Britto
LatinEdit
Alternative formsEdit
EtymologyEdit
As Brittānia from the 1st century B.C.E., from Ancient Greek Πρεττανία (Prettanía), used by Diodorus, earlier νῆσος (nêsos) Πρεττανική (Prettanikḗ) or Βρεττανίαι (Brettaníai), used by Pytheas (4th century B.C.E.) of the entire archipelago now known as the British Isles.
The Ancient Greek name is ultimately from a Celtic ethnonym, reconstructed as early Brythonic *Pritani, perhaps from a Proto-Celtic *Kʷritanī, *Kʷritenī, whence Welsh Prydyn (“Picts”), Old Irish Cruthne, Cru(i)then-túath (“Picts”), from Proto-Indo-European *kʷer- (“to do”).
PronunciationEdit
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈbrit.toː/, [ˈbɾɪt̪.t̪oː]
- (Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈbrit.to/, [ˈbrit̪.t̪ɔ]
NounEdit
Brittō m (genitive Brittōnis); third declension
DeclensionEdit
Third-declension noun.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | Brittō | Brittōnēs |
| Genitive | Brittōnis | Brittōnum |
| Dative | Brittōnī | Brittōnibus |
| Accusative | Brittōnem | Brittōnēs |
| Ablative | Brittōne | Brittōnibus |
| Vocative | Brittō | Brittōnēs |
Related termsEdit
- Britannia
- britannicus
- britannus
- Britannus, genitive singular and nominative plural Britannī
DescendantsEdit
Because Brittany (“Little Britain”) was settled at the end of the Roman era by migrants from Britain, the original descendants of Brittō often have the meaning "an inhabitant of Brittany", with a later reborrowing from Classical Latin being used to form the word for "an inhabitant of Great Britain".
- Asturian: bretón
- Catalan: bretó, britó
- English: Breton, Briton
- French: Breton
- Old Portuguese: breton
- Spanish: bretón
ReferencesEdit
- Britto or Brīto in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- Brītŏnes (Britt-) in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré Latin-Français, Hachette: “228/3”
- “Brit(t)ō” on page 242/3 of the Oxford Latin Dictionary (1st ed., 1968–82)