Reconstruction:Proto-Celtic/slēbos

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Reconstruction:Proto-Celtic/slēbos

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

Matasović proposes that the term comes from Proto-Indo-European *sley-bʰo-, with the root as Proto-Indo-European *sley- (“to smear”), so the meaning would have been 'slippery surface, slope'. He concludes, however, that the semantic connection is weak.[1] MacBain suggests Proto-Indo-European *slewb(ʰ)- (“to slip, glide”), the root of Proto-Germanic *sleupaną (“to slink, creep”).[2]

Noun

*slēbos n[1]

1. slope

Declension

Neuter s-stem
	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*slēbos	*slēbese?	*slēbesa
vocative	*slēbos	*slēbese?	*slēbesa
accusative	*slēbos	*slēbese?	*slēbesa
genitive	*slēbesos	*slēbesous?	*slēbesom
dative	*slēbesē	*slēbesbom	*slēbesbos
locative	*slēbesi	*?	*?
instrumental	*slēbesē	*slēbesbim	*slēbesbis

Derived terms

• Brythonic: *lluɨβ
  • Old Breton: libiriou
  • Welsh: llwyfan (“stage, platform”)
• Goidelic:[3]
  • Old Irish: slíab m (“mountain, moor”), sléb
    • Irish: sliabh
    • Manx: slieau
    • Scottish Gaelic: sliabh

References

1. Matasović, Ranko (2009), “*slēbos-”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 345
2. MacBain, Alexander; Mackay, Eneas (1911), “sliabh”, in An Etymological Dictionary of the Gaelic Language, Stirling, →ISBN
3. G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “slíab”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language