Odd "Gaulish" words

From: fournet.arnaud
Message: 49676
Date: 2007-08-27

I have been collecting odd words for some time,
that exhibit a strange phonetic feature :
they have -b- as the possible reflex of PIE *w.
 
They are often held to be "Gaulish"
but my idea is that they are not Celtic at all.
"Gaulish" often rhymes with Lexical dumping ground.
They can't be Latin either.
They must be some "fossil" words
from a language with no obvious name.
 
there are some examples :
 

French corbeau "crow" versus Latin "corvus"

Never attested with -v- in Old French.

 

French Brebis "ewe" < Roman *berbex versus Latin vervex

Never attested with -v- in Old French.

 

French Courbe "curved" versus Latin curvus

Never attested with -v- in Old French.

 

Ibex mountain sheep/goat versus Latin ovis < H2_w "sheep"

Supposed to be a loanword from an undetermined language spoken in the Alps.

 

Gabe, gave "Pyrenees torrent" < *gh_w "flow, gush forth"

Bearn dialect word attested since 1671.

 

Late Latin galbus "yellow-greenish" versus Latin helvus < *ghel-s-wos

Said to be "Gaulish" by Meillet.

 

Late Latin gabata "plate" versus Greek gaulos

Greek may be a Semitic loanword (but may also not be)

 

Gamba < *genwa "leg" versus Latin genu "knee".

Supposed to be from Greek kampĂȘ "curve".

Meillet considers that Gaulish origin is unproved.

 

Bal(l) "danse" versus German Waltz < *wel "turn around"

Derivation from Greek ballizein "shoot a projectile" sounds hardly believable.

 

What do you think ?