This is a question I'm almost afraid to ask. Would the Irish word "dalta" meaning pupil or student etc share the same provenance as the English word "dolt" meaning...gulp?

I do not think so.

Dalta means originally foster child. It comes from a root, which means "suck", a cognate is for example latin "felo" (to suck).

Dolt on the other hand is derived from the past particile of "dullen", to make dull, which comes from a root, which has to to with mud and confounding. A cognate is Greek θόλος (mud, dirt).

So sorry, no connection.

The image for dalta is therefore not that of a stupid persons who needs education, but that of a child who gets spiritual nourishment. Think of "alma mater" for university.

PS. Where can you get information about etymolgy in celtic languages? I know only McBains œuvre.

(Message edited by ingeborg on October 09, 2009)

To reverse the discussion, dolt is related to Irish dall, meaning blind.

The DIL often has etymology in it. www.dil.ie

The American Hertiage Dictionary has a whole section of Indo-European roots and sound changes. While it concentrates on English, it can be used to investigate Irish etymologies.

(Message edited by seánw on October 09, 2009)

(Message edited by seánw on October 09, 2009)

Very readable accounts of Irish etymology -- although very limited in scope -- can be found at these two sites by Dennis King:

Stair an Fhocail
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaeilge/donncha/stair-an-fhocail/

Focal an Lae
http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaeilge/donncha/focal/

And you can also visit Dennis's blog where, just today, he's been discussing the etymology of "slaghdán": http://nimill.blogspot.com/

What this man doesn't know about the history of Irish probably cannot be known.