From Gaulish *deruētā, from Proto-Celtic *derweitā, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *der- (“to tear apart”).[1] Compare Lithuanian dedervinė (“rash, eruption”), Polish odra (“measles”) and Latin derbiōsus (“scabby”).
Brittonic cognates like Middle Welsh derwhyden (“ringworm”) and Breton daroued, which do not have a reflex of a Celtic *-b- and whose second vowels can only come from *-ei- > *-ē-, indicate that the spelling derbita is phonologically misleading. Derbita is attested in late glosses and must reflect the vulgar Latin mergers of v with lenited -b- and ē with i.
derbita f (genitive derbitae); first declension
First-declension noun.
| singular | plural | |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | derbita | derbitae |
| genitive | derbitae | derbitārum |
| dative | derbitae | derbitīs |
| accusative | derbitam | derbitās |
| ablative | derbitā | derbitīs |
| vocative | derbita | derbitae |