Tama County Republican. (Toledo, Tama County, Iowa) 1867-1872, 1869-12-16
The Celtic Words in Our Ian.
gO1Ec.

The compilers Of our best English dictiona-
| ries, from the days of Samuel johnson to our
own, have greatly neglected the Celtic etymol.
ogy of the language, and have been content to
trace the roots Of words either to the Anglo.
Saxon, the Danish, the Latin, the Greek or the
French, without troubling them selves to as
certain the origin of words of which these
we're not the sources. The words "boy" and
girl" which are both Celtic, may serve as
instances Of this ignorance on the part Of Lex
icographers. Johnson derives ''boy' from the
German or Saxon ''bube' but admits that the
efymology is uncertain. No such word as boy
occurs in Bosworth's Anglo.Saxon Dictionary.
But it is to be found in the Manx language
branch Of the Celtic, with the orthography Of
bwoie. ''Girl' is word that has puzzled the
dictionary markets quite as much as its COM
panion, boy, and they all see its etymolocy
erywhere except in the right place. One
exceedingly wise person lin his own estima-
tion), named Minsuen, traces it from the Lat
in garruLa, because girls are garrulous and
fond Of prating; and no. being quite sure that
nc IS right, suggests that possibly it may be
from the Italian girella, q weathercock, sbe-
cause of their fckleness.' The ..r' in the
word, which is not usually pronounced, seems
to have led that learned noodle astray. The
vulgar pronunciation, gal" points to its true
source in the Celtic caile and cailinn, pro,
nounced kala and kahn, and to the Irish co.
leen. Another possible derivation. which il
would be pleasant and fattering to the sex to
believe to be the correct one, is from the Gae-
ilc goal pronounced ..gurl,n without the .sr.p
and signifying love. The Anglo-Saxon words
for girl were piga and maid, the latter of
which remains. Piga has been very properly
superseded, and only remains in the once
common pubiic-house sign of pig and Whis-
tie, perverted from ''piga and wassail'-i. e.,
lass and glass. The word grove is an>
other word Of which the Grammarians, igno-
rant OF the original language of the British
people, can make nothing. Worcester, who does
not wholly ignore the Celtic and Cymric ele.
ments Of the language, derives grove from the
Ahglo.Sa1on graef, grave or ditch, and
quotes from Junius the explanation that
groves are frequently protected by ditch
thrown around them" More probably SAYS
Richardson, because grove is cut out, hol.
lowed out OF thcket of trees; it is not the
thicket ITSELF But the word existed in Eng>
land for centuries before a Saxon set foot on
the soil, and is no other than the Celtic craobh.
pronounced kraov, tree, and craobhach or
kraovag abounding in trees The words scud-
die and fun, which the dictionaries call 10 "
words, and scarcely attempt to define, because
they ind no traces of them in AnSlo>Saxon
Greek, Latin orFrench, are pure Celtic. Cud
die Is from cadail, to sleep; and fun is frou
foun, music; following the same tone O
thought which cnnvarted the Anglo, Saxo1
| ''glee, which originally meant music, into
synonym for the mirth and pleasure which
music produces. The slang word cove, a maj
or fellow, comes from the Gazelle caomh, pro
| nounced kaov, gentle. courteous. s.Dull' anu
stall are Celtic words, of which the origin
was unsuspected and unknown at the time
when our first dictionaries were published
and mean respectively "bliud' and 'high.
which are their Anglo-Saxon synonyms.-[ AL
The Year Rouad