May theme: Plants 🌱
Introduction
I'm in the process of expanding this family, after merging the original Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃-: "flower" with Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ-: "to swell" (originally under title word a href="/word-family-budget.html"Budget/a)—and putting both under Proto-Indo-European *bʰel-: "to blow, to swell up".
Teaser
ball, blow, inflate, fluid, bloom, flower, Florence, belladonna, blade, chlorophyll, foil, bulge, budget, firbolg, belly, fool, billow, feeble
Full Text
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Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- to blow, to swell up
- English ball
- English phallus
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Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁-
- English blow
- English bladder
- English flavor
- English inflate
- English blast
- English blazon
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Proto-Indo-European *bʰlewH-
- English fluid
- English flux
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Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃- flower
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Proto-Indo-European *bʰléh₃e-ti
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Germanic *blōaną to bloom, to flower
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Germanic *blōmô flower
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East Germanic
- Gothic 𐌱𐌻𐍉𐌼𐌰 blōma flower
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North Germanic
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Old Norse blóm flower
- Icelandic blóm flower
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Middle English blome flower
- English bloom
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West Germanic
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Old English blōma the spongy mass of iron that results from smelting
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Middle English blome flower
- English bloom
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Germanic *blōdiz
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Western Romance
- Old English blēd shoot, branch, leaf, fruit, harvest, yield
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Old High German bluot
- German Blüte blossom, flower
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Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₃s
- Albanian bleron to blossom, to thrive
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Germanic *blōs
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Germanic *blōstaz
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West Germanic
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Old High German
- German Blust
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Germanic *blōsmō
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West Germanic
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Old English blōstma flower, blossom, fruit
- English blossom
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Italic *flōs
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Latin flōs flower, blossom Acc.: flōrem
- Sardinian frore flower
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Eastern Romance
- Romanian floare flower
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Latin Flōra divinity of flowers
- English flora
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Latin flōreō I bloom, I flower, I flourish, I am colorful
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Western Romance
- Italian fiorire to flower, to flourish
- Spanish florear to flower
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Latin flōrens flowering, flourishing
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Latin Flōrentia place name, Florence
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Western Romance
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French Florence
- English Florence
- Italian Firenze
- Spanish Florencia
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Latin flōrēscō I begin to blossom, I begin to prosper
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Western Romance
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Old French
- French fleurir to flower, to bloom, to flourish
- English flourish
- Spanish florecer to flower, to flourish
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Latin *inflōrēscō
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Eastern Romance
- Aromanian nflurescu I flower, I bloom
- Romanian a înflori to flower, to bloom
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Latin flōridus blooming, flowery, florid
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Western Romance
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French floride
- English florid
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Spanish flórido
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Spanish Florida
- English Florida
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Proto-Indo-European *bʰléh₃tus
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Celtic *blātus
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Brythonic *blọd
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Welsh blodyn flower
- Welsh Blodeuwedd Face-of-Flowers personal name [4]
- Welsh Blodwen Fair-Flower personal name
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Gaulish *blātōnā
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Latin bladona mullein, nightshade
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Italian belladonna deadly nightshade, belladonna [4]
- English belladonna
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Old Irish bláth flower, blossom, bloom
- Irish bláth flower
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Proto-Indo-European *bʰl̥h₃to
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Germanic *bladą leaf, sheet of paper, blade
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North Germanic
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Old Norse blað leaf, herb
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Danish blad leaf, petal, blade, sheet of paper, newspaper
- Danish bladre to turn pages, to browse
- Icelandic blað sheet of paper, newspaper, leaf, blade
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West Germanic
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Old English blæd leaf, blade
- English blade
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Frankish *blat
- Dutch blad leaf, sheet of paper, page, newspaper
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Old High German blat
- German Blatt leaf, petal, sheet of paper, card, blade, foil, newspaper
- Yiddish בלאַט blat leaf, sheet of paper, newspaper
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Tocharian
- Arshian pält leaf, blade
- Kushean pilta leaf, blade
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Proto-Indo-European *bʰolh₃yom
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Hellenic
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Classical Greek φῠ́λλον phúllon leaf, foliage, plant
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French chlorophylle chlorophyll coined by Caventou and Pelletier in 1817
- English chlorophyll
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Italic
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Latin folium leaf, petal, sheet of paper, trifle
- Sardinian fógiu
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Eastern Romance
- Romanian foaie sheet of paper, leaf
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Western Romance
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French feuille leaf, sheet of paper
- English foil
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French feuillage leaves (collective)
- English foliage
- Italian foglia leaf
- Italian foglio sheet
- Spanish hoja leaf, petal, blade, sheet, foil, pane
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- English folio
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Proto-Indo-European *bʰolyo-
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Old Armenian բող boł
- Armenian բող boł bur parsley
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Old Armenian բողբոջ bołboǰ shoot, sprout, bud, descendants reduplication
- Armenian բողբոջ bołboǰ bud
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Indo-Iranian
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Iranian
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Western Iranian
- Persian بلال balâl maize
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Proto-Indo-European *bʰelǵʰ- to swell
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Proto-Indo-European *bʰólǵʰos
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Old Armenian բողկ bołk radish
- Armenian բողկ bołk radish
- Georgian ბოლოკი boloḳi radish, turnip
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Old Armenian բողկուկ bołkuk newly grown horn
- Armenian բողկուկ bołkuk newly grown horn, radish
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Celtic *bolgos sack, bag, stomach
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Brythonic *bolɣ sack, bag, stomach
- Welsh bol tummy
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Old Irish bolg belly, sack, bellows
- Irish bolg
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Old Irish fir bolg mythical inhabitants of Ireland before the Tuatha Dé Danann [6]
- English firbolg
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Old Irish hi mbolg in the belly perhaps referring to pregnancy of ewes. Eclipsis of b to mb
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Irish Imbolg Imbolc, St. Brigid's Day, Gaelic festival of spring
- English Imbolc
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? *molko- [2]
- Germanic *malhō leather bag
- Classical Greek μολγός molgós cow-hide bag
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Proto-Indo-European *bʰolǵʰis
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Germanic *balgiz bag
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East Germanic
- Gothic 𐌱𐌰𐌻𐌲𐍃 balgs bag, wineskin
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North Germanic
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Old Norse belgr skin of an animal removed whole, skin bag, bellows
- Danish bælg
- Icelandic belgur skin, hide, pelt, skin bag, bellows, belly
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West Germanic
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Old English bælġ
- English belly
- English bellows
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Frankish *balg
- Dutch balg leather bag, bellows, cover for a moving joint
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Old High German balg
- German Balg hide, bellows, follicle, brat
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Indo-Iranian *bʰarĵʰíš pillow, bed, bag filled with grass stuffing and used as a mattress
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Indo-Aryan *barźʰíṣ
- Sanskrit बर्हिस् barhís bed of grass
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Iranian *barĵíš
- Avestan 𐬠𐬀𐬭𐬆𐬰𐬌𐬱 barəziš pad, pillow
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Northern Iranian
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Scythian
- Ossetian баз baz pillow
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Western Iranian
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Old Persian *bāldiš
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Persian بالش bâleš
- Georgian ბალიში bališi pillow, cushion
- Ottoman Turkish بالش bâliş pillow
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Old Armenian բարձ barj pillow, cushion, throne, dignity, base of a triangle, thigh
- Armenian բարձ barj pillow, cushion
- Georgian ბარძაყი barʒaq̇i hip, thigh, haunch
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Proto-Indo-European *bʰolǵʰnis
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Italic
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Latin follis bellows, purse, small value coin (by extension from purse), (inflated) ball, belly
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Eastern Romance
- Romanian foale bellows, belly, abdomen
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Western Romance
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Old French fol madman, mad, foolish, silly
- French fou madman
- English fool
- Italian folle madman, insane
- Spanish fuele bellows, steam, stamina
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- Latin follicō I pant, I breathe, I blow like a bellows
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Latin folliculus small bag, ball, bud, husk, skin
- English follice
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Proto-Indo-European ?
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Germanic *bulgijǭ
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North Germanic
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Old Norse bylgja wave, billow
- Danish bølge
- Icelandic bylgja
- English billow
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Germanic *bulstraz bolster, pillow, cushion
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North Germanic
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Old Norse bólstr bolster, pillow
- Danish bolster
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Icelandic bólstur bolster, pillow
- Icelandic bólstraský cumulus lit. "pillow-cloud"
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West Germanic
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Old English bolster
- English bolster
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Old High German bolstar
- German Polster pad, cushion, upholstery
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Proto-Indo-European *bʰolǵʰineh₂
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Balto-Slavic
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West Baltic
- Old Prussian balsinis cushion
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Slavic *bolzina
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East Slavic
- Russian болозно bolozno thick plank
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South Slavic
- Serbo-Croatian blàzina pillow dialectic
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Proto-Indo-European *bʰel- to sound; to speak, roar, bark
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Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁ to cry
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Proto-Indo-European *bʰleh₁yeti
- Balto-Slavic *blḗˀtei
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Germanic *blējaną
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Germanic *blētijaną
- English bleat
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Italic *flēō
- English feeble
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Visual
Collected English words
ball, phallus, blow, bladder, flavor, inflate, blast, blazon, fluid, flux, blow, full-blown, bloom, blossom, flour, flower, florin, flora, Florence, flourish, florid, Florida, belladonna, blade, chlorophyll, foil, foliage, folio, bulge, budget, firbolg, Imbolc, belly, bellows, fool, follice, billow, bolster, bleat, feeble
Footnotes
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In full-blown, it is not blow as in wind (from Germanic *blēaną) nor blow as in hit (Germanic *blewwaną), but blow as in bloom (Germanic *blōaną), as in Shakespeare's "the bud ere it be blown". This gives full-blown meaning "fully-developed, complete" (lit. "fully bloomed")
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Germanic *malhō: "leather bag" and Classical Greek μολγός molgós: "cow-hide bag" seem clearly related, but cannot derive from a single PIE form due to the difference in the velar. The Greek has been suggested to be a borrowing from another branch, perhaps Thracian. Once we're considering irregular borrowings, and in considering that the term is not found outside of Germanic and Greek (nor in any other morphological form), an ultimate source from *bʰólǵʰos is as likely as any and more than most.
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The "ground grain" meaning of "fleur" comes via the metaphorical usage of "flower of" to mean "best of".
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belladonna makes so much more sense as an eggcorn! It is an Italian eggcorn of Late Latin bladona, from the Gaulish version of Welsh blodyn: "flower", as in Blodwen or Blodeuwedd.
Which means Seanan McGuire's Rose Owl is a relative of belladonna ("Making women out of flowers is a risk I don't advise")
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The word "budget" comes from a borrowing from Gaulish into Latin, meaning "bag, wallet, purse". Surprisingly, this cannot be conclusively tied to English bag.
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Fir bolg is usually translated as "men of bags". It could also be "men with bellies" or "men swollen in rage". Or possibly even "Roaring men"—though the voice/sound meanings are not otherwise attested in any Celtic languages as far as I know.