litau̯-
| Type: | lexical |
|---|---|
| Meaning: | 'earth' |
| Language: | Celtic |
| Phonemic analysis: | /litau̯/- |
| From PIE: | *pl̥th₂-u̯-ih₂- 'broad one' |
| From Proto-Celtic: | *φlitau̯ī- 'broad land, earth' |
| Attestation: | uvltiauiopos |
Commentary
From the PIE root *pl̥th₂- 'broaden, extend' → u-adjective *pl̥th₂-u- 'broad' → f. ih₂-derivation 'the broad one, the earth'; formally equivalent to Ved. pṛthivī́- 'earth' (also theonym) and the Gk. toponym πλάταια, see NIL: 564–566 with n. 7, Matasović 2009: 135. Continued in Celtic in the name for Brittany (OW litau, MIr. letha < litau̯i̯ā 'broad land, mainland' as per Thurneysen 1894: 84 f.), the Gaulish theonym litau̯ī or litau̯is (associate of Mars Cicolluis, e.g. CIL XIII 5599 litaui [dat.]), and personal names such as CIL XIII 939 cobledulitauo, 5708 litauicrari, XIII 4711 litauicci, conuictolitauis (Caes. B.G.), RIG M-194 litauicos (coin legend). See AcS II: 245, KGP: 232, Schrijver 1995: 262, 297, GPN: 217, DLG: 204 f., Delamarre 2007: 225 et passim.
Bibliography
| AcS | Alfred Holder, Alt-celtischer Sprachschatz, Leipzig: Teubner 1896–1907. |
|---|---|
| CIL | Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum. (17 volumes, various supplements) |
| 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. |
