This page contains words for colours 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
These words are cognate in all six Celtic languages.
| Gaeilge (Irish) |
Gàidhlig (Gaelic) |
Gaelg (Manx) |
Cymraeg (Welsh) |
Kernewek (Cornish) |
Brezhoneg (Breton) |
English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| airgead | airgead | argid | arian | arghans | arc'hant | silver |
| dubh | dubh | doo | du | du | du | black |
| fionn | fionn | fynn | gwyn | gwynn | gwenn | white blond |
| geal | geal | gial | gell | gell | gell | white |
| glas | glas | glass | glas | glas | glas | blue green grey |
| gorm | gorm | gorrym | gwrm† | gorm (brown) |
uurm* (dark) |
blue black |
| lí | lì | lhee | lliw | lyw | liv | colour hue pigment |
| liath | liath | lheeah | llwyd | loos | loued | grey |
| ór | òr | airh | aur | owr | aour | gold |
| rua | ruadh | ruy | rhudd | rudh | ruz | red |
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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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bán | bàn | bane | bân† | — | — | white fair |
| buí | buidhe | bwee | — | — | — | yellow |
| — | — | — | coch | kogh | — | red |
| corcra | corcar | — | porffor | purpur | pourpré | purple |
| dath | dath | daah | — | — | — | colour dye |
| dearg | dearg | jiarg | — | — | — | red |
| donn | donn | dhone | dwn | — | — | brown dun |
| flann | flann | — | — | — | — | (blood) red blood |
| — | — | — | gwyrdd | gwyrdh gwer |
gwer | green |
| — | — | — | melyn | melyn | melen | yellow blonde |
| uaine | uaine | eayney geayney |
— | — | — | green |
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.
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If you would like to make any corrections or additions to this page, or if you can provide recordings, please contact me.
Breton, Celtiberian, Cornish, Cumbric, Gaulish, Irish, Lepontic, Lusitanian, Manx, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh
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