Killyleagh, Down.
* * * * *
As there are several Queries in the Note of G. W. which the Celtic language
is capable of elucidating, I beg to offer a few derivations from that
language.
Britain is derived from _briot_, painted, and _tan_, a country--_i. e._
"the country of the painted people." It is a matter of history, that the
people of Britain dyed their bodies with various colours.
_Tin_ is from the Celtic _tin_, to melt readily, to dissolve. It is also
called _stan_: Latin, _stannum_.
Hercules is from the Phoenician or Celtic, _Earr-aclaide_, pronounced
_Er-aclaie,_ i. e. the noble leader or hero.
Melkarthus is derived from _Mal-catair_, pronounced _Mal-cahir_, i. e. the
champion or king of the city (of Tyre).
Moloch cannot be identical with the Tyrian Hercules, as Moloch was the god
of fire: probably a name for the sun, from the Celtic _molc_, i. e. fire.