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In this episode we unearth the possible Celtic roots of words for field and related things in Galician and other languages.
The Proto-Celtic word *ɸlārom means floor and comes from Proto-Indo-European *pleh₂ros (to be flat, from *pleh₂- (flat) [source].
Related words in the modern Celtic languages include:
- lár [l̪ˠɑːɾˠ] = ground, floor, middle, centre in Irish
- làr [l̪ˠaːɾ] = floor, ground, storey, middle, centre in Scottish Gaelic
- laare = flat, level, set, sill, centre, bottom, deck, floor, storey in Manx
- llawr [ɬau̯r] = floor, deck, stage, platform, cellar, ground in Welsh
- leur = floor, ground, storey in Cornish
- leur [løːr] = floor, ground, area in Breton
For more details of related words in the Celtic languages, see the Celtiadur post Floor / Ground.
Words from the same Proto-Celtic root possibly include leira (field, a strip of cultivable land) in Galician, leira (furrow, a strip of cultivated land) in Portuguese, llera (a pebbly or stony area) in Spanish [source].
Words from the same PIE roots include flat, floor, palm, piano, plan and plane in English, piazza [ˈpjat.tsa] (square, plaza, market, space) in Italian, Flur [fluːr] (hall, corridor, stairwell) in German, and vloer [vluːr] (floor, ground, surface) in Dutch [source].
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