Reconstruction:Proto-Celtic/ārū

This Proto-Celtic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Celtic

Etymology

A word of unclear reconstruction, with Brittonic and Goidelic cognates disagreeing on virtually every aspect from initial vowel length to suffixation. There are two main schools of thought:

• Matasović reconstructs Proto-Indo-European *h₂éh₂r-ō ~ *h₂h₂r̥-nés, from *h₂eh₂r- (“kidney”). This would relate the word with Latin rēn (“kidney”). Matasović is forced to posit a root-ablauting declension paradigm to account for the differing vowel lengths in Brittonic and Goidelic.
• Stüber instead reconstructs *agrinā, which neatly accounts for the differing vowel lengths (the Goidelic long vowel would simply arise from compensatory lengthening as *-g- was lost). Stüber assumes that the n-stem inflection in Old Irish was secondarily acquired. She relates the Celtic words with *agrinyos (“sloe”) and Proto-Germanic *akraną (“tree fruit”).

Matasović dismisses Stüber's etymology as semantically nonsensical, but compare English kidney bean for how kidneys may be semantically compared to plant matter. On the other hand, Zair criticizes the ablaut Matasović employs to relate the Goidelic, Brittonic and Latin words as morphologically special pleading, and endorses Stüber.

Noun

*ārū f

1. kidney

Declension

Masculine/feminine consonant stem
	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*ārū	*arene	*arenes
vocative	*ārū	*arene	*arenes
accusative	*arenam	*arene	*arenams
genitive	*arenos	*arenou	*arenom
dative	*arenei	*arenobom	*arenobos
locative	*areni	—	—
instrumental	*arene?	*arenobim	*arenobis

Alternative reconstructions

• *agrinā

Descendants

• Proto-Brythonic: *aren
  • Middle Welsh: arenn
    • Welsh: aren
• Old Irish: áru