Celtic Pathways – Beer
In this episode we are investigating words for beer and related things. In Proto-Celtic beer was *kormi or *kurman, which comes from the Proto-Indo-European *kremH- (to burn), or from *ḱr̥h₃-m- (porridge, soup), or from *ḱh₁erh₂- (to mix) [source]. Descendants in the Celtic languages include: * coirm [kɞɾʲəmʲ] = ale, drinking-party, feast, banquet in Irish * cuirm [kurʲum] = feast, banquet, entertainment; ale, beer (archaic) in Scottish Gaulish * cuirrey = banquet, feast in Manx * cwrw [ˈkʊru / ˈkuːru] = beer, ale in Welsh * korev, kor = ale, beer in Cornish * korev = ale, beer in Breton The Latin word cervēsa (beer) comes from the same Proto-Celtic roots. From this we get the Spanish word cerveza (beer), the Portuguese word cerveja (beer), the French word cervoise (ale, beer – archaic), and the Italian word cervogia (beer – archaic) [source]. Other words for beer in Celtic languages include: * beoir [bʲoːɾʲ] = beer in Irish * beòir [bjɔːrʲ] = beer in Scottish Gaulish * beer = beer in Manx * bir = beer, ale in Welsh * bier = ale, beer in Breton The words in the Goidelic languages come from the Old Norse bjórr (beer), from the Proto-Germanic *beuzą [ˈbeu̯.zɑ̃] (beer), from the Proto-Indo-Eurpean *bʰews- (dross, sediment) [source]. The Welsh word were borrowed from English, and the Breton word was borrowed from French. Sláinte! Slàinte! Slaynt! Iechyd da! Yeghes da! Yec’hed mat! (Good health! / Cheers!) More details about these words on Celtiadur, a blog where I explore connections between Celtic languages in more depth. I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the Omniglot Blog. You can also listen to this podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, TuneIn, Podchaser, PlayerFM or podtail. If you would like to support this podcast, you can make a donation via PayPal or Patreon, or contribute to Omniglot in other ways.