*ambahtaz

Borrowed from Celtic *ambaxto-, reflected in Gaulish AMBACTOS, Old Breton ambaith, and Middle Welsh amaeth (Koch 2020: 114; Matasović 2009a: 32; van Sluis et al. 2023: 201). The Celtic word is a *-tó- participial formation, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂m̥bʰí + *h₂eǵ-, with the original sense ‘one sent around’, hence ‘one acting on behalf of a superior’ (Koch 2020: 114; Matasović 2009a: 32). Hispano-Celtic Ambatus probably belongs to the same formation despite uncertainty over the Celtiberian treatment of earlier -kt-/-xt- (Ngomo Fernández 2025: 126–27). The borrowing may predate or postdate the major Proto-Germanic consonant shifts, since its consonants are not chronologically diagnostic; a later borrowing is considered more likely, while its pan-Germanic distribution requires borrowing before the breakup of Proto-Germanic (Koch 2020: 38, 47, 80; van Sluis et al. 2023: 204). Note that Gothic 𐌰𐌽𐌳𐌱𐌰𐌷𐍄𐍃 (andbahts) exhibits folk-etymological remodeling based on native 𐌰𐌽𐌳- (and-), accounting for the -nd- instead of the expected -mb- (Kieckers 1960: 229; Lehmann 1986a: 36).