Reconstruction:Proto-Celtic/menmens

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

From *men- (“to think”). Cognate with Proto-Italic *memonai (“to remember”), Proto-Germanic *munaną (“to think, remember”), Ancient Greek μέμονα (mémona), Sanskrit मन्मन् (mánman, “thought, wisdom”).

Noun

*menmens m^[1]^[2]

sense, understanding

Declension

Masculine/feminine consonant stem
	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*menmens	*menmene	*menmenes
vocative	*menmens	*menmene	*menmenes
accusative	*menmenam	*menmene	*menmenans
genitive	*menmenos	*menmenou	*menmenom
dative	*menmenei	*menmenobom	*menmenobos
locative	*menmeni	—	—
instrumental	*menmene?	*menmenobim	*menmenobis

Related terms

*menman
- Gaulish: menman

Descendants

Proto-Brythonic: *menw
- Middle Breton: meno
  - Breton: meno
- Middle Welsh: mynw
Old Irish: menmae
- Middle Irish: menma
  - Irish: meanma
  - Scottish Gaelic: meanma

References

^ Stüber, Karin (1998), The Historical Morphology of n-Stems in Celtic (Maynooth studies in Celtic linguistics; III), Department of Old Irish, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, →ISBN, pages 172-173
^ Matasović, Ranko (2009), “*menman-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 265

Celtic Lexicon - University of Wales