mat-
| Type: | lexical |
|---|---|
| Meaning: | 'good, fortunate, advantageous' |
| Language: | Celtic |
| Phonemic analysis: | /mat/- |
| Attestation: | matikios, mationa( |
Commentary
Lexically as an i-stem in OIr. maith, W. mad, Corn. mas, Bret. mad 'good, profitable'; beside this exists a u-stem *matu- 'bear' (OIr. math). In the numerous names which contain an element mat- (see GPN: 230–232, KGP: 239 f., DLG: 221, Delamarre 2007: X), Schmidt (KGP: 239) assumed instances of mati- to always mean 'good' and instances of matu- to alwas mean 'bear', mato-, thematised or with substituted composition vowel in dithematic names, being ambiguous. The Gaul. u-stem matu (/mat/m) in the Coligny calendar, however, designates favourable months in opposition to unfavourable (anm[atu]) ones, showing that Gaulish had a u-stem matu- 'good', which may be present in any number of names (e.g. in pairs like comatumarus/ comatimara), cf. GPN: 229. Cf. also Celtib. matus (Botorrita I A.6). Vendryes (LEIA: M-12 f., M-24) suggests that matu- 'bear' is in fact a taboo designation derived from matu- 'good' (doubtful Delamarre DLG: 221).
Bibliography
| Delamarre 2007 | Xavier Delamarre, Noms de personnes celtiques dans l'épigraphie classique. Nomina Celtica Antiqua Selecta Inscriptionum, Paris: Errance 2007. |
|---|---|
| DLG | Xavier Delamarre, Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise. Une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental, 2nd, revised edition, Paris: Errance 2003. |
| Eichner 1973 | Heiner Eichner, "Die Etymologie von heth. mehur", Münchener Studien zur Sprachwissenschaft 31 (1973), 53–107. |
