Introduction

*h₁elmos: "wych elm (Ulmus glabra)" shows up with identical meaning in all four of the Late Northwest branches, plus an Albanian with a slightly different meaning. It probably represents a LNW borrowing from an Eastern European substrate language, with Albanian borrowing the term separately from either the same or a closely related source.

Since the Albanian has the form of a diminutive, Pre-Albanian could have had *ulma meaning "elm" and formed *ulmzā, later losing the "elm" meaning.

I met a baby Elowen last week. After initially wondering if it was another example of -wen, I found that it was actually the singulative suffix -en on elow: "elms", like Welsh llwyfen: "elm", llwyf: "elms".

Teaser

limousine, elm

Full Text

• Eastern European substrate?

  • Pre-Albanian *ulma

    • Pre-Albanian *ulmzā diminutive

      • Albanian ulzë Tartar maple
  • Northwest Indo-European *h₁elmos wych elm (Ulmus glabra)

    • Balto-Slavic *elemas

      • Slavic *jьlьmъ

        • East Slavic илемъ ilemŭ

          • Russian ильм ilʹm elm, wych elm (Ulmus glabra)
        • South Slavic

          • Slovene ​​lìm elm
        • West Slavic

          • Czech jilm elm
    • Celtic *limos elm from zero-grade *h₁l̥mós

      • Brythonic *lluɨβ̃ elms

        • Cornish elow elms
        • Welsh llwyf elms
        • Old English

          • English (Forest of) Lyme but not the River Lyme

            • English Audlem
            • English Burslem
            • English Lyme Park
            • English Newcastle-under-Lyme
        • Brythonic *lluɨβ̃en elm derived singulative

          • Cornish elowen elm

            • Cornish Elowen personal name: Elm

              • English Elowen
          • Welsh llwyfen elm
      • Old Irish lem

        • Old Irish lemán originally a diminutive, but later just a noun-forming suffix

          • Irish leamhán elm tree
      • Gaulish *lemos

        • Gaulish *Lēmouīcēs ethnonym: Elm Vanquishers? possibly referring to elm bows or spears

          • Latin Lemovices a Gaulish tribe

            • Latin civitas Lemovicum city of the Lemovices

              • Western Romance

                • Catalan Llemotges
                • French Limoges

                  • English Limoges
                • Occitan Limòtges
            • Latin lemovicinus of or related to the Lemovices

              • Western Romance

                • French limousin(e) of Limoges

                  • English limousin cattle breed
                  • English limousine vehicle

                    • English limo
                    • Japanese リムジン rimujin limousine (vehicle)
                  • French limousinage
      • Gallaecian *lemo

        • Asturian llamera elm
    • Germanic *elmaz elm

      • North Germanic

        • Old Norse almr elm

          • Icelandic álmur elm
          • Old Norse elmi elms collective

            • Danish elm
      • West Germanic

        • Old English elm

          • English elm
        • Frankish

          • Dutch olm elm
        • Old High German elmo
      • Germanic *ulmaz? from zero-grade *h₁l̥mós?

        • West Germanic

          • Old High German ulm elm

            • German Ulme elm
    • Italic *elmos

      • Old Latin *olmus

        • Latin ulmus elm

          • Central Romance

            • Italian olmo elm, field elm (Ulmus minor)

              • Italian olmaria meadowsweet
          • Eastern Romance

            • Romanian ulm
          • Western Romance

            • Old French olme

              • French orme elm
          • Old High German ulm elm

            • German Ulme elm
          • Translingual Ulmus taxonomic genus of elm trees
  • Laz მულა mula wych elm (Ulmus glabra) metathesis of the substrate?

Visual

Collected English words

(Forest of) Lyme, Audlem, Burslem, Lyme Park, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Elowen, Limoges, limousin, limousine, limo, elm, Ulmus