Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/walhaz
(Redirected from Appendix:Proto-Germanic/walhaz)
Proto-Germanic edit
Etymology edit
From the name of a Celtic tribe, the Volcae. Historically the tribe's name has been linked to an animal, possibly Proto-Celtic *wolkos (“hawk”), or alternatively (but less likely[1]) Proto-Celtic *ulkʷos (“wolf”), in turn from Proto-Indo-European *wĺ̥kʷos, as Caesar described the Celts having fought with huge dogs.[2]
For the first possibility, cf. the personal name Gaulish Catuvolcus and Welsh cadwalch (“hero, champion, warrior”, literally “battle-hawk”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
*walhaz m
Inflection edit
masculine a-stemDeclension of *walhaz (masculine a-stem) | |||
---|---|---|---|
singular | plural | ||
nominative | *walhaz | *walhōz, *walhōs | |
vocative | *walh | *walhōz, *walhōs | |
accusative | *walhą | *walhanz | |
genitive | *walhas, *walhis | *walhǫ̂ | |
dative | *walhai | *walhamaz | |
instrumental | *walhō | *walhamiz |
Usage notes edit
- While the etymology suggests that this word originally referred to Celts, in the oldest daughter languages and in the Slavic loanword *volxъ, its sense is consistently "Roman, Latin or Romance language speaker". This semantic shift probably came about due to linguistic and cultural assimilation of continental Celts into the Roman Empire. After the Anglo-Saxon invasion, it was applied in England to the Romano-Britons and later to the Welsh.
Derived terms edit
Descendants edit
- Proto-West Germanic: *walh
- Proto-Norse: *ᚹᚨᛚᚺᚨᛉ (*walhaʀ)
- Gothic: *𐍅𐌰𐌻𐌷𐍃 (*walhs)
References edit
- ^ Patrizia de Bernardo (2008), "Linguistically Celtic Ethnonyms: towards a classification", in: Juan Luís García Alonso (ed.), Celtic and Other Languages in Ancient Europe, Salamanca: Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca, p. 103
- ^ Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico.