Etymology Explorer › French

Where does “Gaël” come from?

Gaël (French) comes from French Gwenaël, from Breton gwenn, from Manx guinn, from Old Breton uuin, from Proto-Brythonic gwɨnn, from Proto-Celtic windos, from Proto-Indo-European windo-, from Proto-Indo-European weyd- — to see.

Ancestry of “Gaël”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1FrenchGwenaël—
2Bretongwennwhite
3Manxguinn—
4Old Bretonuuin—
5Proto-Brythonicgwɨnnwhite
6Proto-Celticwindoswhite
7Proto-Indo-Europeanwindo-—
8Proto-Indo-Europeanweyd-to see
Every word from Proto-Indo-European weyd- →