This page contains words for buildings and other man-made structures that are cognate in all or some of the six modern Celtic languages.
Click on the English versions that are links and you will be taken to the Celtiadur, where you can see what each word means, and how some of them are pronounced. There are also details of related words and expressions, and words in older versions of the Celtic languages, such as Middle Welsh and Old Irish. More Celtic Cognates
Words for buidlings and other man-made structures that are cognate in all six Celtic languages.
| Gaeilge (Irish) |
Gàidhlig (Gaelic) |
Gaelg (Manx) |
Cymraeg (Welsh) |
Kernewek (Cornish) |
Brezhoneg (Breton) |
English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| both | bothan bùth |
bwaane bwaag |
bwd bwth |
bod† | bod | booth hut cottage |
| caiseal | caisteal | cashtal | castell | kastel | kastell | fort fortress town city castle |
| caladh | cala | calloo callee |
— | — | — | harbour landing place |
| carcair | carcair | carchyr | carchar | carhar† | karc'har | prison jail |
| cill | cill | keeill | cell | kell | kell | cell church |
| cliath | cliath | cleea | clwyd | kloos | kloued | hurdle fence |
| cró | crò | croa | crau craw |
krow | krao kraou |
stable enclosure |
| doras | doras | dorrys | drws dôr |
daras | dor | door |
| dún | dùn | doon | din dinas |
din dinas |
din | fort fortress town city castle |
| eaglais | eaglais | agglish | eglwys | eglos | iliz | church |
| lann† | lann | lann | llan | lann | lann | church parish land enclosure |
| lár | làr | laare | llawr | leur | leur | floor ground |
| sráid | sràid | straid | stryd | stret | straed | street alley highway |
| stábla | stàball | stabyl | ystafell | stevel | staul† | stable room |
| teach | taigh | thie | tŷ | chi | ti | house |
| tuí | tugha | thoo | to | to | to | roof thatch |
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These words are cognate in some of the Celtic languages.
| Gaeilge (Irish) |
Gàidhlig (Gaelic) |
Gaelg (Manx) |
Cymraeg (Welsh) |
Kernewek (Cornish) |
Brezhoneg (Breton) |
English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| achadh | achadh | — | — | — | — | field garden enclosure hedge plain |
| áirí | àirigh | eairee | — | — | — | hill pasture sheiling milking place |
| áth | àth | aah | — | — | — | ford |
| baile | baile | balley | beili | — | — | home town bailey |
| balla | balla | boalley | gwal wal |
gwal | — | wall |
| bóthar | bòthar | bayr | beudr | bownder | road alley lane |
|
| cábán | caban | cabbane | caban | — | koban | cabin hut booth |
| — | — | — | caer | ker | kaer | fort town |
| cathair | cathair | caayr | — | — | — | fortress monastery city |
| — | — | — | cegin | kegin | kegin | kitchen |
| cistin | cistin | kishteen | — | — | — | kitchen |
| cora | caradh | — | cored | — | kored | weir dam |
| cosán | casan | cassan | — | — | — | path |
| — | — | — | cwch | kok | kouc'h | boat beehive |
| — | — | — | dôr | — | dor | door |
| droichead | drochaid | droghad | — | — | — | bridge |
| forás | foras | — | ffordd | fordh | — | street alley highway growth |
| fos | fos | — | ffos | fos | foz | wall butress ditch |
| fuinneog | uinneag | uinnag | — | — | — | window |
| lios | lios | — | llys | lis | lez | ringfort court fairy mound |
| long | long | lhong | llong | — | — | ship vessel |
| longfort | long-phort | lhong-phurt | — | — | — | seaport camp stronghold |
| mullach | mullach | mullagh | — | — | — | top roof |
| nae | — | — | noe | new | nev | boat trough |
| múr | mùr | — | mur | — | mur | wall |
| pailliún | pàillean | paal(an) | — | — | pavilhon | pavilion tent |
| paróiste | parasite | — | — | — | — | parish |
| — | — | — | plwyf | pluw | ploue | parish countryside |
| — | — | — | pont | pons | pont | bridge |
| port | port | purt | porth | porth | porzh | harbour port landing place |
| — | — | — | porth | porth | porzh | portal door gate courtyard |
| príosún | prìosan | pryssoon | — | prison | prizon | prison |
| puball | pùball | — | pabell | pabel | pabell | tent pavilion |
| ráth | ràth | raah | — | — | — | rampart ring-fort |
| ré | raon | rheam | — | — | run | field garden enclosure hedge plain |
| réilig | réilig réileag |
ruillick rhullick |
— | — | — | graveyard ossuary |
| rian | rian | rane | — | — | — | course path method river |
| — | — | — | rhyd | rys | red | ford |
| ród | rathad | raad | rhawd | — | roud | road course route |
| sabhall | sabhal | soalt | — | — | — | barn granary |
| séad | séad | — | hynt | hens hyns |
hent | path way course road |
| — | sgìre | skeerey skylley |
— | — | — | parish |
| síbín | sibein | shebeen | — | — | — | shebeen illicit pub |
| slí | slighe | sleayd | — | — | — | path track offspring |
| sliabh | sliabh | slieau | — | — | — | mountain moorland hillside |
| sliocht | sliochd | sluight | llwybr | — | — | path track section offspring |
| tábhairne | tabhairn | — | tafarn | tavern | tavarn | tavern pub |
| treibh | treabh treubh |
— | tre(f) | trev | trev | town house farmstead |
| uaigh | uaigh | oaie oaye |
— | — | — | grave tomb |
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Complete Cognates, Partial Cognates . Cognates arranged thematically: Adjectives | Animals | Birds | Clothes | Colours | Conjunctions | Countries | Directions | Food and Drink | Landscape | Buildings | Languages | Metals | Musical terms | Numbers | Parts of the body | People | Pronouns | Prepositions | Sea creatures | Time expressions | Trees and Plants | Verbs | Weather | Tools | Other words | Names
The Celtiadur blog is a collection of Celtic cognates, with definitions, pronunciation, etymologies - includes the modern Celtic languages, older versions of these languages, such as Middle Welsh, Middle Breton and Old Irish, and their extinct and reconstructed relatives and ancestors, including Gaulish, Proto-Brythonic and Proto-Celtic.
On the Celtic Pathways podcast I discuss connections between the Celtic languages, and look for words with Celtic roots in non-Celtic languages, such as English, French, Spanish, Galician and Portuguese.
If you would like to make any corrections or additions to this page, or if you can provide recordings, please contact me.
Information about Celtic place names
https://www.logainm.ie/en/
https://getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/guides/the-gaelic-origins-of-place-names-in-britain/
http://asmanxasthehills.com/place-names-on-the-isle-of-man/
http://www.isle-of-man.com/manxnotebook/fulltext/pn1925/index.htm
https://getoutside.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/guides/the-welsh-origins-of-place-names-in-britain/
https://www.cornwalls.co.uk/culture/cornish_place_names.htm
https://www.fr.brezhoneg.bzh/7-noms-de-lieux.htm
http://bcd.bzh/becedia/fr/apercu-des-noms-de-lieux-de-bretagne-les-themes-utilises-dans-les-noms-de-lieux
Breton, Celtiberian, Cornish, Cumbric, Gaulish, Irish, Lepontic, Lusitanian, Manx, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh
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