A post about words for soot and related things in Celtic languages, and related words in other languages.
Words marked with a * are reconstructions.
| Proto-Celtic | *sūdyā = soot |
|---|---|
| Gaulish | *sūdiā = soot (?) |
| Old Irish (Goídelc) | súide = soot |
| Middle Irish (Gaoidhealg) | suide, suithe = soot suigemail = sooty |
| Irish (Gaeilge) | súiche [ˈsˠuːçɪ] = soot súicheach = sooty, dirty súicheacht = sootiness, dirtiness |
| Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) | sùith [suːj] = soot sùitheach [suːjəx] = sooty, full of soot sùitheadh [suːjəɣ] = (act of) blackening with soot |
| Manx (Gaelg) | sooie = smut, soot sooieagh = sooty |
| Middle Welsh (Kymraec) | huddygl, hudigyl, huddigl, hiddygyl, hiddigl = soot hudyglyt, hiddyglyd, huddyglud, hyddyglyd, hiddyglud = sooty, reeky, fuliginous |
| Welsh (Cymraeg) | huddygl [ˈhɨ̞ðɨ̞ɡl / ˈhɪðɪɡl] = soot huddyglo, hyddyglu = to blacken with soot, smut huddyglaidd = soot-like, sooty huddyglfag = soot-forming, gathering soot huddyglyd = sooty, reeky, fuliginous |
| Middle Cornish (Cernewec) | filgeth, filgedh = soot |
| Cornish (Kernewek) | hudhygel = soot |
| Middle Breton (Brezonec) | huzel, huzil, hudel, huzeyl = soot huzelyaff, huzeylet = to blacken (with soot) |
| Breton (Brezhoneg) | huzil [ˈhyː(z)il] = soot huzilañ = to blacken (with soot) |
Etymology: from Proto-Indo-European *suh₃d- , from *sh₃ud-, or from *sed- (to sit) [source]. Words from the same Proto-Celtic root (via Gaulish) include sutge (soot) in Catalan, and suie (soot) in French, and maybe sadza (soot) in Polish and Slovak, сажа (saža – soot) in Russian, Ukrainian and Belarussian, and saze (soot) in Czech, although they may come from the PIE root *sed- [source].
Other words from soot in Welsh include mwca (soot, black thing), parddu (soot, smut, carbon, grime, blackness), smwt (soot, smut, smudge), swt (soot), tropas, tropos (soot, drops), and fflacs (soot blown down a chimney on a windy day) [source].
Sources: Wiktionary, Etymological Dictionary Of Proto Celtic, In Dúil Bélrai English – Old Irish glossary, eDIL – Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language, Teanglann.ie, Am Faclair Beag, An etymological dictionary of the Gaelic language, Fockleyreen: Manx – English Dictionary, Online Manx Dictionary, Gaelg Corpus, Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru, Lexicon cornu-britannicum : a dictionary of the ancient Celtic language of Cornwall, Gerlyver Kernewek, Devri : Le dictionaire diachronique du breton, Geriafurch, TermOfis