Irish speakers/Celtic linguist help.

[Gaius Sempronius Gracchus]

The Irish Gaelic word for citizen is saoránach. Does anybody know the etymology of this?

[Hax]

Brennus perhaps?

[Brennus]

I'm afraid I am no linguist. Just an archaeologist. Sorry.

[gaelic cowboy]

saor is the gaelic word for free so essentially it would be like saying free person or free man

best place to ask for a proper etymology might be boards.ie (http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=217)

you can try the etymology thread I suppose http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=848

or here on this other one i quickly googled for ye dunno anything about it though http://www.daltai.com/index.php/about-us/


thats as much help as I can give ye as linguistics and etymology of words would be a bit beyond me

[Gaius Sempronius Gracchus]

Thank you. gaelic cowboy. Another question, not about Irish/Celtic this time, but...does anybody know where the first mentions of the Franks can actually be found. In other words the earliest contemporary source for them?

[Catiline]

The Augustan History in the Life of Aurelian.


Mille Sarmatas, mille Francos semel et semel occidimus;
Mille Persas quaerimus.

[Gaius Sempronius Gracchus]

The Augustan History in the Life of Aurelian.

Thank you very much for that. Brilliant. :yes:

[El Barto]

The Irish Gaelic word for citizen is saoránach. Does anybody know the etymology of this?
El Bumpo.

I have checked in a Scottish Gaelic dictionary (http://www.faclair.com/?txtSearch=saoranach).

You should see the connotation:

saoranach

** -aich, sm Free man, freed man, independant man, burgess, citizen, denizen.

(of course, that's in the nominative)

Independent/burgess/free(d) man. I guess the word originally meant the top class of legal status when social strata were defined by how (un) free you were, back in feudal times.