Reconstruction:Proto-Celtic/kuwannos

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

Probably imitative in origin. While formally similar to Proto-Germanic *hūwô and Proto-Slavic *sovà, regular derivation of these terms from a common root appears to be phonologically impossible.

Although often reconstructed as *kawannos on the evidence of the Latin borrowing,[1] this cannot explain the Brythonic reflexes, which can only reflect *kuwann-.[2] Schrijver suggests that -av- in the Latin borrowings may represent the adaption of a Gaulish sound sequence foreign to Latin phonology.[3]

Noun

*kuwannos m

owl

Declension

Masculine o-stem
	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*kuwannos	*kuwannou	*kuwannoi
vocative	*kuwanne	*kuwannou	*kuwannūs
accusative	*kuwannom	*kuwannou	*kuwannoms
genitive	*kuwannī	*kuwannous	*kuwannom
dative	*kuwannūi	*kuwannobom	*kuwannobos
locative	*kuwannei	*?	*?
instrumental	*kuwannū	*kuwannobim	*kuwannūis

Descendants

Proto-Brythonic: *kuwann f
- Old Breton: couann, couhann
  - Middle Breton: couhenn, caouënn
    - Breton: kaouenn
      - → Cornish: cowan
  - Early Vannetais Breton: cohan [1732 CE]
    - Vannetais Breton: kohann
- Middle Welsh: cuan
Gaulish: *cawannos
- Gaulish: Cauanos (personal name)
- → Late Latin: cāvannus (“tawny owl”)
  - Old French: chavan
    - Middle French: chavan
    - Angevin: chahon, chohon, chéhon, choin
    - Berrichon: chavon
    - Norman: cahouain (Jèrriais)
    - Picard: cavan
    - Poitevin: chaon
    - Saintongeais: chavan
    - Tourangeau: chaon
  - Old Occitan: chavan, chauana
    - Occitan: chavant, chavancou
  - Zarphatic Old French: javan
    - French: chat-huant
- → Vulgar Latin: *cava (“owl”) (semantic loan)
  - Direct reflexes:
    - Old French: choe, choue, chave
      - Middle French: choe, choue
      - → Galician: choia
      - → Spanish: chova; choya (dialectal)
    - Old Occitan: cau
    - Picard: caue, cave
  - ⇒ Vulgar Latin: *cawesca[4] (diminutive)
    - Gallo-Romance:
      - Bourbonnais-Berrichon: chuèche 
      - Old French:
        Middle French: chevece, chevoiche, chavoce
        French: chevêche
        → Romanian: ciovică (Wallachian)
    - Occitano-Romance:
      - Catalan: cauèca, cavèca
      - Old Occitan: cavesca
        Occitan: cavèca (several dialects)
        Gascon: chavèca, gavèca, bavèca
  - ⇒ Vulgar Latin: *cawetta (diminutive, likely influenced by an archaic form of Italian zibetto (“cat-like animal”))
    - Dalmatian:
      - civet
    - Italo-Romance:
      - Italian: civetta, ciovetta (dialectal)
    - North Italian:
      - Friulian: civuite
      - Romansch: tschuetta
      - Venetian: zovetta
    - Gallo-Romance:
      - Old French: *chouette, *chavette, suete, suette, çuete
        Middle French: chouete, chüette, chouette
        French: chouette
      - Norman: cahouette
      - Picard: cavette
    - Occitano-Romance:
      - Vivaro-Alpine: civeta

References

Matasović, Ranko (2009), “*kawanno-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 196
Zair, Nicholas (2012), “Schrijver’s rules for British and Proto-Celtic *-ou̯- and *-uu̯- before a vowel”, in Laws and Rules in Indo-European‎, page 147-158
Schrijver, Peter C. H. (1995) Studies in British Celtic historical phonology (Leiden studies in Indo-European; 5), Amsterdam, Atlanta: Rodopi, page 335
http://books.google.com/books?id=bYMcAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA187

[1] Matasović, Ranko (2009), “*kawanno-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 196

[2] Zair, Nicholas (2012), “Schrijver’s rules for British and Proto-Celtic *-ou̯- and *-uu̯- before a vowel”, in Laws and Rules in Indo-European‎, page 147-158

[3] Schrijver, Peter C. H. (1995) Studies in British Celtic historical phonology (Leiden studies in Indo-European; 5), Amsterdam, Atlanta: Rodopi, page 335

[4] ttp://books.google.com/books?id=bYMcAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA187