Celto-comb. form

Etymology: < post-classical Latin Celto-, combining form of classical Latin Celtae (see Celt n.¹), probably after Hellenistic Greek Κελτο-; compare -o- connective. Compare French Celto- , German Kelto- (both late 18th cent. or earlier, earliest with reference to ancient peoples; compare sense 1).Post-classical Latin Celto- and Hellenistic Greek Κελτο- are attested in the names of various regions and peoples, e.g. (in names of regions) Celtogallia (1492 or earlier; Byzantine Greek Κελτογαλλία ), Celtogalatia (1498 or earlier; Hellenistic Greek Κελτογαλατία ), Celtoscythia (1573 or earlier), or (in names of peoples) Celtoscythae , plural (1511 or earlier; Hellenistic Greek Κελτοσκύθαι ; compare quot. 1676 at sense 1a), Celtogermani , plural (1598 or earlier). In sense 1, English formations are found from the 17th cent. onwards, initially after Greek and Latin models. Independent formations are found from the 18th cent. (e.g. Celto-Germanic adj. at sense 1b). In sense 2, formations are found in French and German from the beginning of the 19th cent. (compare the forms cited at Celtomania n.). English formations are found from the first half of the 19th cent. (earliest in Celtomania n.); these are typically later than the corresponding French or German formations, and sometimes modelled on them.