Celtic Pathways – Wool
In this episode we are teasing out the origins of the word wool. The Proto-Celtic word for wool is *wlanā. It comes from the Proto-Indo-European *h₂wĺ̥h₁neh₂ (wool), from *h₂welh₁- (hair, wool) [source]. Descendants in the Celtic languages include: * olann [ˈɔlˠən̪ˠ] = wool, woolly hair, mop of hair; woollen in Irish * olann [ˈɔl̪ˠən̪ˠ] = wool (usually while on sheep) in Scottish Gaelic * ollan = wool in Manx * gwlân = wool, down, soft hair, grass, herbage; woollen, soft, made of wool in Welsh * gwlan = wool in Cornish * gloan = wool in Breton The English word flannel (a soft cloth material originally woven from wool, washcloth) comes from the same Proto-Celtic root, via Gaulish, Old French, Anglo-Norman and Middle English. This was reborrowed into French, and from French into other languages such as Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Swedish [source]. Words for wool in other European languages come from the same PIE root, including wool in English, wol [ʋɔl] in Dutch, Wolle [ˈvɔlə] in German, and lana in Italian and Spanish [source] 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.