Reconstruction:Proto-Brythonic/traɨθ

This Proto-Brythonic 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-Brythonic

Etymology

Although often supposed to be a borrowing from Latin tractus (“stretch, tract of land”) this poses semantic difficulties, and moreover the presence of an exact parallel in Old Irish tracht (“beach”) suggests instead descent from Proto-Celtic *traxtus, which could itself be from the same source as tractus (Proto-Indo-European *dʰregʰ- (“to draw out, pull”)).

Noun

*traɨθ m

1. beach
2. (Southwestern Brythonic) sand

Descendants

• Middle Breton: traez
  • Breton: traezh
• Old Cornish: trait
  • Middle Cornish: traith, treath
    • Cornish: treth
• Middle Welsh: traeth
  • Welsh: traeth

References

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “traeth”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
• MacBain, Alexander, Mackay, Eneas (1911) “traogh”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language‎^[1], Stirling, →ISBN