek aral a gontayn spal a allav trovya, dres lycklod y teu splayer a-dhyworth spalling yn Sowsnek. Hemm yw an gwrians a derri moon dhe dharnow byghanna hag ev yw ogas dhe'n ger Almaynek arnowyth spalten (folsa), martesen y hyllir gul an verb Kernowek spalya?

Certan ov yth av dhe-ves a erva valweyth, mes piw a wor p'eur...

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If you've read my previous two etymology posts, you'll know that I'm on a bit of a mining-language bender at the moment and this post is no different, sorry - If you've not read the previous posts see the following links:

• Post One
• Post Two

So, what I want to talk about today are words from the Cornish language which, thanks to the mining industry, have found their way into English and perhaps even beyond. I've not been able to track the etymology of all of these, so if you can offer any help on filling in the gaps, please leave a comment below.

Wheal Jenkin at Minions (Author).

Now, let us begin with a nice broad term which is specific to mining in Cornwall and South Devon, that is hwel which means work, labour or a mine-working. The roots of this word are rather unclear, but it can be cognated to either chwil (search), chwêl/chwŷl (turn/rotation) in Welsh. The deeper roots of this word currently evade me, but based on the Welsh cognates, one source could be the Proto-Celtic *wel(a)- or *swelā meaning to turn or another *φlīn-e/o and *swiljāje/o-  meaning to find or to search. I would argue that the latter two are more likely the source simply because when a mine is sunk or dug we are searching for something - but that is just my thought on the matter. There are further cognates in Cornish in hweldro (revolution [mechanical]) and hwilas (to search). In modern English hwel can be found in several mine names as wheal, for example Wheal Jenkin in the Caradon mining district. 

Our next Cornish loan word atal appears in English as attle, meaning mine waste. The Cornish word means waste or rubbish in a more general sense as well as mining specific. It does cognate to the Welsh word atal meaning to stop or to prevent, this is, however, a false friend as the Welsh word comes from ad- (back) and dal (capture). The Welsh does, strangely, lead us back to Cornish with attal (repayment) from at- (back) and tal (from tyli to pay), ad-dâl in Welsh. It is suggested by Padel that the Cornish atal comes from the Old English word ádela - filth, mud dirt.

Sticking on the topic of rubbish and mine waste, let's talk about kibel. Kibel is a skip or a bath. It's used in the Anglo-Cornish dialect to this end also as kibble. One suggestion of this word's route is the Old High German chublī (a pail), this would imply that the word was adopted from English. However, I have come up with my own theory on the roots of the Cornish word. Perhaps it is a compound of kib- from kibya (to snatch), borrowed from the Middle English kippen (to pull/snatch) and -el (denoting a tool or appliance) - so a "pulling tool". 

Stope in South Crofty Mine (cornwall365.co.uk)

Heading underground now, we have the goffen or coffin, which is the English term for a narrow excavation from stoping on a lode (See this Wikipedia article to learn more about stoping). This term comes from the Late Cornish word koffen, which in turn is from the Middle Cornish koghyn. This is a compound of kogh/kough meaning hood, crown, cover or hull and ynn (narrow). I cannot find a distinct root for kogh (as a hood, etc), but it may be descended from the Latin corpus (body) and related to the Welsh, Breton and Cornish corff, korv, korf as the Welsh word for hull is corff. 

Cornish miners working underground would work in a pare, which is a group or team of miners. The Cornish word from which pare is derived is para (group/team). Sadly, I cannot locate the etymology of this word, but it does cognate to an older Welsh word meaning flock, drove or herd - parri (no relation to the name). A pare would have to complete a core (a work-shift) in order to get paid. this is from kor, the Cornish for a work-shift, manner, style or turn. But again, I can turn up no solid information on this. Sadness everywhere.

One final etymologiless word I have to offer is spale, this is the term for a fine given for breaking mine rules. This is a direct borrowing of the Cornish spal (fine) and spala (to fine). What I find interesting is the Cornish word splayer - a mine labourer. There is no other Cornish relating to mining containing spal- that I can find and it most likely comes from the English term spalling. This is the act of breaking mined ore into smaller pieces by hand and cognates to the modern German verb spalten (to split), so we can create the Cornish verb spalya. 

I'm sure that at some point I will move away from mining vocabulary, but who can say when... 

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Pennfentynnow:

• www.cornishdictionary.org.uk/
• http://howlsedhes.co.uk/cgi-bin/diskwe.pl
• George. K, An Gerlyver Meur, Kesva an Taves Kernewek (Nessa Dyllans, 2009).
• http://geiriadur.ac.uk/gpc/gpc.html
• https://www.wiktionary.org/
• http://www.cornish-mining.org.uk/delving-deeper/glossary
• http://www.geevor.com/media/teaching%20resources/Cornish%20Mining%20Vocabulary%20List.pdf
• http://www.wales.ac.uk/Resources/Documents/Research/CelticLanguages/EnglishProtoCelticWordList.pdf
• https://glosbe.com/en/br/