# Deceangli and Angles: are these two tribe names etymologically related? Tags: etymology, indo-european - Score: 5 - Views: 876 - Answers: 2 - Answered: yes - Asked by: Otavio Macedo (8306 rep) - Asked: 2012-03-01 - Site: linguistics ## Question In pre-Roman times, there was a Celtic tribe in Britain, called Deceangli. To a layperson, this name bears an interesting resemblance to Angles, the name of another (Germanic) tribe that lived in the continent. Coincidentally, the Angles later invaded Britain along with the Saxons, and the name Anglaland (England) was coined. Is it just a pure coincidence of names or do they both derive from a more ancient, Indo-European source? ## Answers ### Answer by Mark Beadles (score: 6 [ACCEPTED]) According to Rhys's Celtic Britain and Tacitus: deceangli was perhaps de-ceangli <- de "from" + concangi <- cangi. And according to Guest's Origines Celtica: cangi was <- caing "estuary" Now compare a theory about the origin of the name Angle: Angle <- L anglii "those who dwell by the narrow water/estuary" <- ang- "narrow". So there is an etymological theory which says they are both related, inasmuch as both being named for proximity to