Celtic word for horse

[Xavier Delamarre]

There are more than two words for horse in Celtic :

- _epos_ : Gaulish PNN, _Epos, Epo-sognatos, Epo-meduos_ , O.Ir. _ech_ etc.

- _marcos_ : _marcan_ acc. (Pausanias), and the LNN _Marco-durum,
Marco-magus_, O.Ir. _marc_, W. _marh_ etc. ; connections only with
Germanic, OHG _meriha_, ON _marr_ etc.

- _uore:dos_ : Gaul. _ueredus_, Gallo-Latin _para-ueredus_ (> palfrey,
Pferd etc.), W. _gorwydd_ ; < _*upo-reid(h)o-

- _caballos_ : Gallo-Latin _caballus_, PNN _Caballos, Ro-cabalus_ etc.,
OIr. _capall_, W. _ceffyl_ etc. Prob. 'Wanderwort'

- _mandu-_ : PNN _Catu-mandus_, Mandu-benos_, LNN _Mandu-essedum_ etc.,
Latin (< Gaul.) _mannus_ 'poney' ; some "Illyrian" connections.

For those interested in the various designations of the horse in Celtic,
with their different functions :
- Joseph Loth, "Comptes-Rendus de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles
Lettres", 43 (1925), 113 ss.
- Idem : "Revue Celtique" 44 (1927), 410.

X. Delamarre
Ljubljana