kelt-

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Type:	lexical
Meaning:	uncertain
Language:	Celtic
Phonemic analysis:	/kelt/-
Attestation:	celθestra

Commentary

The putative endonym *keltoi̯ of (a part of) the Celtic-speaking population of western Europe (Caesar B.G. 1.1) is mainly transmitted through Greek (κέλτοι, κελταί) and Latin (celtae) sources (see AcS I: 888–958). A Celtic etymology is not clearly established (see Birkhan 1997: 47–49), but a number of plausible options are available. McCone 2008: 94 f. (also 2013: 21–25) interprets the form as a vṛddhi-derivative *keltos 'offspring/descendants of the hidden one' from PIE *k̑l̥to- 'hidden' (> PC *klitos 'hidden') as an epithet of Dis Pater, from whom the Gauls considered themselves to be descended according to Caesar (B.G. 6.18). Matasović 2009: 199 prefers the traditional derivation from the PIE root *kelh₂- 'strike' (*kelh₂-to- 'beating, fighting' uel sim.) despite the unclear fate of the laryngeal. Further on the ethnonym e.g. Sims-Williams 2011 (who suspects an etymological connection with galat-), McCone 2013, Sims-Williams 2020: 14 f., n. 1.

Bibliography

AcS	Alfred Holder, Alt-celtischer Sprachschatz, Leipzig: Teubner 1896–1907.
Birkhan 1997	Helmut Birkhan, Kelten. Versuch einer Gesamtdarstellung ihrer Kultur, Wien: 1997.