"_Ombrella_, a fan, a canopie, also a testern or cloth of state
for a prince, also a kind of round fan or shadowing that they use
to ride with in summer in Italy, a little shade."
[Greek: D.]
_Nao, a Ship_ (Vol. iii., p. 477.).--A. N. is informed that _naw_ is a
Celtic name for a ship (the _w_ is sometimes sounded like _oo_); though
the word is obsolete, authority for its application may be found in
Davies' _Mythology, &c. of the Druids_. In the appendix to this work
there is a poem (No. 6.) by Taliesin, containing the following
example:--
"Ymsawdd yn llyn, heb _naw_."
"Sinking in the lake, without a ship."
The Britons consequently had a name for a ship, independent of Roman
influence. Can A. N. produce any evidence that the Britons in pre-Roman
times did not possess any vessels superior to the _cwrygl_? Is it
probable that the warlike aid which the Britons constantly rendered the
Gauls, was conveyed across the channel in mere "osier baskets?" Had the
"water-dwellers" (Dwr-trig-wys) of Dorsetshire (Durotriges) attained no
higher grade in navigation than that simple mode of water conveyance?
I am almost inclined to exclaim, "Mi dynaf y torch a thi" ("I will pull
the torque with thee") in respect to the position claimed for the Latin
_longa_; but passing this, I will advance the opinion that the Celtic
_naw_ is the root of the Latin _navis_.