Celtic Pathways – Iron

In this episode we are digging up the origins of the word iron.

The Proto-Celtic word for iron is *īsarnom. It comes from the Proto-Indo-European *h1ēsh2r̥no- (bloody, red), from *h1ésh2r̥ (blood) [source].

Descendants in the Celtic languages include:

• iarann [ˈiəɾɣən̪ɣ] = iron in Irish
• iarann [iər̪ɣən̪ɣ] = iron, (metal) blade, day’s worth cutting peat (for two) in Scottish Gaelic
• yiarn = iron; tool, scythe, blade; dough (money); tip (gratuity) in Manx
• haearn = iron, iron bar, hardness, strength, resoluteness, hard, strong, unyielding in Welsh
• horn = iron in Cornish
• houarn [ˈhuː.arn] = iron, flat iron; horseshoe in Breton

Words for iron in Germanic languages come from the same Proto-Celtic root, via the Proto-Germanic *īsarną (iron). They include iron in English, ijzer in Dutch, Eisen in German, järn in Swedish, and jern in Danish [source].

Words from the same PIE roots, include արյուն (aryun – blood, slaughter) in Armenian, asinis (blood, temperament, origin) in Latvian [source], words for blood in Romance languages [source], and words for sister in most European languages [source].

More details about these words on Celtiadur, a blog where I explore connections between Celtic languages in more depth. I also write about words, etymology and other language-related topics on the Omniglot Blog.

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