Introduction

Celtic *windos: "white, bright", which may be a zero-grade nasal infix of *weyd-: "to see", and thus "visible, bright".

Teaser

Fiona, Jennifer, Guinevere, penguin, Vienna, wiener

Full Text

• Celtic *windos white

  • Brythonic *gwɨnn white

    • Welsh gwyn white, fair, shining, blessed

      • Welsh Gwendolen personal name: White-Ring (of hair)

        • English Gwendolen
        • English Gwendoline
        • English Gwendolyn
      • Welsh -wen

        • Welsh Anwen personal name: Very-Fair
        • Welsh Blodwen personal name: Flower-Fair
        • Welsh Branwen personal name: Raven-Fair
        • Welsh many other names
    • Cornish gwen white
    • Breton gwenn white

      • French Le Guen Breton surname: the White

        • English Le Guin
  • Gaulish

    • Old French

      • French vandoise dace, chub a small, white fish
  • Old Irish finn white, bright

    • Irish fionn fair, blond, cataract
    • Old Irish Finn personal name: Fair

      • Old Irish Finn mac Cumhail ^[1]

        • English Finn MacCool
      • Irish Fionn

        • Irish Finnagán diminutive

          • English Finnegan
      • Irish Fiona

        • English Fiona
      • Irish Fionnbhara personal name: White-Head

        • English Finbar
      • Irish Fionnuala personal name: White-Shoulder

        • English Finnula
      • Irish Fionntan

        • English Fintan
  • Celtic *Windosēbaris personal name: White-Spirit

    • Brythonic *Gwɨnnhuɨβar

      • Cornish Gwynnever

        • English Jennifer
      • Welsh Gwenhwyfar

        • French Guenièvre

          • English Guinevere
    • Old Irish Finnabair
  • Celtic *Kʷennowindos personal or place name: White-Head

    • Brythonic *Penngwɨnn

      • Welsh pengwyn white-head, White Head Island?, great auk? ^[2]

        • English penguin ^[3]
    • Gaulish *Pennouindos

      • Greek Πεννοουινδος Pennoouindos
      • Galician Pena Oubiña ^[2]
    • Primitive Irish ᚊᚓᚅᚒᚃᚓᚅᚇᚐᚅᚔ Qenufendani

      • Old Irish Cennfinn a mythological harper who came to Ireland with the Sons of Mil
  • Celtic Windobona ^[4]

    • Latin Vindobona ^[4]

      • Western Romance

        • Old French

          • French Vienne
          • English Vienna
        • Italian Vienna
        • German Wien Vienna

          • German Wiener Person or thing from Vienna

            • German Wiener Schnitzel wienerschnitzel lit. "Viennese Cut"

              • English wienerschnitzel
            • German Wienerwurst Viennese sausage

              • English wiener
    • West Slavic

      • Czech Vídeň Vienna
      • Polish Wiedeń Vienna
    • Germanic *winidaz Slav, Wend

      • Old English Winedas Slav, Wend
      • German Wende Wend West Slavic ethnic group on the border of Germany and Poland

        • English Wend
      • Old Norse Vindr Slav

        • Finnish Venäjä Russia
        • Estonian vene Russian

          • Estonian Venemaa Russia

Visual

Collected English words

Gwendolen, Gwendoline, Gwendolyn, Le Guin, Finn MacCool, Finnegan, Fiona, Finbar, Finnula, Fintan, Jennifer, Guinevere, penguin, Vienna, wienerschnitzel, wiener, Wend

Footnotes

1. ^

   Finn MacCool, a legendary Irish hero, sometimes described as having prematurely white hair.

2. ^

   Welsh pengwyn is probably actually rederived transparently in Welsh, rather than descended directy, but it seemed more organized to attach it here.

   Likewise, Galician Pena Oubiña (name of a mountain in Galicia in Northwest Spain) is likewise probably derived from a transparent phrase in Late Gaulish, and not from the Proto-Celtic personal name.

3. ^

   penguin originally meant the great auk, later extended to penguins.

4. ^

   Celtic *Windobona, tentatively derived as "white-base (of a hill)" or "white-village", was a settlement where Vienna would be. When the Romans built a fort there, they kept the name as Vindobona. The later Western Romance name may have been conflated with *Vedunia: "forest stream", before giving Italian Vienna and French Vienne.