“Sun” and “Moon” in Celtic and Indo-European
Ranko Matasović
University of Zagreb
Abstract
Firstly, there were two words for “sun” in PIE, a neuter abstract noun (*sh2wor) and a masculine noun and theonym (*seh2wōl). The reconstruction of a heteroclitic noun with the alternation of *l and *n is both inherently improbable and unwarranted by evidence. Secondly, there are several names of sun and moon formed with the suffix *-sn- in early IE dialects, and two of them are preserved in Celtic. Thirdly, in Celtic, nouns meaning ‘sun’ and ‘moon’ are generally derived from two types of roots: a) roots meaning ‘brilliance, light’; b) roots referring to physical shape and/or motion of the heavenly bodies in question.