Words for milk, and related words, in Celtic languages.
| Proto-Celtic | *laxto- = milk |
|---|---|
| Old Irish (Goídelc) | lacht [l͈axt] = milk |
| Irish (Gaeilge) | lacht [l̪ˠɑxt̪ˠ / l̪ˠaxt̪ˠ] = milk, yield of milk; tears lachtadh = lacation; flooding (of eyes) lachaí = nursling lachtach = lactic, milky; tearful lachtbhán = milkwhite lachtmhar = lactiferous, milky, abounding in milk |
| Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) | lac, lachd = sweet milk |
| Manx (Gaelg) | laghtveih = milk gauge, milk tester |
| Proto-Brythonic | *llaɨθ = milk |
| Middle Welsh (Kymraec) | llaeth = milk |
| Welsh (Cymraeg) | llaeth [ɬaːɨ̯θ / ɬai̯θ] = milk; milk-like substance, latex; milt, soft roe llaetha(f), llaethu = to yield milk, lactate, feed with milk, turn to milk llaetheiddrwydd = milkiness, lactescence llaethiad = lactation llaethlyd = milk-like, milky llaethog = milky, abounding in milk llaethogrwydd, llaethedd = milkiness llaethwraig = milkmaid, dairymaid, good milker llaethyddol = dairy, dairying y Llwybr Llaethog the Milky Way |
| Old Cornish | lait = milk |
| Middle Cornish | leth, leyth = milk |
| Cornish (Kernewek) | leth = milk |
| Breton (Brezhoneg) | laezh [ˈlɛːs] = milk |
Etmology: from the Vulgar Latin *lacte (milk), from the Latin *lac (milk), from the Proto-Indo-European *ǵlákt [source].
| Proto-Celtic | *mlixtus = milk |
|---|---|
| Old Irish (Goídelc) | mlicht [mʲlʲixt] = milch, in milk (of cattle) |
| Middle Irish (Gaoidhealg) | blicht = milk |
| Irish (Gaeilge) | bleacht [bʲlʲaxt̪ˠ] = milk, milk yield |
| Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) | bliochd [blixg] = milkiness, milk bliochdmhor [blixg(v)ər] = milky, full of milk bliochdach = milky, like milk, lacteous |
| Manx (Gaelg) | bluight = lactiferous, lacteal, galactic bluightagh, ollagh vluight = milking cows |
| Proto-Brythonic | *bliθ = milk |
| Middle Welsh (Kymraec) | blyth = milk lleurith = milk |
| Welsh (Cymraeg) | blith [bliːθ] = milch, lactating (of cow, etc), full of milk, in calf, in lamb, pregant, fruitful, productive, nourising; milk, dairy produce, lactation, dairying; profit, gain, advantage blithog, blithiog = milch, giving milk, full of milk, fruitful, productive, bearing offspring llefrith [ˈɬɛvrɪθ] = milk, new milk, sweet milk, fresh milk |
| Old Cornish | leuerid = milk |
| Breton (Brezhoneg) | livrizh = milk |
Etmology: from the Proto-Indo-European *h₂ml̥ǵtus, from *h₂melǵ- (milk, to milk) [source].
The Welsh word llefrith, which is used in North Wales, comes from llef (weak) and blith (milk) [source].
| Proto-Celtic | *bandyo- = drop |
|---|---|
| Old Irish (Goídelc) | bannae = drop |
| Middle Irish (Gaoidhealg) | bainne = milk |
| Irish (Gaeilge) | bainne [ˈbˠɑɲə / ˈbˠɑnʲə / ˈbˠan̠ʲə] = milk bainniúil = milky, milk-yielding bainniúlacht = milkiness |
| Scottish Gaelic (Gàidhlig) | bainne [ban̪ʲə] = milk, milky fluid, sap bainneach [ban̪ʲəx] = milk, like milk, lacteous |
| Manx (Gaelg) | bainney = milk bainnagh = lactic, milk producing, milky, galactic bainnaght = milkiness yn Raad Mooar Bainnagh the Milky Way |
| Middle Cornish | banne = drop |
| Cornish (Kernewek) | banna = drop |
| Breton (Brezhoneg) | banne = drop, droplet, glass |
Etmology: possibly from the Proto-Slavic *baňa (bath), from the Ancient Greek *βαλανεῖον (balaneîon, bath) [source], which is the root of words for bath(room) in many European languages, including bain in French, baño in Spanish and bagno in Italian [source].
Other words for milk in Proto-Celtic include: *glaxtā-, *melgos-, *mlig-e/o-, *seigi- and *sutu-.
Words marked with a * are reconstructions.
Sources: Wiktionary, Am Faclair Beag, Online Manx Dictionary, Teanglann.ie, eDIL – Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language, Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru, Gerlyver Kernewek, Dictionaire Favereau, TermOfis, English – ProtoCeltic WordList (PDF)
