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This is a list of Spanish words of Celtic origin. It is further divided into words that are known (or thought) to have come from Gaulish and those that have come from an undetermined Celtic source. Some of these words existed in Latin as loanwords from a Celtic source. Some of these words have alternate etymologies and may also appear on a list of Spanish words from a different language. Any form with an asterisk (*) is unattested and therefore hypothetical.

  List

• abedul "birch" from lat.*betula
• álamo "poplar"
• alondra "lark" (OSp aloa) from celtic *alauda
• alosa "shad"
• ambuesta
• arpende "arpent" (OSp arapende)
• bachiller "baccalaureat", through French bachelier. cognate of "bachelor"
• bazo "spleen" from lat. *badius "red" from celtic *badios "golden"
• beleño "henbane" from celtic *beleniom
• berro "watercress" from celtic *beruro "watercress"
• berrueco, barrueco "granitic crag, irregular pearl, spherical nodule"
• betún "tar" from Latin *bitumen
• biezo "tar" from celtic *betio
• billar "billiard" through French
• boque/*buco "billy-goat, buck"
• breca "common pandora" from celtic *brĭkko "spotted"
• OSp bren "bran; filth"
• breña "scrubland"
• brezo "heather" from celtic *wroekios
• brigada "brigade"
• británico "British"
• bruja "witch"
• brusco
• buco "billy goat" froma celtic *bukko
• bustar "cow pasture"
• cambriano "Cambrian"
• camino "way" from celtic *camanos through lat. caminus
• camuza "chamois" from Latin *camox
• cantiga "song"
• carro "cart"from celtic *carros "cart" through lat. carrus
• cayo
• colmado
• colmena "beehive"
• coñac "brandy"
• correa "belt"
• corro "circle"
• crema "cream" from French crème
• cueto "hillock"
• dolmen from French dolmen
• embajador "ambassador"
• embarazar
• engorar "to addle"
• eranela
• galgo from Latin *galicus
• gallardo "gaillard" from French gaillard
• gancho "hook"
• garra "claw, talon" from celtic *garra "back of the knee"
• gavilla through the Latin gabella from celtic *gabagla
• germánico "Germanic"
• gladíola/gladiola
• greña
• gubia through the Latin gulbia from celtic *gulbia
• güero
• lama "silt"
• lanza "lance"
• lanzar "to launch"
• lata "tin, tin can"
• légamo "slime"
• legua "league (unit)"
• lía
• llanta
• loja, locha
• losa "flagstone" from hisp-celtic *lausa "flagstone"
• mina "mine" through the Latin mina. However asturian mena 'vein' directly from celtic *mena.
• páramo "moorland"
• pieza "piece" from celtic *pĕttĭa through the Latin pĕtia.
• pingüino "penguin"
• pote "pot"
• quéjigo "oak"
• raya "line"
• sábalo "shad"
• sabueso "hound"
• saya "tunic", *sayo "cloak" through the Latin sagium from celtic *sagos
• serna "ploughed field"
• soga "rope"
• taladro "drill" from celtic *taratrom
• tanino "tanine"
• tejón "badger"
• tenería
• tollo "mire, muddy place"
• tona
• tonel "barrel" from French tonel and this from celtic *tunna "skin"
• tonelada "ton" see *tonel
• tranca "cudgel, club"
• trapo "rag"
• truhán "buffoon, jester" from French truand
• túnel "tunnel"
• varón "man"
• vasallo "vassal" from celtic *vassallos "servant" through the Latin vassallus
• vereda "path" from celtic *voretom through the Latin vereda "way"
• yiezgo "dwarf elder"

  Gaulish

• abedul = a birch tree: Gallo-Latin betulla, diminutive of Gaulish betuā "birch" (akin to Old Irish bethe, Irish/Scottish beith, Manx beih, Welsh bedw, Breton bezv), from *bitu "pitch, resin" (akin to Old Irish bí, bíde "pitch", Irish bigh, Scottish bìth "resin, gum, birdlime").
  • The a of abedul is by the influence of Spanish abeto "fir tree."
• abomaso= abomasum: from Modern Latin abomasum (first used in English in 1706) from Latin ab- + omasum "intestine of an ox," possibly from Gaulish.
• acarrear= to cart, to transport: from a- + carro (see carro below) + the verbal infinitive suffix -ar.
• álamo "poplar"; akin to Irish leamhán "elm", Welsh llwyf, Cornish elowen, Breton elv "poplar"
• Old Spanish aloa, Spanish alondra "lark", from Gaulish alauda "crest lark", derivative of *ala "swan", akin to Ir eala, W alarch
• ambuesta, from Gaulish ambibascia "around the bundle"; cf. MIr basc "neckband", W beich "load"
• Old Spanish arapende "arpent"; akin to Old Irish airchenn "end, extremity", Welsh arbenn "chief", erbyn "against"
• barro "mud"; akin to Middle Irish broch "garbage", Welsh barros "bush"
• beleño "henbane"; akin to Welsh bela "henbane", Old Irish béal "sun"
• belga= of Belgium, a Belgian: from Latin Belga, singular of Belgae, from Gaulish Belgae, possibly meaning "the threatening (ones), the swollen (ones)," the IE root (*)bhelgh-, extension of (*)bhel- "to swell" [1].
• berro "watercress"; akin to Welsh berwr, Breton/Cornish beler, Old Irish birar, Irish biolar, Scottish biolaire
• berrueco "granite crag, nodule", from ver "over" and rocca "rock"
• breña "scrubland; highland forest", from *brigna, from briga "fortress"; akin to Middle Irish brí, g. brig "mountain", Scottish breaghe "fortified hill", Welsh bre "hill", bryn "id", Breton bre "hill", bern "brooch, prickles"
• brezo "heather"; from *wroikos akin to Welsh grug, Cornish grig, Middle Breton groegan, Old Irish froech, Irish fraoch
• brujo "sorceror", bruja "witch" (also Port bruxa, Catal bruixa); akin to Middle Welsh brith-ron "magic wand", Breton bre "witch, magic", breoù "spells, charms", Old Irish brigim "to light up, illuminate", Brigit "shining one".
• brusco is from Italian brusco "sharp, tart, rough" and has two possible etymologies:
  • either it is akin to Welsh brysg "nimble, lively", Irish/Scottish briosg "to be surprised, to jump for joy"
  • or it is from Medieval Latin bruscus "butcher's broom plant", a blend of Latin ruscus "butcher's broom" and Late Latin brucus "heather"
• bustar "cow pasture", from Celt-Iberian boustom "byre, cowshed" (Old Irish búas "filth") and perhaps aro "field" (cf. Irish ár, Welsh âr, Breton ar)
• cargar= to load, to charge, to charge with a crime, to carry: from Late Latin carricare "to load," from carrus, see carro below.
• carril= a highway lane: from carro, see carro below.
• carro= cart, cartload, car, streetcar, coach: from Latin carrus from Gaulish carros, from the IE root (*)kers- "to run" [2].
• correa= belt, from Gallo-Latin corrigia "strap"; akin to Old Irish cuimrech "fetter", Scottish cuibhreach "bond, chain", Welsh cyfrwy "saddle", Middle Welsh kyfreieu "leashes", Breton kevre "link, bond"
• corro "circle"; akin to Middle Irish cor "circle", corrán "sickle"
• cueto "hillock"; cf. Catalan cot "hill", akin to Gaulish cotto "hillock, curved, humpbacked", Old Cornish coth "old", Breton coz "id"
• engorar "to addle"; akin to Welsh angad "clutch, hand", crafanc "claw", Old Irish écath "fish hook"
• garra "claw, talon"; akin to Welsh gar "leg", Corn/Bret garr "leg, stalk, stem", Old Irish gairri "calves of the leg", Ir cara
• greña; akin to Old Irish grend "beard", Irish greann, Welsh grann "eyelid", Breton gourenn
• gubia; akin to Old Irish gulba "sting", Scottish gilb "chisel", Old Welsh gilb "piercer", Welsh gylf "beak", Old Breton golb "beak", Breton golv "tailess"
• legua "league"; akin to Old Irish lía (gen. líacc) "stone", Welsh llech "slate", Breton lec'h "pebble"
• lía, légamo; akin to Old Irish lige "bed", Irish luige, Welsh lle "room", Old Breton lech "bed", Breton lec'h "site, place"; liga "bed" > "bedrock" > "sediment"
• quejigo, from earlier cajigo, from Aragonese caxico, caixico "oak"; akin to Middle Irish cas "curly, gnarled", cassaim "to bend", Irish cas "to twist, turn, spin", Old Welsh cascord, Welsh cosgordd "twist"
• sábalo "shad"; akin to Old Irish sam "summer", Welsh haf, Breton hañv, Cornish hav, with typical Celtic m > b lenition
• sabueso (also Port sabuja, Ital segugio, Old Fr seüz); akin to Old Irish sechim "I follow", Irish seach "to follow", Middle Welsh -hei "seeker" (cf. cardotei "beggar"), Old Breton -heiat "searcher, gatherer" (cf. cnouheiat "nut gatherer")
• saya; akin to Middle Irish sén "snare", semmen "rivet", Welsh hoenyn "snare", hemin "rivet"
• soga; akin to Welsh syg "chain", Breton sug "harness trace", Irish suag "rope", Scottish sùgan "straw rope"
• taladro; akin to Welsh taradr "drill", Irish tarachair, Breton tarar, Old Cornish tarater
• tejon "badger"; akin to Old Irish tadg "badger", Scottish taghan "marten"
• tollo "mire, muddy place"; akin to Irish toll "hole", Welsh twll, Breton toull
• tona; akin to Old Irish tonn "skin, surface", Irish tonn "hide, skin", Welsh ton "skin", Cornish ton "surface", Breton tonnen "rind, surface"
• tranca "club, cudgel"; akin to Old Irish tairinge "iron nail, tine", Irish tairne "metal nail", Scottish tairnge "nail"
• truhán; akin to Old Irish tróg "miserable", Irish trogha, Scottish truagh, Welsh tru "wretched", Breton truc "beggar", Cornnish troc "miser; wretched"

  Celtic

• abatir= to lower, to knock down, to humble: from Vulgar Latin abbattuere to demolish, knock down, overthrow: from ad- + Latin battuere, see batir below. The d is assimilated to the b in battuere.
• abrochar= to button, fasten: from a- + broche "a button" (see broche below) + the verbal infinitive suffix -ar.
• atolladero= a muddy place, bog: from atollar "to dirty to soil," from a- + tollo "mire, muddy place" (possibly from a Celtic word represented in Old Irish toll "hole, pit, grave") + the verbal infinitive suffix -ar.
• bachiller= a bachelor: from Old French bacheler "bachelor, young man, young gentleman" (Modern French bachelier), from Medieval Latin "an advanced student, farmer," probably from Celtic, possibly related to Irish bachlach "rural dweller, farmer."
• batalla= battle, struggle: from Vulgar Latin (*)battalia "combat," from Late Latin battualia "military drill in fencing," from Latin battuere, see batir below.
• batería= battery: from French batterie (originally referred to a battery of kitchen utensils made with a hammer), from battre, from Latin battere, battuere, see batir below.
• batir= to hit, strike: from Latin battere, battuere, "to beat, strike," probably of Celtic origin.
• batuta= an orchestra conductor's baton: from Italian battuta, from battere, from Latin battere, battuerre, see batir above.
• bohemio= a bohemian, of Bohemia, vagabond, eccentric, Gitano, Gypsy: from bohemio/Bohemia (from the belief that the Gitanos came from Bohemia), from Latin Boihaemum, literally "place of the Boi/Boii", from tribal name Boii + -haemum from Germanic *xaim- "home" (see bohemio here). The etymology of Boii is disputed, either "cattle-owners" or "warriors, strikers".
• brécoles= broccoli:
• británico, from Latin britannicus, from Britannia; akin to Welsh pryd "form", Irish cruth
• broca=from Vulgar Latin (*)brocca "a nail
• brocado= a brocade: from Italian broccato, from brocco "a twist thread, shoot, sprout," see bróculi below.
• broche= brooch, clasp, clip, fastener: from Old French broche "a spit," from Vulgar Latin (*)brocca "a nail, spike," from Latin broccus, brocchus "a nail, projecting (adj.), buck-toothed (adj.)" from Celtic (*)brokko- "a pin, badger."
• bróculi= broccoli: from Italian broccoli, plural of broccolo, "sprout of cabbage/turnip" diminutive of brocco "shoot, sprout," from Vulgar Latin (*)brocca, see broche above.
• combatir= to engage in combat, to fight: from com- + see batir above.
• debate= a debate, dispute, quarrel: from Old French debat "discussion, controversy, contest" (Modern French débat), from debattre, debatre, "to fight, wrestle, struggle," from de- + battre, batre "to fight, strike," from Latin battere, battuere, see batir above.
• embarazar= (1) to impregnate or (2) to hamper, or to hinder. From the Portuguese embaraçar, which probably is a combination of the prefix em- (from Latin im- for "in-") with baraça "a noose", or "rope". Baraça originated before the Romans began their conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in 218 BC.
• jabalina, from Middle French javeline, diminutive of javelot; akin to Irish gabhla "spear", Welsh gaflach "dart", Breton gavelod
• teneria "tannery", from French tannerie, from tan "tanbark"; akin to Breton tann "red oak", Old Cornish tannen, Old Irish teine "holly", Irish teine "furze, gorse"

  See also

• Linguistic history of Spanish
• List of Spanish words of Basque/Iberian origin
• List of English words of Spanish origin
• Lists of English words of Celtic origin
• List of French words of Gaulish origin

  References

• "Breve diccionario etimológico de la lengua española" by Guido Gómez de Silva (ISBN 968-16-2812-8)
• "The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language": Fourth Edition. 2000.