# Proto-Celtic religion

Proto-Celtic religion was the beliefs of the speakers of Proto-Celtic and includes topics such as the mythology, legendry, folk tales, and folk beliefs of early Celtic culture. By way of the comparative method, Celtic philologists, a variety of historical linguists, have proposed reconstructions of entities, locations, and concepts with various levels of security in early Celtic folklore and mythology (reconstructions are indicated by the presence of an asterisk). The present article includes both reconstructed forms and proposed motifs from the early Celtic period.

## Deities

| Proto-Celtic reconstruction | Ancient | Goidelic | Brittonic | Etymology | Notes |
| *Belenos | Gaul. Belenus | – | W Belyn | Traditionally derived from PIE *bʰelH- ('white, shining'), although this has come under criticism in recent scholarship. | The river name Bienne and the place name Bienne attest of a feminine form *Belenā. See Belenos for further discussion. |
| *Bodwos | – | OIr. Bodb | – | From Celtic–Germanic *b$^h$od$^h$wo- ('battle, fight'). | Name of a war divinity. Also attested as a personal name in Gaulish Boduos. A term common to Celtic and Germanic, where a war-goddess is known as Badu-henna. The meaning 'crow', a bird symbolizing the carnage in battle, emerged later in Celtic languages. Middle Irish bodb must be understood as the 'bird on the battlefield and manifestation of the war-goddess'. See Bodb Derg and Badb for further discussion. |
| *Brigantī ~ Brigantia | Gaul. *Brigantia | OIr. Brigit | OBritt. Brigantia | From PIE *b$^h$erǵ$^h$- ('be high, hill'). | The stem Brigant- is attested in numerous river names (which are typically deified in ancient Celtic cultures), such as Briande [fr], Briance, Bregenzer, or Brent, and in toponyms such as Bragança (< *Brigantia). See Brigid and Brigantia (goddess) for further discussion. |
| *Flitawī | Gaul. Litaui | OIr. Letha | OW Litau, OBret. Letau | From PIE *plth$_2$wih$_2$ ('the Broad One, i.e. Earth'). | See Litavis and Dʰéǵʰōm (The Broad One) for further discussion. |
| *Gobann- | Gaul. Cobanno | OIr. Goibniu | MW Govannon | From PCelt. *goban- ('smith'). | The Gaulish, Irish and Welsh forms diverge and are reconstructed as *Gobannos, as Gobeniū ~ *Gobanniō, and as Gobannonos, respectively. See Gobannus, Goibniu and Gofannon for further discussion. |
| *Lugus | Gaul. Lugus, CIb. Luguei | OIr. Lug | MW Llew | Unclear etymology. | At the origin of the PCelt. compound *Lugu-deks ('serving Lugus'; cf. Gaul. Lugudeca, OIr. Lugaid). See Lugus for further discussion. |
| *Mak$^w$onos | Gaul. Mapono | OIr. Macán < *Maccan Oc | MW Mabon | An n-stem of PCelt. *makwo- ('son'). | See Maponos for further discussion. |
| *Mātronā | Gaul. Matrona | – | MW Modron | An n-stem of PCelt. *mātīr, gen. *mātros ('mother'). | See Matronae for further discussion. |
| *Nowdont- | Nodonti, Nodenti | MIr. Nuadu | MW Nudd | Unclear etymology. | Nodenti is the dative singular of *Nodens. See Nodens for further discussion. |
| *Ogmiyos | Gaul. Ogmios | MIr. Ogma | – | A yo-derivate of PCelt. *ogmos (perhaps 'path, orbit'). | A mythological name |
| *Olo-(p)atīr | – | MIr. Ollathair | – | Identical to PGmc *Ala-fader (cf. Old Norse Alföðr). | An epithet meaning 'all-father', used as a byname of the Dagda. It can be compared with the Old Norse Alföðr, commonly used for Odin. |
| *Tonaros > *Toranos | Gaul. Tanarus, Taranis | – | OBritt. Tanaro, Pict. Taran | Identical to the Proto-Germanic Thunder-god *Þun(a)raz (Thor). From PIE *(s)tenh₂- ('thunder'). | See Taranis for further discussion. |
| *Windos | Gaul. Vindo(nnus) Galatian Ούινδιεινος (Uindieinos) | OIr. Find (mac Cumhaill) | W Gwyn (ap Nudd) | 'The White One'. From PCelt. *windo- ('white'). | The male names are considered to be cognates. See Gwyn ap Nudd and Fionn mac Cumhaill for further discussion. Vindonnus appears as an epithet attached to Greek god Apollo in continental Celtic inscriptions. Compare Vindelici and Vindobona. |
| *Windo-sēbrā | – | OIr. Findabair | MW Gwenhwyfar | A compound of windo- ('white') attached to a feminine form of *sēbro- ('demon, spectre'). | A mythological name. See Guinevere for further discussion. |
| Note: Gaul. = Gaulish; Gall. = Gallaecian; Lep. = Lepontic; CIb. = Celtiberian; OIr. = Old Irish; MIr. = Middle Irish; OBritt. = Old Brittonic; OW = Old Welsh; MW = Middle Welsh; Pict. = Pictish; OBret. = Old Breton; MBret. = Middle Breton; OCo. = Old Cornish ||||||

## Entities

| Proto-Celtic reconstruction | Meaning | Ancient | Goidelic | Brittonic | Etymology | Notes |
| *dēwos | 'deity' | Gaul. deuo-, CIb. teuio- | OIr. día | OW duiu, MBret. doe, OCo. duy | From PIE *deywos ('god, deity'). | See Dyēus#Etymology and "Celestial" derivations for further discussion. |
| *dwosyos | 'incubus, daemon' | Gaul. dusios | – | Bret. Diz, Co. Dus | Cognate with Lith. dvasià ('breath, spirit, soul') and MHG getwās ('spirit, ghost'). | Source of Romansch dischöl, Wallon dûhon, and Basque tusuri. |
| *morā | 'female demon' | – | MIr. mor- | – | From PIE *moreh$_2$ ('nightly spirit, bad dream'). | See Mare (folklore) and The Morrígan#Etymology for further discussion. |
| *sēbro- | 'demon, spectre' | – | OIr. síabar | MW -hwyfar | Unclear etymology. | |
| *skāhslo- | 'demon, supernatural being' | – | OIr. scál | MW yscwal | Perhaps related to *skek- ('move, stir'). Cognate to Gothic skōhsl ('demon, evil spirit') < *skōhsla-. | |
| Note: Gaul. = Gaulish; Gall. = Gallaecian; Lep. = Lepontic; CIb. = Celtiberian; OIr. = Old Irish; MIr. = Middle Irish; OBritt. = Old Brittonic; OW = Old Welsh; MW = Middle Welsh; Pict. = Pictish; OBret. = Old Breton; MBret. = Middle Breton; OCo. = Old Cornish |||||||

## Locations

| Proto-Celtic reconstruction | Meaning | Ancient | Goidelic | Brittonic | Etymology | Notes |
| *albiyos | 'upper world' | Gaul. albio- | – | OW elbid | From PIE *h$_2$elb$^h$o- ('white'). | |
| *ande-dubnos | 'other world, world of the dead' | Gaul. antumnos | – | MW annw(f)n | From PCelt. ande- ('below') attached to *dubnos. | See also Gaul. anderon, genetive plural of *anderos, interpreted as meaning 'infernal', perhaps 'gods of the underworld', and cognate with Lat. īnferus and Skt ádhara-. See Annwn for further discussion. |
| *bitus | 'world (of the living)' | Gaul. bitu- | OIr. bith | OW bid, OBret. bit, OCo. bit | From PIE *gwiH-tu- ('life'). | See Bituitus and Bith. |
| *dubnos | 'lower world' | Gaul. dumno- | OIr. domun | MW dwfn, MBret. doun, Co. down | From PIE *d$^h$ewb$^{(h)}$- ('deep'). | See Dumnonii and Damnonii (tribes), Dumnonia (kingdom) and Fir Domnann. |
| Note: Gaul. = Gaulish; Gall. = Gallaecian; Lep. = Lepontic; CIb. = Celtiberian; OIr. = Old Irish; MIr. = Middle Irish; OBritt. = Old Brittonic; OW = Old Welsh; MW = Middle Welsh; Pict. = Pictish; OBret. = Old Breton; MBret. = Middle Breton; OCo. = Old Cornish |||||||

## Other

| Proto-Celtic reconstruction | Meaning | Ancient | Goidelic | Brittonic | Etymology | Notes |
| *adbertā | 'offering, victim' | – | OIr. edbart | OW aperth | From PCelt. *ad- ('to') attached to *ber-tā < *ber-o- ('carry, bring, bear'). | The OIr. word is the verbal noun of ad-opair < *ad-uss-ber-o ('sacrifices, offers'). |
| *adgaryos | 'summoner' (? of the deities) | Gaul. adgarion | OIr. accrae | – | From PCelt. *ad- ('to') attached to *gar-yo- ('call, cry'). | See also OIr. ad-gair ('summon, subpoena') < *ad-gar(i)et. The OIr. accrae ('complaint') <*ad-garion is also only used in legal contexts, although the original PCelt. meaning may have been 'to summon the deities [as witnesses]' (cf. OIr. deogaire 'seer' < *dewo-garios 'who summons the deity'). |
| *anamon- | 'soul' | – | OIr. anim | MBret. eneff; Anaffoun (pl.) | From PIE *h$_2$enh$_1$-mon- ('breath'). | The Insular Celtic forms were influenced by the Lat. cognate anima. See also anaon ('souls of the dead' in Breton mythology) and Gaulish anatia 'souls'. |
| *awe- | 'poetic inspiration' | – | OIr. aui | MW awen | Related to PCelt. *awelā ('breeze, wind'), itself from PIE *h$_2$uh$_1$-el- (id.). | The PCelt. reconstruction is difficult because the OIr. and MW forms do not agree. MoBret. awen ('inspiration') is a loanword from Welsh. |
| *bardos | 'bard, poet' | Gaul. bardo- | MIr. bard | MW bardd, MBret. barz, OCo. barth | From PIE *gʷrH-dʰh₁-o-s ('praise-maker'). | See Bard for further discussion |
| *brihtu- | 'magical formula, incantation' | Gaul. brixta | OIr. bricht | MW -brith, OBret. brith | Perhaps from PIE *b$^h$erg̍$^h$- ('enlighten'), or related to PCelt. *berxto- ('bright, beautiful'). | See Brixta for further discussion. |
| *dawnā | 'poem' | – | MIr. dúan | – | From PIE *dh$_2$p-no- ('offering'). | See Aois-dàna, 'people of the arts; poet'. |
| *dedm- | 'rite, ceremony' | – | OIr. deidmea | MW deuawt, OBret. domot | From PIE *d$^h$ed$^h$(h$_1$)m- ('custom'). | The reconstruction of the vowel in PCelt. *dedmV- is difficult: OBret. domot points to *dedmāto- while OIr. deidmea points to *dedmi-. |
| *druwid(e)s | 'priest, druid' | Gaul. druides | OIr. druí | – | Presumably from PIE *dru- ('oak') attached to *weyd- ('see, know'). | The Brittonic forms MW derwydd and OBret. dorguid come from *do-are-wid- ('who sees beyond'). See Druid for further discussion. |
| *ferissā | 'religion, belief' | – | OIr. iress | – | Probably from PIE *peri-dh$_1$-teh$_2$. | |
| *frato- | 'good fortune, grace' | Gaul. ratus | OIr. rath | OW rat, OBret. rad-, Co. ras | Probably related to PCel. far-na- ('bestow'). | |
| *kwritus | 'magical transformation, shape' | Gaul. prittus | OIr. cruth | MW pryd, MBret. pred, OCo. prit | From PIE *k$^w$er- ('make, cause'). | See Britain (place name), Prydain and tribe Cruthin. |
| *kwrityos | 'poet' | Gaul. pritios | OIr. Crithe | MW prydydd, OCo. pridit | A yo-derivate of*kwritus. | |
| *karnom | 'ancient stone, funerary monument' | – | OIr. carn | OW carn | Probably borrowed from the same non-Indo-European source as PGmc *har(u)gaz. | Cf. also Carnac < *Karnākon (‘place with pagan stone monuments’). See cairn for further discussion. |
| *kaylo- | 'omen' | Gaul. caelo-, CIb. caeilo- | – | OW coil(i)ou, OBret. coel, OCo. chuillioc | From PIE *keh$_2$ilo- ('whole, wealthy'). | Source of PCelt. *dus-kaylo- (bad omen'; cf. Gaul. dus-celi-, OIr. do-chél) and *su-kaylo- ('good omen'; cf. Gaul. su-caelo, MW hy-goel). OIr. cél is a loanword from Welsh. |
| *kentu-samonyo- | 'May' | – | OIr. cétamain | MW kintevin | A compound of *kentu ('first') and *samon- ('summer'). | Meaning 'first summer'. |
| *krābri- | 'devotion, religious practice' | – | OIr. crábud | MW crefydd | Unclear etymology. | MW crefydd is built on a yo-suffix and OIr. crábud on a itu-suffix. |
| *kreddī- | 'believe' | – | OIr. creitid | MW credu, MBret. crediff, OCo. cresy | From PIE *ḱred-d$^h$eh$_1$- ('believe, trust'). | The geminate must be recent since PIE *dd would have yielded PCelt. *ss. |
| *kreddīmā | 'faith, believing' | – | OIr. cretem | MBret. critim | Verbal noun of *kreddī-. | |
| *kredro/i | 'relic, sacred object' | – | OIr. cretair | OW creirriou, MBret. kreir, Co. crêr | Related to *kreddī- ('believe'). | |
| *(f)litu- | 'festival, celebration' | Gaul. litu- | OIr. líth | OBret. lit | Unclear etymology. | The absence of cognates in other Indo-European languages makes the PCelt. reconstruction (*flitu- or *litu-) uncertain. |
| *marwo-natu- | 'funerary poem, eulogy' | – | OIr. marbnad | MW marwnad | A compound of PCelt. *marwo- ('dead') and *natu- ('poem'). | The compound, pertaining to poetic language, can probably be projected back to Proto-Celtic. |
| *meldo- | 'lightning, hammer of the thunder-god' | Gaul. Meldio | – | MW Mellt | Cognate with PGmc *meldunjaz and PBalt-Slav. mild-n-. | See Perkwunos#Thunder-god's_weapon |
| *natu- | 'poem, song, incantation' | Gaul. natia, nato- | OIr. nath | MW nad | Probably from PIE *(s)neh$_1$- ('sew'). | The semantic development could be explained in terms of poetic metaphors, whereby a poem is identified with a thread. |
| *nemetom | 'sacred grove, sanctuary' | Gaul. nemēton, CIb. nemeto- | OIr. nemed | OBritt. Nemetona, OW -nivet, OBret. -nimet | A t-stem derived from PIE *némos ('sacrifice'), itself from *nem- ('distribute'), or possibly related to PCelt. *nemos ('heaven'). | Related to or borrowed into PGmc *nemedaz ('holy grove'). Greek (némos) and Latin (nemus) share the meaning 'forest, (holy) clearance', which evolved from the PIE sense 'what is distributed, sacrifice' (cf. Skt námas- 'worship, honour', Alb. nëmë 'curse, imprecation'). See Nemeton, goddesses Nemetona and Arnemetia, tribe Nemetes. |
| *nemos | 'heaven, sky' | – | OIr. nem | OW nem, OBret. nem, OCo. nef | From PIE *neb$^h$os ('cloud, cloudy sky'). | The irregular *-m- of the Celtic forms is best explained as the result of assimilation (n ...b$^h$ > n ...m). |
| *noybo- | 'holy' | Gaul. noibo- | OIr. noíb | – | From PIE *noyb$^h$os. | |
| *rūnā | 'secret, magic' | Gaul. -runus (?), Lep. Runatis (?) | OIr. rún | MW rin, MBret. rin, Co. rin- | Related to PGmc *rūnō ('secret, mystery'). | Gaul. Cobrunus (< *com-rūnos 'confident') is probably cognate with MW cyfrin, MBret. queffrin and MIr. comrún ('shared secret, confidence'); Lep. Runatis may be derived from *runo-ātis ('belonging to the secret'). See Runes#Etymology. |
| *samoni- | 'assembly, (feast of the) first month of the year' | Gaul. Samon- | MIr. Samain | – | From PIE *smHon- ('reunion, assembly'). | Name of a month or feast. The original meaning is best explained as 'assembly (of the living and the dead)' (cf. OIr. -samain 'swarm'). Links to PCelt. *samon- ('summer') appear to be folk etymologies. See Samhain for further discussion. |
| *sakro- | 'consecrated, cursed' | Gaul. sacro- | – | MW hagr, MBret. hagr, Co. hager | From PIE *sh$_2$k-ro- ('sacred'). | The Brittonic cognates mean 'ugly', i.e. 'cursed' < 'consecrated to infernal, malevolent deities'. The original meaning was probably close to that of Latin sācer, meaning 'consecrated', but also 'worthy to be sacrificed', 'cursed'. Cognate to Latin sacerdos, 'priest'. |
| *sedo- ~ *sīdos | 'tumulus (inhabited by supernatural beings), peace' | Gaul. sedum, sidum | OIr. síd | MW hedd, OBret. hed | From PIE sēds gen. sedos ('seat'). | See sidhe. |
| *soyto- | 'magic' | – | – | MW hud, MBret. hud, Co. hus | Probably originally identical to PIE *soito- ('string, rope'), from *seh$_2$i- ('to bind'). Cognate with PGmc *saidaz ('magic, charm') and Lith. saitas ('soothsaying, talisman'). | Source of PCelt. *soyto-lo- ('charming, illusory') |
| *to-fare-ufo-kan-o- | 'prophesise' | – | OIr. do-aurchain | MW darogan | From PCelt. to-fare- ('towards'), attached to *ufo- ('under') and *kan-o- ('sing'). | |
| *wātis | 'seer, sooth-sayer' | Gaul. wáteis | OIr. fáith | – | From PIE *weh$_2$-ti- ('prophet'). Related to PGmc *wōðaz ('possessed, inspired, delirious, raging') > ON Óðr. | See vates. |
| *wātus | 'poetic inspiration, prophesy' | – | OIr. fáth | MW gwawd | From PIE *weh$_2$-tu- ('prophesy'). | The stem is also found in the Celtic theonym from Belgica Vatumar-. |
| *weletos | 'seer' | Gaul. uelets | OIr. filed | MW gwelet, MBret. guelet | From PIE *wel-o- ('to see'). | OIr. filed is the genitive form of filí ('poet, seer'). The ancient Germanic Weleda, the name of a seeress, is most likely a borrowing from Gaulish *ueletā ('seeress'), with regular Germanic sound shift -t- > -d-. |
| *widlmā | 'seeress, sorceress' | Gaul. uidluas | Fedelm | W gwyddon | From PCelt. *wēdo- ('sight, presence'). | Gaul. uidluas may be a genitive form of *uildua, in which case it may be derived from *widlmā with lenition (like in anuana < *anman- 'name'). |
| *yālo- | 'praise, worship' | – | OIr. áil | MW iawl, OBret. iolent | From PIE *(H)yeh$_2$lo- ('zeal'). | |
| Note: Gaul. = Gaulish; Gall. = Gallaecian; Lep. = Lepontic; CIb. = Celtiberian; OIr. = Old Irish; MIr. = Middle Irish; OBritt. = Old Brittonic; OW = Old Welsh; MW = Middle Welsh; Pict. = Pictish; OBret. = Old Breton; MBret. = Middle Breton; OCo. = Old Cornish |||||||