Breton glossary
France > Brittany > Glossary
Estimates of the number of Breton-speakers range from 400,000 to 800,000. You may well encounter it spoken as a first, day-to-day language by the very old and the young in parts of Finistère and the Morbihan. Learning Breton is not really a viable prospect for visitors without a grounding in Welsh, Gaelic or some other Celtic language. However, as you travel through the province, it's interesting to note the roots of Breton place names, many of which have a simple meaning in the language. Below are some of the most common:| aber | estuary | | argoat | land | | armor | sea | | avel | wind | | bihan | little | | bran | hill | | braz | big | | coat | forest | | cromlech | stone circle | | dol | table | | dolmen | stone table | | du | black | | enez | island | | goaz | stream | | gwenn | white | | hir | long | | ker | village or house | | kozh | old | | lan | holy place | | lann | heath | | lech | flat stone | | mario | dead | | men | stone | | menez | (rounded) mountain | | menhir | long stone | | meur | big | | nevez | new | | parc | field | | penn | end, head | | plou | parish | | pors | port, farmyard | | roc'h | ridge | | ster | river | | stivel | fountain, spring | | traez henn | beach | | trou | valley | | ty | house | | wrach | witch |
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