OF THE GAELIC LANGUAGE.
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NATIONAL NAMES.
Albion, Great Britain in the Greek writers, Gr. Ἄλβιον, Αλβίον, Ptolemy's Αλοvίων, Lat. Albion (Pliny), G. Alba, g. Albainn, Scotland, Ir., E. Ir. Alba, Alban, W. Alban: *Albion- (Stokes), "white-land"; Lat. albus, white; Gr. ἀλφóς, white leprosy, white (Hes.); O. H. G. albiz, swan.
Armoric, belonging to Brittany, Lat. (Cæsar) Armoricus, Aremoricus (Orosius), *are-mori, "by the sea "(see air and muir in Dict.), M. Br. Armory, Brittany, armor, land by the sea, Br. arvor, maritime.
Britain, G. Breatann, Ir. Breatain, E. Ir. Bretan, n. pl. Bretain, the Britons, W. Brython, Briton, Corn. Brethon, Br. Breiz, Brittany, Lat. Brittania (Cæsar), Brittani, Britons, Βρεττανοί (Strabo). The best Gr. forms are Πρεττανοί, Πρεττανικἠ, W. Prydain, Britain, E. Ir. Cruithne, a Pict, O. Ir. (Lat.) Cruithnii (Adamnan, Cruthini Populi): *Qṛtaniâ, root qṛt, to which Stokes refers G. cruithneachd, wheat, though the usual reference is to G. cruth, picture, form, still retaining the notion of "pictured" men as in the old explanations of Pict. Stokes, Rhys, etc., regard the Lat. Brittania as a word of different origin from the Gr. Πρεττανία, and G. Cruithne: though, as a matter of fact, the Lat. seems to have been a bad rendering of the Greek. The Cruithne or Picts thus gave their name to Britain, as being, about 300 B.C., its then Celtic inhabitants.
Brittany; the Breton language; from Britain above. Britons poured into France in the fifth and sixth centuries.
Caledonia, northern Scotland (Tacitus), Gr. Καληδóνιοι (Ptol., etc.), Lat. Calēdonii (Lucan, Martial, etc.), O. G. Dun-Callden, Duni-Callen, Dun-Keld, fort of the Caledonians, G. Dùn-Chaillinn; explained by Windisch as from *cald, the root of G. coille, the force being "wood-landers." Stokes and others object because of the η (Lat. ē) in Καληδ-; but if the Eng. and Gaelic modern forms are the descendants of the word Caledonia as locally spoken, the objection cannot hold.
Celts, Lat. Celtæ (Cæsar), Gr. Κελτοί, Κελταί, Κελτικóς, appearing in the fifth and fourth cent. B.C. in Herodotus, Xenophon, etc.: *Kelto-s, "the lofty," root qel, raise, go, Lat. celsus,
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