Reconstruction:Proto-Celtic/benā

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

A re-formation of *ben (directly inherited from Proto-Indo-European *gʷḗn < *gʷenh₂) as a feminine ā-stem.

Noun

*benā f[1]

woman

Declension

Ā-stem, irregular
	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*benā	*bnai?	*bnās
vocative	*benā	*bnai?	*bnās
accusative	*benam	*bnai?	*bnams
genitive	*bnās	*bnous	bnaom?, bnanom, *banom
dative	*bnāi	*bnābom	*bnābos
locative	*bnai	*?	*?
instrumental	*?	*bnābim	*bnābis

Related terms

*ben
- Old Irish: bé, ·bǽ, ·bée
  - Irish: bé

Descendants

Brythonic: *ben
- Old Breton: ban- (in ban-leu, ban-doiuis)
  - Middle Breton: e-ben
    - Breton: e-ben
- Old Cornish: benen
  - Cornish: ben, benyn
- Old Welsh: ben
  - Welsh: benyw, menyw
Old Irish: ben
- Middle Irish: ben
  - Irish: bean
  - Manx: ben
  - Scottish Gaelic: bean
- ⇒ Middle Irish: benagán
Gaulish: benā, bnanom (genitive plural)

References

Matasović, Ranko (2009) “*benā, *bena”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 61

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[1] Matasović, Ranko (2009) “*benā, *bena”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 61