Reconstruction:Proto-Celtic/loɸernos

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 Proto-Indo-European *h₂(w)lop- ~ *h₂ulp- (“(red) fox”). Cognate with Proto-Italic *wolpis, Proto-Hellenic *alōpēḱos, Proto-Balto-Slavic *lapē, Proto-Albanian *dzelpinā, *welpinā, Old Armenian աղուէս (ałuēs), աղուվէս (ałuvēs), Proto-Indo-Iranian *HlawpaHćás and Avestan 𐬭𐬀𐬋𐬞𐬌‎ (raōpi).

Cognates in other IE languages differ too wildly to reconstruct a PIE prototype noun, so this may be a Wanderwort.

Noun

*loɸernos m

fox

Declension

Masculine o-stem
	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*loɸernos	*loɸernou	*loɸernoi
vocative	*loɸerne	*loɸernou	*loɸernūs
accusative	*loɸernom	*loɸernou	*loɸernoms
genitive	*loɸernī	*loɸernous	*loɸernom
dative	*loɸernūi	*loɸernobom	*loɸernobos
locative	*loɸernei	*?	*?
instrumental	*loɸernū	*loɸernobim	*loɸernūis

Descendants

Proto-Brythonic: *llowern (“fox”)
- Old Breton: louuern
  - Middle Breton: louarn
    - Breton: louarn (“fox”), lowern, luhern
- Old Cornish: louuern (“vulpes”)
  - Cornish: lowarn (“fox”)
- Old Welsh: louern
  - Middle Welsh: llewyrn (“foxes”)
    - Welsh: llwyrn (“will o' the wisp”)
Old Irish: loarn
Gaulish: *louernos

References

Matasović, Ranko (2009), “*loferno-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 243
Xavier Delamarre, Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise, 2nd edn. (Paris: Errance, 2003), 207.