Etymology

Loaghtan

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Today it means: A primitive, heritage sheep of a breed native to the Isle of Man, characterised by dark brown wool with usually four, or occasionally six, horns. Full definition →

Manx lugh dhoan
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The story

  1. Manx · borrowed fromlugh dhoan
  2. English todayLoaghtan

Borrowed from Manx lugh dhoan or lugh dhone which means mouse-brown and describes the colour of the sheep. The first syllable is from luch, from *lukūts (compare Welsh llyg (“shrew”), llygod (“mice”), and Breton logod (“mice”); and the last syllable from donn, from *dusnos (“brown”), from *dʰewh₂- (“smoke”).

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.