prit-

edit with form

Type:	lexical
Meaning:	'form, shape, manner'
Language:	Celtic
Phonemic analysis:	/prit/-
From PIE:	*ku̯r̥-tu-
From Proto-Celtic:	*ku̯ritu-
Attestation:	pritua, prituli

Commentary

For the morpheme's only attestation in Cisalpine Celtic, Solinas 2016: 377 suggests the base britu- listed in DLG: 89 as found in Gaulish PNN like brittus, britto, brittula (see also Delamarre 2007: 49), and compared with OIr. brith 'thought, judgement'. The lexeme, however, is an ā-stem PIE *bʰr̥-tā- > PC *bret- with lowering of the root vowel before a, the form brith being the old dative which replaced the nominative (Irslinger 2002: 387–390, Marchesini & Stifter 2018: 148). An i-stem PIE *bʰr̥-ti- is attested in MW bryd (Schumacher 2000: 71 f.), but no u-stems (though they have been considered, cf. Irslinger 2002: 390) are in evidence. Stifter (Marchesini & Stifter 2018: 148) therefore prefers a derivation from PIE *k^u̯r̥-tu- > PC *k^u̯ritu- 'form' (LEIA: C-256, Irslinger 2002: 93 f.) > Gaul. pritu- as in names like prito, prittusa (DLG: 253, Delamarre 2007: 150). Delamarre DLG: 89 points out that b in names in brit(t)- may be influenced by the Latinised forms (brittones, britanni etc.) of a Celtic ethnonym which had k^u̯/p (*pritenī > OIr. cruithin, MW prydyn 'Picts', *pritanī > MW prydein 'Britain'; see LEIA: C-254 and O’Rahilly 1964: 444–452) and may be from the same base *k^u̯rit-, but cf. LEIA: B-91 f., Irslinger 2002: 94.

Corinna Salomon

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.