Reconstruction:Proto-Celtic/meinos

This Proto-Celtic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Celtic

Etymology

From Proto-Indo-European *meyh₁- (“mild, soft”), whence also Latin mītis, Lithuanian meilė, and Sanskrit मयस् (mayas). See also Proto-Celtic *mīnis from the same root, but with different root ablaut and suffixation.

Adjective

*meinos

1. tender, soft, gentle

Inflection

O/ā-stem
masculine	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*meinos	*meinou	*meinoi
vocative	*meine	*meinou	*meinoi
accusative	*meinom	*meinou	*meinoms
genitive	*meinī	*meinous	*meinom
dative	*meinūi	*meinobom	*meinobos
instrumental	*meinū	*meinobim	*meinobis
feminine	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*meinā	*meinai	*meinās
vocative	*meinā	*meinai	*meinās
accusative	*meinam	*meinai	*meinams
genitive	*meinās	*meinous	*meinom
dative	*meinai	*meinābom	*meinābos
instrumental	*?	*meinābim	*meinābis
neuter	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*meinom	*meinou	*meinā
vocative	*meinom	*meinou	*meinā
accusative	*meinom	*meinou	*meinā
genitive	*meinī	*meinous	*meinom
dative	*meinūi	*meinobom	*meinobos
instrumental	*meinū	*meinobim	*meinobis

Reconstruction notes

Matasović's assignment of this word's Brittonic descendants to *moinis (“benefit, treasure”), requiring him to presume a difficult semantic evolution "treasure" > "beautiful" > "gracile, thin", is simply erroneous for semantic reasons.

Related terms

• *mīnis

Descendants

• Proto-Brythonic: *muɨn (“mild, gentle”)
  • Old Breton: moin (“delicate”)
    • Middle Breton: moen (“thin”)
      • Breton: moan
  • Old Cornish: muin (“gracile”)
  • Middle Welsh: mwyn
    • Welsh: mwyn (“mild, gentle”)
• Gaulish: *mēnos
  • ⇒ Gaulish: Menos, Mena
  • →⇒ Latin: Menilus
  • →⇒ Latin: Meniō
  • →⇒ Latin: Dacumēna
  • →⇒ Latin: Sumēna
    • French: Sumène
    • Occitan: Sumena