Words of Scots, Pictish and Celtic origin

Neil · Post by **Neil** » Fri Jan 26, 2007 10:07 pm

Are there any currently common words that can be traced back to Scots, Picts, Celts? Examples?

Wizard of Oz · Post by **Wizard of Oz** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 4:43 am

.. just because I am a nice Aussie bloke and you did post this request on Australia Day I will give you this source but you will have to look for the rest yourself .. and does Canada have a National Day ??

WoZ of Aus 27/01/07

trolley · Post by **trolley** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 5:39 am

Hey Wiz
July 1st. It's our birthday. I won't reveal how old we are. Bring beer.

nicktecky · Post by **nicktecky** » Sat Jan 27, 2007 11:33 am

By no means an expert, I think the words you are using refer to different tribes from North Britain encompassing quite a substantial period of time. Certainly over 1000 years.
The Celts are, as I understand it, still not definitively described historically, but certainly include people from NW France, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, inumerable other parts of the UK, as well as lands around the North Sea.
If you Google 'Celtic Words' or 'Norse Words' you'll find a host of resources, including lists on Wikipoedia.
Melvyn Bragg's informative "Routes of English" is also searchable on the BBC website.
Modern Norwegian is also a substantial contributor to English.

Wizard of Oz · Post by **Wizard of Oz** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 11:35 am

.. aha Trolley just a few days older than those bloody southerners .. *grin* ..

WoZ

tony h · Post by **tony h** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 11:41 am

Neil, is there a particular reason for your question?

Post by **Phil White** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 12:33 pm

As far as Pictish is concerned, there is no agreement as to the language spoken by the Picts. Some scholars believe that it was related to the Brythonic Celtic languages, others that it was entirely distinct. There is virtually no written evidence of the language apart from a few inscriptions comprising mainly proper names. It is believed that some place names or parts of place names that exist today are derived from Pictish (in particular "Pit-" as in Pittodrie, Pitlochry, possibly meaning a "farm"). The evidence is extremely sparse.

Technically, the term "Scots" refers to the Anglic language or dialect spoken in Scotland, and is generally regarded as a branch of English. It is not, however, to be confused with Standard Scottish English. It should not be used to refer to Scottish Gaelic, which is a goidelic Celtic language (along with Irish and Manx).

There is evidence of many Celtic words in English, and others have already pointed to some of the lists available.

Modern Norwegian is also a substantial contributor to English.

Nick, I'd be interested to hear your source for that one. Old Norse is a significant contributor, although its contribution is primarily restricted to place names and dialect words in some of the more northern dialects of the UK. I was unaware that Modern Norwegian was having any major impact on the language (except perhaps around Aberdeen).

The Celts are, as I understand it, still not definitively described historically...

In linguistics, the term is generally unproblematic. The term simply refers to peoples who spoke/speak Celtic languages. Anthropologically, the situation is not as clear, and as you point out, the debate is ongoing, although modern genetic methods of studying population distribution are providing some additional insights.

nicktecky · Post by **nicktecky** » Sun Jan 28, 2007 6:43 pm

Phil, perhaps 'substantial' was a little optimistic. I had a quick Wiki-peek and failed to notice that even that list includes some marginal contenders to say the least.
Apologies for that.

Neil · Post by **Neil** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 5:29 pm

Hi, Wizard of Oz, trolley, nicktecky, tony h, Phil White,

Many thanks for your help. You have answered my enquiry fully.

dalehileman · Post by **dalehileman** » Tue Jan 30, 2007 6:13 pm

Slightly OT, but what did you think of Celtic Woman