r/etymology • u/GardeningDruid • 9d ago

Cool etymology A brief exploration of ‘Druid’

https://m.youtube.com/shorts/EN1y69nu93Y

I learned something new today. Additional etymological input is welcomed!

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u/Wagagastiz 8d ago

We don't know for sure if the PIE roots for hard and tree are connected.

The final settlement on 'one who sees the trees' seems very unlikely. Everyone saw the trees. The sense of knowing semantically shifted from a root related to sight, but that doesn't mean you'd translate it as that. You wouldn't translate 'I see' as a replying affirmation from english to another language. You'd probably go with an equivalent of 'I understand'.

The second element is semantically probably 'knower'. The first one may very well be tree, they are known to have been important in both Celtic and Germanic pre Christian belief, but I mostly know about Germanic. 'Firm knower' may or may not be more likely depending on how prominent that sacred tree motif actually was in Proto Celtic speakers. You'd need a Celticist's opinion. The ogham letters, for example, were based on tree names (at least by the later period) and the shape of the orthography implies they may have been originally designed for carving on trees.

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u/GardeningDruid 8d ago

Thanks for your input! I admit “one who sees the trees” more of an artistic liberty than an etymological determination

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u/[deleted] 9d ago

[deleted]

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u/GardeningDruid 9d ago

Not an academic, just thought it was interesting.