Reconstruction:Proto-Celtic/dol-

This Proto-Celtic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

From Proto-Indo-European *dʰelh₁-.^[1]

*dol- f

1. (collectively) leaves

Explaining the final i-affection in Brittonic is difficult.

• Matasović's suggestion to derive the Brittonic forms from *dolyā does not work, since *-yā cannot cause i-affection.
• An i-stem *dolis, although finding parallels in other Indo-European o-grade *-is nouns, is troubled by the fact that short *i cannot cause final i-affection of any vowel other than *e. The plural of an i-stem, if reconstructed as monophthongized *-eyes > *-īs, can yield the Brittonic forms but Schrijver rejects such a development existing (he thinks the i-stem plural instead yielded Welsh -ydd).
• De Vaan reconstructs *dalī, assuming the zero-grade of the root.^[2] The suffix can cause Brittonic i-affection, but this Celtic word family must have had the o-grade throughout given the derived singulative *dolinyā and its Goidelic reflexes in Old Irish duilne, Middle Irish duille etc. This poses a problem since Proto-Indo-European *-ih₂ does not naturally use the o-grade of a root.

• *dolinyā
• *doliskos

• Proto-Brythonic: *döl
  • Old Breton: dol
    • Middle Breton: del
      • Breton: del
  • Middle Cornish: del
    • Cornish: del
  • Middle Welsh: deil
    • Welsh: dail