Where does “Gaelism” come from?
Gaelism (English) comes from English Gael, from Irish Gael, from Irish Gaoidheal, from Middle Irish Gaídel, from Old Irish Goídel, from Old Welsh Guoidel, from Proto-Brythonic guɨðel, from Proto-Celtic wēdus — forest, wood; tree, beam.
Ancestry of “Gaelism”, step by step
Gaelism traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English Gael
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | Gael | A member of an ethnic group in Ireland, Scotland... |
| 2 | Irish | Gael | Gael, Irish person; Highlander |
| 3 | Irish | Gaoidheal | — |
| 4 | Middle Irish | Gaídel | — |
| 5 | Old Irish | Goídel | Gael |
| 6 | Old Welsh | Guoidel | wild man, warrior |
| 7 | Proto-Brythonic | guɨðel | savage, woodsman |
| 8 | Proto-Celtic | wēdus | wild |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | widʰu- | forest, wood; tree, beam |
via English ism
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | ism | An ideology, system of thought, or practice that... |
| 2 | English | -ism | Used to form nouns of action or process or result... |
| 3 | Latin | -ismus | -ism |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | -ισμός | Forms abstract nouns |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | -μός | Forms abstract nouns |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -mós | Creates action/result nouns from verb stems |