Reconstruction:Proto-Celtic/kurmi

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

Uncertain. Often connected with Latin cremor (“thick juice made by boiling grain”), Sanskrit करम्भ (karambha, “barley porridge, soup, mixture”), Russian корм (korm, “food”).^[1] Alternatively, from Proto-Indo-European *kremH- (“to burn”).^[2]^[3]

Noun

*kurmi n^[4]

beer

Declension

Neuter i-stem
	singular	dual	plural
nominative	*kurmi	*kurmī	*kurmyā
vocative	*kurmi	*kurmī	*kurmyā
accusative	*kurmi	*kurmī	*kurmyā
genitive	*kurmois	*kurmois	*kurmyom
dative	*kurmei	*kurmibom	*kurmibos
locative	*kurmei	*?	*?
instrumental	*kurmī	*kurmibim	*kurmibis

Reconstruction notes

Matasović's reconstruction with *o instead of *u is wrong; there is no means to raise *o to *u in this environment in any Celtic language.^[5]

Alternative reconstructions

*kormi^[3]
*kurmens^[6]

Descendants

Proto-Brythonic: *kurβ̃
- Middle Breton: coref
  - Breton: korev
- Old Cornish: coruf
  - Middle Cornish: coref
    - Cornish: korev
- Old Welsh: curum
  - Middle Welsh: cwrwf
    - Welsh: cwrw
- Proto-Brythonic: *kürβ̃ėsi
Old Irish: cuirm
- Irish: coirm
- Scottish Gaelic: cuirm
Gaulish: curmi, curmí, κόρμα (kórma), κούρμι (koúrmi)
- ⇒ Gaulish: *kurmēsyā (+ *-ēsyā, apparently with /m/ > /β̃ ~ w̃/ mutation)
  - → Latin: cervēsa, cervēsia, cervisa, cervisia [77–79 CE] (see there for further descendants)

References

^ Mallory, J. P. with Adams, D. Q. (2006), The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World (Oxford Linguistics), New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 263
^ Pokorny, Julius (1959), “3. ker(ə)-”, in Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 2, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, pages 571-572.
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 Matasović, Ranko (2009), “*kormi”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 217
^ Delamarre, Xavier (2003), “curmi”, in Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental [Dictionary of the Gaulish language: A linguistic approach to Old Continental Celtic] (Collection des Hespérides; 9), 2nd edition, Éditions Errance, →ISBN, page 133: “*curmi”
^ Stifter, David (2024), “Prehistoric layers of loanwords in Old Irish”, in Guus Kroonen, editor, Sub-Indo-European Europe: Problems, Methods, Results (Trends in Linguistics Studies and Monographs), volume 375, Berlin; Boston: De Gruyter Mouton, page 174
^ Koch, John (2004), “*kurmen-”, in English–Proto-Celtic Word-list with attested comparanda‎^[1], University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

[1] Mallory, J. P. with Adams, D. Q. (2006), The Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European World (Oxford Linguistics), New York: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 263

[2] Pokorny, Julius (1959), “3. ker(ə)-”, in Indogermanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Indo-European Etymological Dictionary] (in German), volume 2, Bern, München: Francke Verlag, pages 571-572.

[EDPC-3] 3.0 ^3.1 Matasović, Ranko (2009), “*kormi”, in Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Celtic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 9), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 217

[4] Delamarre, Xavier (2003), “curmi”, in Dictionnaire de la langue gauloise: une approche linguistique du vieux-celtique continental [Dictionary of the Gaulish language: A linguistic approach to Old Continental Celtic] (Collection des Hespérides; 9), 2nd edition, Éditions Errance, →ISBN, page 133: “*curmi”

[5] Stifter, David (2024), “Prehistoric layers of loanwords in Old Irish”, in Guus Kroonen, editor, Sub-Indo-European Europe: Problems, Methods, Results (Trends in Linguistics Studies and Monographs), volume 375, Berlin; Boston: De Gruyter Mouton, page 174

[6] Koch, John (2004), “*kurmen-”, in English–Proto-Celtic Word-list with attested comparanda‎^[1], University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies

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