Reconstruction:Proto-Celtic/longestā

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.

Proto-Celtic

Etymology

Derivative of *longā (“boat, vessel”). The apparent antiquity of this word (given its shared presence in both Welsh and Irish) is taken by Stifter as a sign that the base word was unlikely to be borrowed from Latin.^[1]

Noun

*longestā f^[1]

fleet

Inflection

Feminine ā-stem
	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*longestā	*longestai	*longestās
vocative	*longestā	*longestai	*longestās
accusative	*longestam	*longestai	*longestāms
genitive	*longestās	*longestous	*longestom
dative	*longestāi	*longestābom	*longestābos
locative	*longestai	*?	*?
instrumental	*?	*longestābim	*longestābis

Reconstruction notes

Schrijver's reconstruction *lungissā,^[2] which only takes into account Welsh llynges, cannot account for the Goidelic reflexes (we would instead expect Old Irish **lungas).

Descendants

Proto-Brythonic: *llunges
- Middle Welsh: llyghes, llynghes
  - Welsh: llynges
Old Irish: longas (“fleet, exile”)
- Middle Irish: loinges
  - Irish: loingeas
  - Manx: lhuingys
  - Scottish Gaelic: loingeas

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Stifter, David (2023) “With the Back to the Ocean: The Celtic Maritime Vocabulary”, in Kristian Kristiansen, Guus Kroonen and Eske Willerslev, editors, The Indo-European Puzzle Revisited Integrating Archaeology, Genetics, and Linguistics, Cambridge University Press, page 187
^ Schrijver, Peter C. H. (1995) Studies in British Celtic historical phonology (Leiden studies in Indo-European; 5), Amsterdam, Atlanta: Rodopi, page 28

[Stifter-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Stifter, David (2023) “With the Back to the Ocean: The Celtic Maritime Vocabulary”, in Kristian Kristiansen, Guus Kroonen and Eske Willerslev, editors, The Indo-European Puzzle Revisited Integrating Archaeology, Genetics, and Linguistics, Cambridge University Press, page 187

[2] Schrijver, Peter C. H. (1995) Studies in British Celtic historical phonology (Leiden studies in Indo-European; 5), Amsterdam, Atlanta: Rodopi, page 28

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