Re: Celtic word for "tree"

--- caeruleancentaur <caeruleancentaur@...>
wrote:

> I subscribe to the magazine "Parabola."  In an
> article entitled "The
> Celtic Tree of Life" by Mara Freeman occurs the
> following
> statement: "That most magical of Celtic trees, the
> oak, derives its
> Gaelic name (Old Irish "daur", Welsh "derw") from
> the Sanskrit
> word "duir," which gives us "door."
There's much wrong with that quote. I dont beleive
that "duir" is a Sanskrit word. And, as for its
"Gaelic" name...Welsh would have a hard time fitting
into the term "Gaelic".

> There are two PIE roots: *deru (with variations)
> which is the origin
> of the English "tree," and *dhwer (with variations)
> which is the
> origin of the English "door."  I believe the author
> of the above
> statement is wrong in deriving the Gaelic word from
> the PIE root for
> door.
You're right, while I dont know if the form *deru* is
exactly correct...It's definitel more likely than
deriving both "door" and Celtic words for "oak" from
the same root.  (BTW, Irish for door is: dorus,
probably from *dhwer*)

Elliott




		
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