Where does “byrnwiga” come from?

byrnwiga (Old English) comes from Old English byrne, from Irish Ó Broin, from Irish bran, from English bran, from Middle English bran, from Old French bren, from Gaulish brennos, from Proto-Celtic bragnos — to smell, to have a strong odour.

byrnwiga (Old English): mailed warrior

Definitions

  1. mailed warrior

Ancestry of “byrnwiga”, step by step

byrnwiga traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Old English byrne

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishbyrnecorselet, coat of mail
2IrishÓ Broin
3Irishbranraven; bream; Clipping of bran
4EnglishbranThe broken coat of the seed of wheat, rye, or...
5Middle EnglishbranThe ground husk of wheat
6Old Frenchbrenbran
7Gaulishbrennosrotten
8Proto-Celticbragnosrotten
9Proto-Indo-EuropeanbʰreHg-to smell, to have a strong odour

via Old English wiġa

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Old Englishwiġawarrior, fighter
2Old High Germanwīga
Every word from Proto-Indo-European bʰreHg-Every word from Proto-Celtic bragnosEvery word from Gaulish brennos