The Invisible Third. The Basque and Celtic Words for "Swallow"

In a keynote address at the XI. Fachtagung der Indogermanischen Gesellschaft, about possible non-Indo-European influence on the Celtic languages, Kim McCone drew attention to the similarity between the Insular Celtic, e.g. OIr fannall, W gwennol, and the Basque,i.e. enara, ain(h)- ara, words for 'swallow' (Lat hirundo). McCone reconstructs *waNilri or *weNrilri as preforms for the Insular Celtic words, and *(w)aiNala for Pre- Basque (McCone 2005,408-9).l This suggestion looks very attractive and suggestive and, if correct, would shed rare light on prehistoric linguistic relationships in Western Europe. In this article, I will examine the equation more closely and add a number of observations