Blair Collection > History of the Celtic language

CELTIC LANGUAGE. 85
have imposed a name. Was it necessary that a
nonentity should have a name ? What idea could
he have attached to a term so given him ? The
Welsh Iho ; Cornish leauh ; Armoric lue ; Irish
laodh^ a calf, are, of course, but the same word.
This root has a numerous offspring, especially in
terms of endearment, as in " Mo laogh fern thii
'5 laogh mo laoigJi^" i.e. my own love and the off-
spring of my love ; laogha,n, a darling ; lao'icean, a
calf-skin; laoigh-fheol, veal; /ao'rach, to be soft
and open-toed ; where the analogy is to the hoof of
a calf, &c. Does Laocoon, son of Priam and
Hecuba, claim kindred here ? Was he " a calf-
worshipper." The Trojans, we are informed, com-
missioned him to offer a bullock to Neptune to
render him propitious. This circumstance seems
to favour the hypothesis.*
Godr, or Gabhar, a goat: pronounced tremu-
lously in the throat. The wisdom of God, which is
* The Hebrew term "^y^ Ogl, or Og-el, must be taken
in a Cabalistic sense. The following Celtic terms are
at least cognate, viz., aingeal, an angel, also, fire ; aigeal,
or aigleir, an ear-ring; ighal, or iodhal, an idol. Here
■we may remark that the thing made by Aaron at Horeb
and denominated a calf, is called by inspired Stephen
E/SaXov, eidolon, an idol. In this instance, at least, the Celtic
has decidedly the vantage-ground. We believe, however,
that under the root io, or iu, we shall be able to show cause
why any young object or animal may properly be classified
under, and metaphorically called a calf.