Early Germanic *hanha- ‘horse’ and *hanhistaz / *hangistaz ‘stallion’

Difficult etymologies in Germanic include that of * hanha - ‘horse’ and * hanhistaz / *hangistaz ‘stallion’. Reflections of the latter term are widely evidenced in the Old Germanic dialects while the former is attested onomastically on a late-fourth-century memorial from Burgundy and has also been claimed to be reflected in early runic epigraphy. Both terms appear to continue a remorphologised s -stem * hanhaz ~ *hangisō and have clear Celtic counterparts. The development in Germanic seems to reflect the prehistoric date of the loaning of the s -stem * hanhaz ~ *hangisō from Celtic

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