A
Welsh to English Dictionary in page format
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Gwefan Cymru-Catalonia
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(delw 6660) |
∆
1580e A | 1039e B | 1735e BR | 1018e C | 1071e CE | 1675e CI |
1040e CR |
1075e CY | 1020e D | 1674e DI | 1072e E | 1077e F |
1021e G | 1042e GW |
1038e H |
1676e HY, I, J, K, | 1865e
L | 1022e M | 1677e MI | 1047e N | 1600e O | 1023e P | 1073e PL |
1026e R |
1070e S | 1024e T |
1076e TR | 1025e U,V | 1731e W, X | 1586e
Y, Z |
E, e ‹ee›
feminine noun
1
) fifth letter of the twenty-six
letter Roman alphabet
...1 a, 2 b, 3 c, 4 d 5 e, 6 f, 7 g, 8 h, 9 i, 10 j, 11 k, 12 l, 13 m, 14 n, 15 o, 16 p, 17 q, 18 r, 19 s, 20 t, 21 u, 22 v, 23 w, 24 x, 25 y, 26 z
2) seventh letter of the twenty-nine letter Welsh alphabet
...1 a, 2 b, 3 c, 4 ch, 5 d, 6 dd 7 e, 8 f, 9 ff, 10 g, 11 ng, 12 h, 13 i, 14 j, 15 l, 16 ll, 17 m, 18 n, 19 o, 20 p, 21 ph, 22 r, 23 rh, 24 s, 25 t, 26 th, 27 u, 28 w, 29 y
:_______________________________.
e ‹E› he
-e ‹-› see -ai
-e fe ‹-› he would (South-west)
-e fo ‹-› he would (North-west)
-e hi ‹-› she would (South-west)
:_______________________________.
e < a
Vowel affection through the influence of the vowel “y” in the following
syllable.
An example is seen in words with the addition of the suffix -yn
arf (= implement, weapon) > erfyn (= implement, weapon)
chwap (= blow; instant) > chwepyn (South Wales) (= blow; instant)
rhaff (= rope) > rheffyn (= thin rope)
In modern Welsh, the affection is not
now usual. Some words have only ‘a’; others have ‘a’ alongside an older form
with ‘e’. More recent combinations (?last couple of centuries) have ‘a’ only.
cnap (= lump) > cnapyn (= little lump) (besides older cnepyn)
nap (= nap) > napyn (= short nap) (besides older nepyn)
:_______________________________.
e < ae, ai,
au in a final
syllable
This reduction occurs over most of Wales; in the south-east and the north-west,
where an e in a final syllable
becomes a (bachgen (= boy) > bachgan), e which
is a reduction of ae, ai, au does
likewise
chwarae (= to play) > chware (north-east, midlands), hware (south-west)
dwyrain (= east) > dwyren
pethau (= things) > pethe
Although the general rule for the spelling of place names is to use a
standard literary form, without this colloquial reduction of the vowel, the e in fact occurs in very many names in
this “e zone”
Baecinmel (Conwy) preserves the name Cinmel
< Cinmael (though
originally Cilmael) (cil = nook, secluded place; Mael = male forename)
Cader Idris, a mountain by Dolgellau (Gwynedd), instead of Cadair Idris (“seat (of) Idris”)
Llanymynech (Powys) instead of Llanymynaich (“church (of) the monks”)
Machynlleth (Powys) instead of Machynllaith (“plain (of) Cynllaith”)
:_______________________________.
e < English a
clec ( =
bang) < English clack
cnec ( =
bang; fart) < English knack ( = crack, click)
het ( = hat) < English hat (in fact, het borrowed from Old English)
:_______________________________.
e < ei
a short [e] in the penult is sometimes a reduction of the diphthong ei
Bleddyn (man’s name) < Bleiddyn (blaidd = wolf) + (–yn = diminutive suffix)
Gwerful (woman’s name) < Gweirful
Also in a monosyllabic word in the case of
ceirch (= oats) > cerch (a northern variant)
:_______________________________.
e < y
1 An original y ‹i› in a final syllable
has become e in some instances.
In certain words ‘e’ is standard, and the form with ‘y’ is obsolete; in others
it appears only in dialect forms
STANDARD FORMS:
(1) Mercher = Wednesday
(historically Merchyr)
(2) wele = see! behold! < a wely do you see? (in modern Welsh,
do you see = a weli di?)
(3) hwde! = take! < hwdy
(4) the conditional tense ending -ych > -ech
byddech (= you might be) < byddych
gwelech (= you might see) < gwelych
(5) cleddyf > *cleddef > cleddeu > cleddau (= sword). (In
modern Welsh, both “cleddyf” and “cleddau” are in use)
(6) edyf > *edef > edeu < edau (= thread). The plural form is edefion;
and a diminutive is edefyn
(7) Rhosyr (old district name, island of Môn) > Rhóser >
Rhóseir < Rhósfeir < Rhosféir / Rhos Féir; the original form in modern Welsh would be Rhos
Fair (= upland (of) (the) (Virgin) Mary, upland of the church dedicated to
the Virgin Mary)
(8) the dialect form imbed instead of enbyd
is probably a metathesis
enbyd / embyd > embid > imbed E-I > I-E
DIALECT FORMS:
Examples which are used in certain regions but are not considered standard are:
(1) edrych (= to look) > edrech > edrach (North-west
Wales), and
etrach (South-east Wales) (in the north-western and south-eastern corner
of the country e > a in a
final syllable)
(2) in North-east Wales :
den chi, ryden ni (standard: yr ydym ni = we are)
dèch chi, rydech chi (standard: yr ydych chwi = you are)
den nhw, ryden nhw (standard: yr ydynt hwy = they are)
In North-west Wales, final e > a which explains the forms here
dan chi, rydan ni (standard: yr ydym ni = we are)
dàch chi, rydach chi (standard: yr ydych chwi = you are)
dan nhw, rydan nhw (standard: yr ydynt hwy = they are)
(3) Gŵyl Gewydd (15 July, feastday of Cewydd) > Gŵyl
Gewy’ > Gŵyl Gewe (South Wales)
(4) South-eastern llethyr (= letter) is possibly a metathesised form of llyther
< llythyr
PLACE NAMES:
(1) The north-eastern town of Dinbych is colloquially Dimbech
In the following names from south-east Wales, we see the usual change of final e > a, (a change typical too in the
north-west.)
..a/ Tredegyr > Tredeger > Tredegar. A mansion in the county of
Casnewydd. Tredegar exists as a transferred name in the county of
Blaenau Gwent, and in the county of Caerffili there is Tredegar Newydd –
“New Tredegar”. Locally in Blaeanu Gwent / Caerffili Tredegar becomes Tredecar
(a ‹g› at the beginning of a final syllable is
devoiced in the south-east, becoming ‹k›)
and Decar (loss of the pretonic syllable – a common feature in
colloquial Welsh)
..b/ Tawe, a river in south-east Wales, historically Tawy (on the
fringe of this region, where e remains unchanged in a final syllable,
and so Tawa does not occur in the valley of the Tawe, though it does in
the rest of the region).
Abertawe (‘mouth of the river Tawe’; English: Swansea) is colloquially Byrtawe
locally (Byrtawa in the rest of the south-eastern region east of the
Nedd valley).
..c/ The local name of Tindyrn (= locality and abbey in the county of
Mynwy) is Dindarn, which is possibly Dindarn < *Dindern < Dindyrn. The modern radical form with
“t” shows an unusual change from the original intial “d”
..d/ The south-eastern county of Sir Fynwy is Sir Fynwe > Shir
Fynwa ‹shiir
vən-wa›
..e/ The saint’s name Sawyl is found in Llansawel (locally Llansawal)
(3) North-west Wales: The saint’s name Mechyll is found in Llanfechell
on the island of Môn (locally Llanfechall)
:_______________________________.
e < y in the tonic syllable
Cennydd ‹KE-nidh› [ˡkɛnɪð]
1
saint’s name, a variant form of Cynydd
Llangennydd, a variant of Llangynydd SS4291 (English name:
Llangennith). Village in the county of Abertawe.
:_______________________________.
è
1 the grave accent indicates a short vowel when it occurs in a
long-vowel environment
The ‘a’ in monosyllables in Welsh with final –b, -d, -g is long
lled ‹lheed› half; fairly
heb ‹heeb› without
rheg ‹hreeg› swearword
However English words with a short vowel with the same pattern (monsyllables,
with g, b, d as the final consonant) taken into Welsh retain the short vowel in
Welsh.
Mèg Maggie, Margaret
Nèd Ned, Edward
pèg clothes peg; tent peg
Pèg Margaret
slèd cŵn dog sled
Tèd Ted, Edward
Though it would be more correct to
indicate this short vowel with è, in general this is not done (Meg,
Ned, peg, Peg, sled, Ted, etc)
:_______________________________.
eang ‹e-ang› adjective
1 wide, extensive, vast in size or extent
Pwnc eang iawn, wrth gwrs, yw
ystadegaeth
Of course, statistics is a very wide subject
Mae gennym ddewis eang o hen lyfrau
We have a wide range of old books
diddordebau eang wide interests,
interest in many different fields, apart from one’s occupation, etc
ar raddfa eang on a wide scale
coedwig eang extensive woodland
gardd eang extensive garden
dylanwad eang extensive influence
2 yn
eang adverb extensively
Bu raid hysbysu yn eang er mwyn cael Prif Weithredwr
It was necessary to advertise extensively to get a Chief Executive
3
roomy, spacious
yn llofft storws eang y fferm in the
spacious upstairs room of the farm storehouse
4
openminded, cultivated, not narrow-minded; receptive to new ideas and tolerant
Yn ôl y Saeson, rhai cul ydym ni’r
Cymry, er ein bod yn siarad eu hiaith hwy yn ogystal â’n hiaith ninnau. Rhaid
bod yn uniaith Saesneg i fod yn eang
According to English people, we Welsh people are narrowminded, even though we
speak their language in addition to our own language. You have to be
monolingual English to be openminded
5
eang eich apêl ‹ê-ang əkh a-peel› having a wide appeal
6
yn ystyr ehangaf y gair in the
widest sense of the word
7
derived forms with three syllables have
eháng-, as in ehangder (=
immensity), ehangu (= extend, widen)
ETYMOLOGY: Welsh eang < ehang < ?*echang
< British *eks-ang-; (eks = out of), (ang- = (obsolete) narrow)
:_______________________________.
eangderau
‹e-ang- dê -re› plural
1 plural form of ehangder
= immensity
:_______________________________.
eangfrydedd
‹e-ang- vrə
-dedh›
1
magnanimity, openmindedness, broadmindedness
ETYMOLOGY: (eang = wide) + soft
mutation + (-i-edig suffix for
forming adjectives)
:_______________________________.
eangfrydig
‹e-ang- vrə
-dig› adjective
1
magnanimous, open-minded openmindedness, broadmindedness
ETYMOLOGY: (eang = wide) + soft
mutation + (bryd = mind) (-ig suffix for forming adjectives)
:_______________________________.
eb- ‹eb› -
1 Element with the sense of ‘horse’. Does not survive as an
independent word in modern Welsh, but occurs in a number of compound words
1) cyfeb (mare) in foal;
(sheep) in lamb; literally “with horse” (cyf-
= with) + (eb = horse)
2) ebol (= foal) < ebawl < British (*epâl-os = small horse) < (epo-s = horse)
3) ebran ‹e-bran› = fodder, stover <
(eb- = horse) + soft mutation + (rhan = part)
4) ebrwydd (= rapid);
probably (eb- = horse) + soft
mutation + (rhwydd = rapid, quick),
and so literally ‘rapid like a horse’
5) epil (= offspring,
children); historically the word meant “young horse(s)”
(eb- = horse) + (hil = progeny, lineage, race) (b + h = p)
(Cf English kid = child; literally
“a young goat”)
6) Epona Celtic goddess
of horses; British
(ep- = horse) + (on- suffix often used in the names of
deities)
7) Epynt or Mynydd Epynt mountain in the county of
Powys; the meaning is probably “horse path” (eb = horse) + (hynt =
way, path) (b + h = p)
ETYMOLOGY: Welsh eb- < British epo- < Celtic *ekwo-s
from the same Celtic root: Irish each
= horse, Scottish each = horse;
cf Latin equus (= horse) (origin of
the English words ‘equitation’, ‘equine’),
Greek hippos
(= horse) (basis of the English words hippopotamus (‘river horse’), hippodrome,
and the name Phillip)
:_______________________________.
ebargofiant
‹e-bar-gov-yant› masculine noun
1
oblivion
mynd i ebargofiant fall into
oblivion, disappear for ever
Mae llawer o’r hen eiriau ac ymadroddion
wedi mynd i ebargofiant erbyn hyn
Many of the old words and expressions have disappeared for ever now
ETYMOLOGY: ebargof-i-, stem of the
verb ebargofio = to forget ) + (-ant, suffix for forminh nouns)
:_______________________________.
ebargofio
‹e-bar-gov-yo› verb
1 obsolete forget
ETYMOLOGY: (ebar unknown element) +
soft mutation + (cofio = to
remember)
:_______________________________.
ebd.
1 abbreviation = ebychiad
(= exclamation)
:_______________________________.
ebill, PLURAL ebillion,
ebilliau ‹E
bilh, e BILH yon, e BILH ye›
(masculine noun)
1 auger
2 ebill deudwll “auger for
making two holes”, in the expression
chwilio
am ebill deudwll be on a fool’s errand (“look for a two-hole auger”)
:_______________________________.
ebol, ebolion ‹E bol,
e BOL yon› masculine noun
1 foal
2 difference, distinction
Mae ’na ragor ofnadwy rhwng ebol a cheiliog
They’re as different as chalk from cheese, they’re completely different
(‘there’s a terrible difference / an enormous difference between a foal and a
rooster”)
:_______________________________.
eboles
‹e- bô -les› feminine noun
PLURAL ebolesau
‹e-bo- le -se›
1 filly = young female horse
2 eboles o ferch = spirited young girl (“(a) filly of (a) girl”)
3 mor lysti â’r eboles = as vivacious as a filly
NOTE: : In North Wales there is a form poles
(polas in the north-west), plural polesod.
Yr eboles = the filly, with the loss
of the pretonic syllable, which is the initial syllable (a very characterisitic
feature of Welsh) > y boles.
After the initial b was understood
as the soft mutation of p, and the
result was poles (= filly)
Daeth hen ffermwr â pholes ifanc i’w
phedoli at of y pentref
An old farmer came to the village blacksmith with a young filly to be shoed
:_______________________________.
ebor-
‹EE-bor›
1 British root, see efwr (= cow parsnip)
:_______________________________.
Eboracum
‹e-bo-râ-kum›
1 Eboracum = Latin name for the English
city of York (hence Ebor. the
signature of the Archbishop of York).
See Efrog
(Welsh name for York), efwr (= cow
parsnip)
:_______________________________.
ebost
‹ê -bost› masculine noun
PLURAL ebostiau
‹e-bost-ye›
1 e-mail, electronic mail, system of
sending and receiving messages via computer terminals
2 e-mail, message sent by electronic
mail
Mae’r ebost hwn yn gyfrinachol This
e-mail is confidential
ETYMOLOGY: Adaptation of the English term e-mail
(= electronic mail), with e treated
as a prefix which causes soft mutation
(e) + soft mutation + (post = post, mail)
:_______________________________.
ebran
‹e -bran› masculine noun
1
fodder, stover
Genesis 24:25 A hi a ddywedodd wrtho ef,
Y mae gwellt ac ebran
ddigon gennym ni, a lle i letya
Genesis 24:25 She said moreover unto him, We have both straw and provender
enough, and room to lodge in.
Genesis 24:32 A’r gwr a aeth i’r tŷ: ac yntau a ryddhaodd y camelod, ac a
roddodd wellt ac ebran
i’r camelod; a dwfr i olchi ei draed ef, a thraed y dynion oedd gydag ef.
Genesis 24:32 And the man came into the house: and he ungirded his camels,
and gave straw and provender for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and
the men’s feet that were with him.
ETYMOLOGY: Welsh ebran “horse portion” < (eb-
= horse) + soft mutation + (rhan =
part, portion)
:_______________________________.
ebrandy
‹e- bran -di› masculine noun
PLURAL ebrandai
‹e- bran -dai›
1
place where fodder is kept
2
brandy Epenthetic form of ebrandy
There is a street name Brandy in
Johnstown, county of Wrecsam. Query: Is this ebrandy?
ETYMOLOGY: (ebran = fodder) + soft
mutation + (tŷ = house)
:_______________________________.
Ebrill
‹e -brilh› masculine noun
1 April
yn Ebrill in April
mis Ebrill April, the month of April
ym mis Ebrill in April
fis Ebrill in April
2 ffŵl Ebrill (“fool
(of) April”) April fool
diwrnod ffŵl Ebrill April
Fool’s Day, April First. A day when practical jokes are played on other people.
bore ffŵl Ebrill April Fool’s
Day morning, April First. (Practical jokes are only permissible in the morning;
any such joke after twelve noon brings bad luck to whoever is the perpetrator)
jôc ffŵl Ebrill April
Fool’s joke (a practical joke played on somebody on April the first)
3 cwn Ebrill curlews (“ dogs (of) April”) (from the noise of their
cries in the spring)
4 llygad Ebrill Chelidonium majus lesser celandine
ETYMOLOGY: Welsh Ebrill < British
< Latin aprîlis = April,
apparently an Etruscan word
From the same British root: Cornish Ebrel
= April, Breton Ebrel = April
..1 Ebrill (y cyntaf o Ebrill)
the first of April
Diwrnod Ffŵl Ebrill April
Fools’ Day
..2 Ebrill (yr ail o Ebrill)
the second of April
..3 Ebrill (y trydydd o Ebrill)
the third of April
..4 Ebrill (y pedwerydd o Ebrill)
the fourth of April
..5 Ebrill (y pumed o Ebrill)
the fifth of April
..6 Ebrill (y chweched o Ebrill)
the sixth of April
..7 Ebrill (y seithfed o Ebrill)
the seventh of April
..8 Ebrill (yr wythfed o Ebrill)
the eighth of April
..9 Ebrill (y nawfed o Ebrill)
the ninth of April
..10 Ebrill (y degfed o Ebrill)
the tenth of April
..11 Ebrill (yr unfed ar ddeg o Ebrill)
the eleventh of April
..12 Ebrill (y deuddegfed o Ebrill)
the twelfth of April
..13 Ebrill (y trydydd ar ddeg o Ebrill)
the thirteenth of April
..14 Ebrill (y pedwerydd ar ddeg o Ebrill)
the fourteenth of April
..15 Ebrill (y pymthegfed o Ebrill)
the fifteenth of April
..16 Ebrill (yr unfed ar bymtheg o Ebrill)
the sixteenth of April
..17 Ebrill (yr ail ar bymtheg o Ebrill)
the seventeenth of April
Gŵyl Badarn (“the) feastday
(of) Padarn”)
..18 Ebrill (y deunawfed o Ebrill)
the eighteenth of April
..19 Ebrill (y pedwerydd ar bymtheg o Ebrill)
the nineteenth of April
..20 Ebrill (yr ugeinfed o Ebrill)
the twentieth of April
..21 Ebrill (yr unfed ar hugain o Ebrill)
the twenty-first of April
Gŵyl Feuno (“the) feastday (of)
Beuno”). Saint of Clynnog Fawr, north-west Wales
..22 Ebrill (yr ail ar hugain o Ebrill)
the twenty-second of April
..23 Ebrill (y trydydd ar hugain o Ebrill)
the twenty-third of April
Gŵyl Siors (“the) feastday (of)
George”)
..24 Ebrill (y pedwerydd ar hugain o Ebrill)
the twenty-fourth of April
..25 Ebrill (y pumed ar hugain o Ebrill)
the twenty-fifth of April
Gŵyl Farc Efengylwr
(“the) feastday mark (the) Evangelist”)
..26 Ebrill (y chweched ar hugain o Ebrill)
the twenty-sixth of April
..27 Ebrill (y seithfed ar hugain o Ebrill)
the twenty-seventh of April
..28 Ebrill (yr wythfed ar hugain o Ebrill)
the twenty-eighth of April
..29 Ebrill (y nawfed ar hugain o Ebrill)
the twenty-ninth of April
..30 Ebrill (y degfed ar hugain o Ebrill)
the thirtieth of April
:_______________________________.
Ebrill sych, pob
peth a nych ‹e-brilh siikh, poob peeth a niikh›
1 A dry April, everything loses
vigour
:_______________________________.
Ebwy ‹e -bui› feminine noun
1 Afon Ebwy river in the
counties of Blaenau Gwent, Caerffili, Casnewydd
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/518302
(“The Geograph British Isles project aims to collect
geographically representative photographs and information for every square
kilometre of Great Britain and Ireland…”)
2 Glynebwy A town in Blaenau Gwent. English name: “Ebbw Vale”. The
Welsh name is a translation of the English name. The original Welsh name was Pen-y-cae, locally Pen-cää
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/366353
(“The Geograph British Isles project aims to collect
geographically representative photographs and information for every square
kilometre of Great Britain and Ireland…”)
3 Cwm Ebwy the Ebwy valley
4
Ebwy locality in the valley; English
name: “Greenfield”
ETYMOLOGY: Ebwy < Ebwydd, apparently meaning “swift,
rapid”
NOTE: The local form was Ebw, from the usual dialect reduction
of final wy ‹ui› > w ‹u›. The ‘English’ name “Ebbw” is in fact this dialect
form, misspelt with a doubled consonant.
One might have expected Epw as the local form,
since in the south-east g,d,b at the head of a final syllable are devoived to
c,t,p
E.g. southern Welsh cer i wipan! (= get lost!)
< cer i chwiban
:_______________________________.
ebyrth
1 sacrifices, offerings; plural of aberth
Leviticus 7:11 Dyma hefyd gyfraith yr
ebyrth hedd a offryma efe i’r
Arglwydd
Leviticus
7:11 And this is the law of the sacrifice
of peace offerings, which he shall offer unto the Lord
Lefiticus
7:18 Ac os bwyteir dim o gig offrwm ei ebyrth
hedd ef o fewn y trydydd dydd, ni byddir bodlon i’r hwn a’i hoffrymo ef, ac nis
cyfrifir iddo, ffieiddbeth fydd; a’r dyn a fwyty ohono, a ddwg ei anwiredd.
Leviticus
7:18 And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings be eaten
at all on the third day, it shall not be accepted, neither shall it be imputed
unto him that offereth it: it shall be an abomination, and the soul that eateth
of it shall bear his iniquity.
:_______________________________.
ebychiad,
ebychiadau ‹e
–BƏKH-yad, a-bokh-YÂ-de›
masculine noun
1 exclamation
2 abbreviation (in a
dictionary entry) ebd.
:_______________________________.
ebychnod
‹e- bəkh -nod› masculine noun
PLURAL ebychnodau
‹e-bəkh- nô -de›
1 exclamation mark (also: rhyfeddnod ‹rhə- vedh -nod›)
ETYMOLOGY: (ebych- < ebychu = to exclaim) + (nod = mark, sign)
:_______________________________.
echdoe
‹ekh -doi› adverb
1 the day before yesterday
ETYMOLOGY: (ech- prefix = out of) +
(doe = yesterday)
NOTE: colloquially in the south echdo
‹ekh –do› with simplification
of the final diphthong ‹oi› > ‹o›
:_______________________________.
echdoriad
‹ekh- dor
-yad› masculine noun
PLURAL echdoriadau
‹ekh-dor- yâ
-de›
1
eruption
ETYMOLOGY: ‘outbreak’ (ech- prefix =
out of) + soft mutation + (toriad =
break)
:_______________________________.
echnos ‹EKH
nos›
1 the night before last
:_______________________________.
echrys
‹ekh -ris› adjective
1 terrible
damwain echrys a terrible accident
2 (North-east Wales) echrys o (modifier of adjective) terribly
mae hi'n echrys o oer it's terribly
cold
Damwain
echrys. Bore ddydd, yr 20fed (= yr
ugeinfed) o’r un mis, yn nghloddfeydd llechi
Dinorwic, fel yr oedd llangc ieuangc, 27 oed, o’r enw Richard Hughes, o blwyf
Gwalchmai, Môn, yn dilyn ei alwedigaeth, syrthiodd carreg fawr, dunelli o
bwysau yn union ar ei gefn, a llethwyd ef i farwolaeth ar darawiad amrant.
(Y Cyfaill o’r Hen Wlad yn America: Sef Cylchgrawn o Wybodaeth Fuddiol I’r
Cymry. Ebrill 1840. Cyfrol 3. Rhif 28. Tudalen 127)
A terrible accident. (on the) morning
(of) the twentieth of the same month, in the slate quarries of Dinorwic, as the
young lad, 27 (years of) age, called (“of the name”) Richard Hughes, from (the)
parish (of) Gwalchmai, Môn (= Anglesey), was at work (“was following his
calling”), a large stone fell, weighing tons, (“tons of weight”) right onto his back, and he was
crushed to death instantly (“on (a) bat (of a) eyelid”) (Y Cyfaill o’r Hen Wlad
yn America: Sef Cylchgrawn o Wybodaeth Fuddiol i’r Cymry. The Friend from The
Old Country in America. Namely A Magazine of Useful Information For the Welsh
People. April 1840. Volume 3. Number 28. Page 127)
ETYMOLOGY: ??
:_______________________________.
echwydd ‹e-khuidh› masculine noun
1 obsolete nine in the
morning, the third hour of the day
2 obsolete the morning,
the time between nine and twelve
3 obsolete time when
cattle seek the shade
4 obsolete shade, place
where cattle seek shelter from the sun
5 (modern meaning) afternoon or evening
Edward Lhuyd in circa 1700 defined it as “amser godro sev day o’r gloch” (amser
godro sef dau o’r gloch, = milking time namely two o’ clock)
6 cinio echwydd (now
obsolete, but in use in the Blaenau Morgannwg area in south-east Wales until
the 1900s) dinner
7 obsolete; South-east Wales godechwydd evening. Probably gwedy
echwydd (“after the morning” or “after the afternoon”). There is a
reference to the use of this word in SO2117
Llangatwg, near Crucywel (county of Powys), in the year 1810 in the form gwdechwdd.
ETYMOLOGY: echwydd < British *okkid-
< Latin occiduus (= a going down,
a setting) < occidere (= fall; go
down, set (of the sun)).
The sense development is “sunset” > “afternoon, evening”.
Breton ec’hoaz (1) rest for animals
from midday heat; (2) rest; (3) place of resting; ec’hoaza (1) to rest at midday
:_______________________________.
eciwmwnaidd ‹e kiu
ME nedh›
1 ecumenical
:_______________________________.
economeg ‹e ko
NO meg›
1 economics
:_______________________________.
-ed
1 (third person singular
imperative ending) let / may (somebody do something)
Examples:
(1) CARED - A’m caro i, cared fy nghi Love me, love my dog (“whoever
might love me, may he / she love my dog”)
(2) EISTEDDED Eistedded y gynulleidfa May the congregation sit /
be seated
(3) GOCHELED - Gocheled y prynwr Caveat emptor, Let the buyer beware
(4) GORFFWYSED - Gorffwysed mewn hedd May he / she rest in peace
(5) HUNED - Huned mewn hedd May he / she sleep in peace
(6) MADDEUED - Maddeued y darllenydd i mi am... I hope
the reader forgives me for..., may the reader forgive me for..
.
(7) SAFED - Safed
pawb
Everybody stand
Safed y llys Be upstanding in court (= everybody must stand up)
Bendithied yr Arglwydd di a chadwed di; /
May the Lord bless you and save you
a llewyrched yr Arglwydd ei wyneb arnat / And may the Lord shine his face on you
a thrugarhaed wrthyt; /
And show you mercy
dyrchafed yr Arglwydd ei
wyneb arnat, / May the Lord raise his face on you
a rhodded i ti
dangnefedd. Amen / and may he give you peace. Amen.
:_______________________________.
edau, edafedd
‹E de, e
DÂ vedh› feminine noun
1 thread = fine cord of twisted filaments for sewing
(cotton, silk, etc)
edau triphlyg three-stranded thread
2 nodwyddo edau thread a needle
(“needle (a) thread”)
(South) dodi edau mewn nodwydd thread a needle (“put (a) thread in (a)
needle”)
(North) rhoi edau mewn nodwydd thread a needle (“put / give (a) thread
in (a) needle”)
3 llyngyren edau threadworm “worm (of) thread”
:_______________________________.
Edeirnion ‹e DEIRN yon› [ɛˡdəirnjɔn]
1 old territory in the
north-west
:_______________________________.
Edeligion ‹e de LIG yon› [ɛdɛˡlɪgjɔn]
1 (History) a
cwmwd (kúmmud) of the cantref (kántrev) of Gwent Is Coed, South-east Wales
(delw 7383)
:_______________________________.
Eden ‹ee -den› [ˡeˑdɛn] masculine noun
1 Gardd
Eden ‹gardh e -den› the Garden of Eden = place
of creation of Adam and Eve
2 Eden = place of great contentment
ETYMOLOGY: Eden < Hebrew ’êdhen (= place of delight)
:_______________________________.
Edern ‹EE dern› [ˡeˑdɛrn]
1 forename, Eternus
2 Llanedern
former village in Caer-dydd (“church of Eternus”)
The name was altered to Llanedeyrn, apparently in the 1800s, perhaps to make
the final syllable resemble teyrn – Old Welsh = monarch) (but Modern
Welsh = tyrant!).
The local name would have been Llanetarn
..a/ e in a final syllable in south-east Wales, just as in north-west
Wales, is regularly replaced by a
..b/ the consonants b-d-g introducing a final syllable are devoiced and
become p-t-c in the traditonal dialect of the south-east of Wales).
Llanedern is found written as Llanedarn in texts in the 1800s.
3 Edern
(“Eternus or Llanedern
(“church of Eternus”) village in the Llyn peninsula (Gwynedd)
Inscription on a standing stone - "iovenali
fili eterni hic iacit" - one of a pair discovered buried in a field in the
parish of Llannor some time before 1833 – “here lies Jovenalis (= Juvenalis) son of Eternus”
4 Bodedern
(“church of Edern”) (Ynys Môn)
5 Edeirnion
(“territory of Edern”)
6 Edern ap Nudd a
knight of King Arthur’s court; mentioned in three of the Mabinogi tales
ETYMOLOGY: Edern <
Latin æternus / ae’ternus, contracted
form of aeviternus, "lasting an age", from ævum (= age)
:_______________________________.
edifarháu ‹e di var HAI›
1 regret
2 repent
edifarháu eich pechodau repent your
sins
:_______________________________.
edifaru ‹e di VÂ ri›
1 regret
2 Rhy hwyr edifaru wedi llosgi’r
ty It’s no use crying over spilt milk
(“(it-is) too late regretting after (the) burning (of) the house”)
:_______________________________.
-edig ‹E dig›
1 suffix
:_______________________________.
edliw ‹ed -liu› verb
1 edliw (i rywun) (am) reproach (someone for), criticise
someone for, reprimand (for), dress down, give (sb) a dressing down, (USA chew
out); play hell with, come down on, scold, tick off
anodd heddiw edliw i Gaer-dydd ei
Seisnigrwydd
it’s difficult today to criticise Caer-dydd for its Englishness (i.e. because
it’s becoming more Welsh)
2 make comments, make remarks, voice criticisms
Roedd mam yn edliw mod i’n edrych ‘fel
hen actras’
My mother was making comments about me looking like ‘some old actress’
ETYMOLOGY: Welsh (ed-, a form of ad- = intensifying prefix) + (lliw-, the same element as in lliwio = rebuke, upbraid)
NOTE:
..a/ Rhos-llan, Gwynedd: the form edlu is
in use: edliw > edli (loss of final -w after -i-) and change of vowel i > u
..b/ Loss of final -w after -i-: see also tanlli (= “the colour of fire”), heddi’ southern form of heddiw (= today)
..c/ Change of vowel i > u: usually a pretonic -i- conditioned by a final -u: teulu (= family), originally “teilu”
:_______________________________.
edlych ‹ed-likh› masculine noun
PLURAL edlychod ‹ed-lə-khod›
1 weakling, frail specimen
edlych o ddyn frail man
edlychod o blant frail children
rhyw edlych o lo ddath y fuwch the
cow gave birth to a frail calf
edlych o rywbeth an excuse for
something, a poor specimen of something
ETYMOLOGY: ??
:_______________________________.
edmygu ‹ed-
mə -gi› verb
1
(verb with an object) admire
Gŵr yr wyf yn ei edmygu yn fawr yw
ef He’s a man I greatly admire
eich edmygu’ch hun to admire
yourself
2
admire = be sexually attracted to
ETYMOLOGY: (prefix ad-) + (prefix am-) + (*mik-).
In fact, it is a compound from the British period (*ate-ambi-mik) if not from earlier Common Celtic *mik (= shine, sparkle?)
Cf llatí micare (= to shine)
Cf *do-ad-kom-mik (prefix do) + (prefix ad) + (prefix kom) + (mik-) > dychymyg (= imagination)
:_______________________________.
edn ‹edn› masculine
noun
PLURAL ednod
‹ed -nod›
1
(obsolete) bird
In modern Welsh in the literary word dodefnod
(= poultry)
(dof = tame)
2 winged
insect
(Arfon) bwrw ednod (insects) lay
eggs
ETYMOLOGY: Welsh < British < Celtic
*etnos < *petnos < Indoeuropean *petn-
< pet- (= rush, fly, fall).
This element is also found in Welsh adar
(= birds).
From the same British root: Cornish edhenn
(= bird),
Breton evn (= bird) < Middle
Breton ezn (= bird)
Corresponding forms in Hibernian Celtic:
Irish ean (= bird), Scottish ean (= bird), Manks eean (= bird)
A related word is Latin penna (=
feather) < *pesna < *petsna
Also Welsh pen (= writing instrument)
< English pen < Old French penne < Latin penna (= feather)
Related to Latin penna is Irish eite (wing; fin of a fish) < Celtic
*etniâ < *petniâ
NOTE: There is also a pronunciation eden
‹e-den›, with an
epenthetic vowel
:_______________________________.
Ednob
‹ed -nob›
1 locality in England near the Welsh border; a village 9km
north-west of Colunwy (Clun), in the parish of Mainstone (SO2787) (county of
Shropshire)
English name: Edenhope
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/680262
SO2788 Ednob Isaf / Lower Edenhope
http://www.geograph.org.uk/gridref/SO2688
SO2688 Ednob Uchaf / Upper Edenhope
http://www.geograph.org.uk/browse.php?p=259569
SO2588 Mynydd Ednob / Edenhope Hill
(delw 7432)
ETYMOLOGY: (Cymricisation of the English name)
:_______________________________.
edrych ‹E drikh›
1 to look
2 edrych am ‹E
drikh am›
..1/ to look
for
..2/ to visit
mynd i edrych am modryb go to the
toilet (“go to visit (my) aunt”)
3 edrych ar ‹E drikh ar› to look at
4 look =
appear
Mae e’n edrych yn dda ‹mein E drikh ən DHAA› He looks good
5 edrych dan eich ysgafell ar
look at (somebody) darkly, scowl at (“look under your brow on”)
edrych dan fargod eich llaw shade one's eyes with one's hand (to
keep out a strong light; by placing the thumb edge of the hand between the
eyebrows, and the thumb on the temple) (“look under the eave of your hand”)
6
edrych gair mewn geiriadur look up a
word in a dictionary
7
(verb with an object)
edrych y wlad see how the land lies (“check the country”)
edrych gair mewn geiriadur look up a
word in the dictionary
:_______________________________.
Edward ‹ED ward›
1 Edward
:_______________________________.
edwiniad
‹ed- win -yad› masculine noun
PLURAL edwiniadau
‹ed-win- yâ -de›
1 atrophy, withering, fading
ETYMOLOGY: (edwin- stem of edwino = to shrink, to atrophy) + (-i-ad abstract noun-forming suffix)
:_______________________________.
edy Soft-mutated form - loss of the
initial g- of the radical form
See gedy (= he / she / it leaves) (literary Welsh)
:_______________________________.
ef ‹eev› pronoun
NOTE: (1) colloquial form: e after a
consonant or vowel;
(2) colloquial form: also fe, after
a vowel
1 (independent pronoun) he, him
Nìd EF sydd ar fai It’s not HIS fault
Colloquially ef > fe
Nìd FE sydd ar fai / Dim FE sydd ar fai / Nage FE sydd ar fai
2 pronoun used in the place of popeth
(= everything)
:_______________________________.
Efa ‹E va›
1 woman’s name - Eva
:_______________________________.
efadu ‹e- vâ -di› verb
1 efadu trethi tax
evasion, use of illegal methods to pay less tax or no tax
efadu talu trethi tax evasion
ETYMOLOGY: (efad- < English to evade) + (-u suffix for forming verbs)
:_______________________________.
efadwr
‹e- vâ -dur› masculine noun
PLURAL efadwyr
‹e- vad -wir›
1 efadwr trethi tax evader, person who finds illegal ways of not
paying taxes
ETYMOLOGY: (efad- stem of the verb efadu = evade + (-wr suffix = man)
:_______________________________.
efail ‹E vel› Soft-mutated
form - loss of the initial g- of the radical form
See gefail = smithy.
(In colloquial Welsh efail is often
used as the radical form)
:_______________________________.
yr Efailisaf ‹ə RE vail I sav,
ə RE vel I sha›
1 village in
Rhondda-Cynon-Taf - the lower smithy
:_______________________________.
efallai ‹e VA lhe›
1 maybe, perhaps
Efallai
nad yw’n wir Maybe it’s not true
(Synonyms of efallai: hwyrach / gall / dichon)
:_______________________________.
Efan ‹ê -van› masculine noun
1 Man’s name. Not used in standard Welsh, since “Ifan” is considered
to be the correct Welsh form, though Efan is in fact a totally correct Welsh
form.
This form of medieval “Ieuan” is commonly used as a forename, and is found in
the surnames “Evans” (from a Welsh patronymic ab Efan, or simply Efan) and
“Bevan” (from the patronymic Befan < ab Efan)
ETYMOLOGY: Welsh Efan (= John) < Iefan (= John) < Iewan < Ieuan (= John) < British < Latin
Johannes (= John)
NOTE: The form Iefan was in common
use colloquially in the south-east in the 1800s.
Examples of words with original ieu
which has become ief-,and words with
show the loss of the initial semi-consonant i- before e are
(1) ieweydd (obsolete) (part of a
yoke), also occured as ewydd (iau = yoke)
(2) ieuanc (= young) which has
colloquial forms iefanc (now
obsolete) and ifanc (in general use)
(3) ieuaf (= youngest) which had the
colloquial forms iefaf / iefa and ifaf / ifa
(4) ieuangaidd (= youngish,
youthful) > iengaidd, ifancaidd. In the south-east iyngidd
(5) ieuenctid (= youth, youngness)
> iefenctid (obsolete) > ienctid (in general use)
(6) ai e? (= is that it?) >
Southern Welsh ie fe? > South-eastern
Welsh efa?
:_______________________________.
efeilldref Soft-mutated form - loss of the initial g- of the
radical form
See gefeilldref = twinned town
:_______________________________.
efeilles Soft-mutated form - loss of
the initial g- of the radical form
See gefeilles = twin (female)
:_______________________________.
efeilliaid Soft-mutated form - loss
of the initial g- of the radical form
See gefeilliaid = twins
:_______________________________.
efeillio Soft-mutated form - loss of the
initial g- of the radical form
See gefeillio = to twin
:_______________________________.
efel Soft-mutated form - loss of the
initial g- of the radical form
See gefel = pincers
:_______________________________.
Efelffre ‹e
VEL fre›
1 ancient territory in
the south-west
:_______________________________.
efell Soft-mutated form - loss of the
initial g- of the radical form
See gefell = twin (male)
:_______________________________.
efelles
Soft-mutated form - loss of the
initial g- of the radical form
See gefelles = twin (female)
:_______________________________.
efelychadwy ‹e-vel-əkh-â -dui› adjective
1 imitable
2 anefelychadwy inimitable
ETYMOLOGY: (efelych- stem of efelychu = to imite) + (-adwy = adjectival suffix indicating
possibility)
:_______________________________.
efelychiad
‹e-vel-ləkh-yad› masculine noun
PLURAL efelychiadau
‹e-ve-ləkh-yâ-de›
1 imitation
2 gocheler efelychiadau
beware of imitations
3 simulation
ETYMOLOGY: (efelych-, stem of efelychu = imitate) + (-iad suffix)
:_______________________________.
efelychiadol
‹e-ve-ləkh-yâ-dol› adjective
1 simulated
ETYMOLOGY: (efelychiad = imitation,
simulation) + (-ol suffix for
forming adjectives)
:_______________________________.
efengyl, efengylau ‹e VE
ngil, e ve NGƏ le›
1 gospel
:_______________________________.
effaith, effeithiau ‹E feth, e FEITH ye›
1 effect
:_______________________________.
effeithiau ‹e FEITH ye›
1 effects - see effaith
:_______________________________.
effeithio ‹e FEITH yo›
1 to affect
:_______________________________.
efo ‹E vo› preposition
1 (North Wales) with
2 Dos i chwarae efo dy fol! Get stuffed! (“go to play with your
belly”)
:_______________________________.
efr ‹e -ver› plural
1 See: efryn
:_______________________________.
efrau ‹e -vre› plural
1 See: efryn
:_______________________________.
efryn ‹e-vrin› masculine noun
PLURAL efrau,
efr ‹e-vre, e-ver›
1 darnel Lolium temulentum, weed which grows in cereal crops in Europe and
Asia
2 darnel = weed in cereal crops in the Bible; identified with Lolium temulentum (though it could in
fact be another plant)
Mathew 13:24 Dameg arall a osododd efe
iddynt, gan ddywedyd, Teyrnas nefoedd sydd gyffelyb i ddyn a heuodd had da yn
ei faes. (13:25) A thra oedd y
dynion yn cysgu, daeth ei elyn ef, ac a heuodd efrau ymhlith y gwenith, ac a
aeth ymaith. (13:26) Ac wedyn i’r
eginyn dyfu, a dwyn ffrwyth, yna yr ymddangosodd yr efrau hefyd
Matthew 13:24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of
heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: (13:25) But
while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his
way. (13:26) But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then
appeared the tares also.
3 Lolium perene a grass
cultivated for forage
4 (South Wales) penefer
giddy, dizzy; unruly; spoilt (“head (of) darnel”).
See the note on
ETYMology below.
5 (South Wales) efer o, hefer o (= massive, enormous)
efer o beth enormous thing
efer o lwyth enormous load
ETYMOLOGY: English ever (dialect
English, south-eastern England) (= darnel) (also every) < Old French ivraie
(= rye grass) (same in modern French) < Latin êbriaca (herba) (= grass which causes drunkenness) < êbriacus < êbrius (= drunk).
The word penefer (“head (of)
darnel”) (= giddy, dizzy; unruly; spoilt) is explained by the narcotic efect of
this plant.
According to the lexicographer Thomas Richards (Antiquae Linguae Britannicae
Thesaurus - Welsh-English Dictionary, 1753) “efer” is “a weed growing among
corn, called darnel, tares, ray or cockle; it is naught for the eyes, and will
make the head giddy, if eaten in hot bread”
:_______________________________.
Efrog
‹e-vrog› feminine noun
1 York = city in the north of England.
Latin name Eborâcum
2 Swydd Efrog = Yorkshire
(the former English county of which York is the historic capital)
3 pwdin Efrog = Yorkshire
pudding, a dish from Yorkshire (England) consisting of a light pudding made
from flour, eggs and milk, usually accompanying roast beef
ETYMOLOGY: Welsh < British *Eborâk-on,
which corresponds in modern Welsh to the elements (efwr Hieracleum sphondylium =
cow parsnip) + (-og, suffix
indicating ‘abundant in (such and such a plant)’).
The English name “York” is a Scandinavianised form of the Old English name.
This was Eoforwic
(“boar's dwelling”), a reinterpretation of the British
name *Eborâkon or the
Latinised British name Eborâcum.
See efwr (Hieracleum sphondylium = cow parsnip)
:_______________________________.
Efrog Newydd
‹e-vrog neu-idh› feminine noun
1 New York = seaport at the mouth of the Hudson river, made up of
five boroughs - Manhattan, Queens, Bronx, Brooklyn and Staten Island.
New York was formerly a Dutch city on Manhattan Island called Nieuw
Amsterdam (New Amsterdam), and capital of New
Netherland; it was captured by the English in 1664 and renamed after the son of
Charles 1, and heir to the English and Scottish throne.
He had been given the title Duke of York twenty years previously, in 1644 at
the age of 10 / 11. He later became King James II of England (1685) until
defeated in battle by William of Orange (1688), who became King William III of
England.
:_______________________________.
efryd
‹e -vrid› masculine noun
PLURAL efrydiau
‹e- vrid -ye›
1 study, act of studying
2 in names of some magazines:
Efrydiau Catholig (= Catholic
Studies),
Efrydiau Athronyddol (= Philosophical
Studies)
3 efrydiau allanol,
extra-mural studies
ETYMOLOGY: Welsh efryd = word
invented by William Owen-Pughe (1759-1835) (e- = prefix) + soft mutation + (bryd = mind). The prefix e-
is apparently ‘from’, as in the word eofn
‘bold’, where e- corresponds to
Celtic *eks = from, hence ‘free from
fear’ (ofn = fear)
:_______________________________.
efrydd
‹ev -ridh› adjective
1 (little used; archaic) weak, feeble, helpless
aros yn wystlon efrydd yn nwylo ein
gormeswyr
to remain helpless victims in the hands of our oppressors
2 (obsolete) crippled, maimed, disabled
ETYMOLOGY: ‘un-free’ (efrydd < *afrydd (af- = privative suffix) + soft mutation + (rhydd = free); Cornish evredh
(= crippled, mutilated)
:_______________________________.
Efsam
‹ev-sam› feminine noun
1 Welsh name for the English town of Evesham
ETYMOLOGY: Cymricisation of the English name Evesham
:_______________________________.
efwr ‹e -vur› masculine noun
1 (plant) Hieracleum
sphondylium = cow parsnip, tall plant with a thick stem and clusters of
white or purple flowers (the stem used by children to make blowpipes for water)
2 A precursor of efwr
occurs in many Celtic place names in Celtic Europe, of which the Latin forms
are
...(1) “Eburacum” (now Efrog in
Welsh, “York” in English)
Equivalent to modern Welsh (efwr) +
(suffix -og = abundant) > *efyrog > efrog
...(2) “Eburobriga”
Equivalent to modern Welsh (efwr) + (bre = hill) (e.g. Évora de Alopbaça, Portugal)
...(3) “Eburodunum”
Equivalent to modern Welsh (efwr) + (din = fort) (e.g. Yverdon-les-Bains, Switzerland; Embrun, eastern
Occitania; Brno, Czechia)
...(4) “Eburomagus”
Equivalent to modern Welsh (efwr) + (ma = plain). (e.g. Yverdun, Switzerland; Bram, western Occitania),
...(5) In South Wales, the element efwr
is to be seen in the place name Dinefwr
(‘fort’ + ‘cow parsnip’), in fact the same as the Gaulish name “Eburodunum”
with the elements reversed
ETYMOLOGY: Welsh < British *ebor-
< Celtic.
From the same British root: Breton evor
(= black alder)
From the same Hibernian root: Irish iubhar
(= yew)
Cf French: bourdaine (=
black alder) < Gaulish eburigena.
See Dinefwr, Efrog
NOTE: North Wales ewr ‹eur› < efwr (loss of the medial f)
:_______________________________.
efydd ‹ê -vidh› masculine noun
1 bronze
2 cast efydd bronze cast,
made of bronze shaped in a mo(u)ld when the bronze was in a molten state
3 medal efydd bronze
medal
4 Crugyrefydd Street name in Crymych
(county of Penfro) (“Crug Yr Efydd”)
(“(the) mound (of) the bronze”) (crug =
mound) + (yr = the) + (efydd = bronze)
ETYMOLOGY: Welsh < British < Celtic *omijo < *em (= red)
Related word: Irish umha ‹uu-ə› (= copper, copper alloy, bronze)
● efyn Soft-mutated form - the radical form has initial g-.
See gefyn =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
● efynnu Soft-mutated form -
the radical form has initial g-.
See gefynnu =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
efyrnig
‹e-vər-nig› feminine noun
1 obsolete
young goat which has produced young and gives milk
2 *Efyrnig Celtic goddess
of goats; the name is found in Gaulish as Eburnica-
(Not found as such in Welsh, but Efyrnig would be the modern Welsh form)
ETYMOLOGY: British *eburnîka
:_______________________________.
-eg suffix
1 suffix
for forming a noun indicating a science
meteleg metallurgy (metel = metal) + (-eg)
:_______________________________.
e.g. ‹-›
1 abbreviation for enw gwrywaidd ‹E nu gu RIU edh›
= masculine noun
:_______________________________.
eglur ‹E glir›
1 clear
:_______________________________.
eglurhâd
‹e-glir- haad› masculine noun
PLURAL eglurhadau
‹e-glir- ha
-de›
1
explanation = act of explaining
2 explanation
= statement which explains
3
explanation = reason
4
(map) legend, key, explanation of symbols
5 explanation
= something which is a clarification, definition, interpretation
Cymerodd Robert Gruffydd y Beibl, a dechreuodd ddarllen y Salm. Weithiau, ceid
ef yn taflu gair o eglurhad ar ambell i adnod
Plant y Gorthrwm / 1908 / Gwyneth Vaughan (= Anne Harriet Hughes 1852-1910) t69
Robert Gruffydd took the Bible, and began to read the Psalm. At times, he was
to be seen (“found”) throwing in (“throwing”) a word of explanation of an
occasional verse
ETYMOLOGY: (eglurhá- stem of the
verb eglurháu = to explain) +
(-ad suffix for forming abstract
nouns)
:_______________________________.
eglurhaol
‹e-glir- ha
-ol› adjective
1
explanatory
ETYMOLOGY: (eglurhá- stem of the
verb eglurháu = to explain) + (-ol suffix for forming adjectives)
:_______________________________.
eglurháu
‹e-glir- hai› verb
1
to explain
ETYMOLOGY: (eglur = evident, plain
to see) + (-hau suffix for forming
verbs from adjectives)
:_______________________________.
egluro ‹e GLII ro›
1 to explain
:_______________________________.
eglwys,
eglwysi ‹E
gluis, e GLUI si›
1 church
- eglwys gadeiriol ‹E gluis ga DEIR yol› cathedral
2
mor dlawd â llygoden eglwys = as poor
as a church mouse
3 Eglwys Rydd Free
Church, one independent of the State, one which does not demand compulsory
contributions from the state’s population
:_______________________________.
Eglwys-bach
‹e-gluis baakh›
1 (SH8070) locality in the county of Conwy, 9km north-west of
Llan-rŵst
2 a parish at this place
ETYMOLOGY: yr eglwys bach (“the little church”)
(yr definite article) + (eglwys = church) + (bach = little)
In North Wales, after a feminine noun bach
remains unmutated.
The expected form would be “yr eglwys fach”
:_______________________________.
Yr Eglwysnewydd
1 ST1479 district of Caer-dydd / Cardiff.
English name: Whitchurch (“the white church”)
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/333302
ETYMOLOGY: yr eglwys newydd (“the new church”)
(yr definite article) + (eglwys = church) + (newydd = new)
:_______________________________.
Eglwys Oen Duw
‹e-gluis ôin diu› feminine noun
1 locality 15km west of Llanfair ym Muallt (county of Powys)
ETYMOLOGY: “the church of the Lamb of God “
(eglwys = church) + (oen = lamb) + (Duw = God).
In the New Testament “The Lamb of God" is a name for Christ as a symbol of
sacrifice (from the practice of sacrificing lambs to Jehovah)
Ioan 1:29 wele Oen Duw
John 1:29 behold the Lamb of God
:_______________________________.
Eglwyswythwr
‹e-gluis-wə-thur›
1
(SN1343)
Parish in the county of Penfro, south-west Wales
English name: Monington
ETYMOLOGY: eglwys Wythyr “(the) church (of) Gwythwr”
(eglwys = church) + soft mutation + Gwythwr saint’s name < ?Latin
Victor-)
:_______________________________.
Eglwys Ysteffan
‹e-gluis ə-stê-fan› m
1 SN350108 name of an Anglican church in
the village of Llansteffan
ETYMOLOGY: (“church of Stephen”) (eglwys
= church) + (Ysteffan = Stephen)
:_______________________________.
egni ‹eg-ni› (m)
PLURAL: egnïon ‹eg-ni-on›
1 energy
2 ymroddi eich holl egni i’r gwaith o devote all one’s efforts to
:_______________________________.
egr ‹E ger›
1 keen
:_______________________________.
egwyddor,
egwyddorion ‹e
GUI dhor, e gui DHOR yon›
1 principle
2 o ran egwyddor on principle
(o ran = from + part) + (egwyddor = principle)
:_______________________________.
egwyl, egwylion ‹E
guil, e GUIL yon›
1 interval
:_______________________________.
ehang- ‹e-hang› adjective
1 form before a final syllable of the adjective eang = wide
(See ehangach, ehangaf, ehangder,
ehangdir, ehangiad, ehangol, ehangu, Ehangwen)
:_______________________________.
ehangach
‹e-ha-ngakh› adjective
1 widest (comparative form of eang
= wide)
:_______________________________.
ehangaf
‹e-ha-ngav› adjective
1 widest (superlative form of eang
= wide)
:_______________________________.
Ehangwen
‹e-hang-wen› feminine noun
1 name of Arthur's hall, in the tale of Culhwch ac Owen; built by
Gwlyddyn Saer (Gwlyddyn the carpenter / mason)
2 Hangwen - name of a building in
Bodedern
William Hughes, born in Sgubor Hangwen
(“Scybor Hangwen”), died 1790 in Llanfihangel Ysgeifiog, Anglesey (source:
internet site)
This is possibly Ehangwen, used jocularly to describe a large and imposing
building
ETYMOLOGY: substantive use of an adjective ehangwyn
“spacious and white”
(ehang- form before a final syllable
of the adjective eang = wide) + soft
mutation + (gwen, feminine form of gwyn = white)
:_______________________________.
ehedlam
‹e-hed-lam› masculine noun
PLURAL ehedlamau
‹e-hed-la-me›
1 flying leap
2 ar ehedlam with a
flying leap
ETYMOLOGY: (ehed-, stem of ehedu = to fly) + soft mutation + (llam = leap, jump)
NOTE: Often with the loss of the first syllable: hedlam
:_______________________________.
ehedydd ‹e- hee -dydd› masculine noun
PLURAL ehedyddion
‹e-hə- dədh -yon›
1
(bird) (Alauda arvensis) skylark, lark
2
codi gyda'r ehedydd rise with the
lark
3
codiad yr ehedydd the rising of the
lark
4
Colloquially there is a clipped form hedydd,
with the loss of the first syllable before the accented syllable (a very common
feature in spoken Welsh)
Street name in Bangor: Brynhedydd
for bryn (yr) ehedydd “(the) hill
(of) (the) skylark” (LL57 3HR)
ETYMOLOGY: (ehed- stem of ehedu = to fly) + (-ydd noun suffix for indicating a device or an agent)
Breton: alc'houeder
:_______________________________.
ehorthryn ‹e- horth-rin› masculine noun
1 (obsolete) diligence, studiousness. See iorthryn (a variant of this word with the same meaning)
ETYMOLOGY: (eorth = diligent) + soft
mutation + (rhyn)
:_______________________________.
..1 ei ‹I, EI›
1 his / her / its
- ei gilydd ‹i GI lidh› each other
- ei gwadnu hi ‹i GWAD ni hi› run off, scarper
- ei hun ‹i HIIN› himself, herself
2 (title) her
Ei Hanrhydedd Her Honour
Ei Harucheledd Her Excellence
Ei Mawrhydi Her Majesty
Ei Theilyngdod Her Worship (judge,
mayor)
3 (title) his
Ei Anrhydedd His Honour
Ei Arucheledd His Excellence
Eich Mawrhydi His Majesty
Ei Deilyngdod His Worship (judge,
mayor)
4 in forming adjectival phrases, (adjective + possessive determiner
+ noun)
..1/ da ei fwriad (m), da ei bwriad (f),
well-meaning, well-intentioned (“good his intention”)
..2/ trwm ei glyw (m), trwm ei chlyw
hard of hearing (“heavy his hearing”)
5
in forming adjectival phrases, (adjective + possessive determiner + verbnoun)
..1/ parod ei ateb quick to answer back, too ready to answer back
..2/ hawdd ei dwyllo (m), hawdd ei thwyllo (f)
easily deceived (“easy his deceiving”)
.....un hawdd ei dwyllo (m), un hawdd ei thwyllo (f) an easy touch,
somebody easily deceived
..3/
prìn ei Saesneg ‹prin i Səs-neg›
who doesn't speak much English, who didn't speak much English
(“scarce one's English”)
6 used in the formation of many
phrase verbs of the type (ei) +
(verb) + (hi)
..1/ ei bachu hi – go away (“the
hooking of it / her”)
..2/ ei gadael hi rhwng rhywun a’i gawl
/ a’i botes / a’i bethau = let
somebody stew in their own juice
..3/ ei rhoi hi (i rywun) lay into someone,
attack (someone) = hit, beat ; savagely criticise (someone)
(ei = her) + (rhoi = give / giving) + (hi
= of-her)
..4/ ei
siapo hi – get a move on (“the
shaping of it / her”)
..5/ ei throi hi go off, go away
...(“the turning of it / her”, turn it) (ei
= it / her) + aspirate mutation + (troi
= turn) + (hi (of) it / her)
...Rhaid imi ei throi hi I must be
getting along
...ei throi hi am adre go off home
:_______________________________.
..2 ei ‹ei› verb
1 you will go; second person singular of the future form of mynd
(= to go)
nid ei di you won’t go
Nid ei di byth uwch bawd na sawdl You’ll never get anywhere, You’ll
never make it, You’re doomed to failure (“you won’t go higher than a toe or a
heel”)
:_______________________________.
..3 ei ‹ei›
1 replaces English ‹ai› in borrowings into Welsh
Examples of forenames:
Mike ‹maik› > Meic ‹meik›
Brian ‹brai-ən› > Breian
‹brei-an›
Simon ‹sai-mən› > Seimon
‹sei-mon›
:_______________________________.
ei
In South Wales the diphthong ei in the penult is reduced to the half-long vowel
[i·]
neidr / neidir (= snake) > nidir
gweithio (= to work) > gwitho
neithiwr (= last night) > nithwr
:_______________________________.
ei
< ai
Cain (woman’s
name = beautiful), Ceinwen (woman’s name; addition of the suffix -wen)
main
(= slim), meinion
(plural form)
Mair
(woman’s
name = Mary), Meirwen (woman’s name; addition of the suffix -wen)
ei < a
Brychan (male name; south-eastern
ruler, of Irish origin), Brycheiniog
(his territory, Englished as
Brecknock, or from his name as Brecon)
gwan (= weak), gweinion (plural form)
:_______________________________.
ei bachu hi ‹ii
bâ –khi hii› verb
1 go off, go away
ETYMOLOGY: ‘hook it’ ( ei = it / her) + aspirate mutation + ( bachu
= to hook, catch with a hook) + ( hi (of) it / her)
:_______________________________.
eich ‹IKH›
1 your
eich arian your money
Colloquially, frequently a tag pronoun is added
eich arian chi your money (“your money of-you”)
This is also used where emphasis is
required
eich arian chi your
money (“your money of-you”)
2 (title) your
Eich Anrhydedd Your Honour, Your
Honours
Eich Arucheledd Your Excellence,
Your Excellences
Eich Mawrhydi Your Majesty, Your
Majesties
Eu Teilyngdod Your Worship (judge,
mayor), Your Worships
3 in adjectival phrases of the type (adjective) + eich / your + (noun)
da eich byd in comfortable circumstances
di-ffael eich ergyd unerring in
one’s aim
…bod yn ddi-ffael eich ergyd be a
sure shot, be a dead shot (“sure, certain, unfailing / your / shot”)
eang eich
apêl ‹ê-ang əkh a-peel› having a wide appeal
mawr eich croeso warmly welcomed,
greatly welcomed, receiving acclaim
…llyfr fydd yn fawr ei groeso a book
that will be warmly welcomed
:_______________________________.
Yr Eidal ‹ər
ei -dal›
feminine
noun
1 Italy
Esgid yr Eidal the boot of Italy (the shape of Italy as seen on a map)
yn yr Eidal in Italy
i’r Eidal to Italy
o’r Eidal from Italy
ETYMOLOGY: A form of Idal ‹i-dal›, a Welshified form of the
Latin name Italia (in early Welsh there was sonorisation of certain consonants
between vowels – apparent both in native forms as well as borrowings from Latin
during the Roman period).
This ‹ei› in
the modern Welsh form could be the result of English influence – if English
“Italy” was formerly pronounced with ‹ai›, or if the Latin word was pronounced by the English
with an English pronunciation.
Or it may be hypercorrection – in southern dialects especially, a tonic i
is a reduction of the diphthing ei
gwitho
< gweithio (= to work)
gobitho < gobeithio (= to hope)
:_______________________________.
Eidalaidd ‹ei-
dâ -ledh›
adjective
1 Italian = relating to Italy or the Italians
ETYMOLOGY: (Eidal = Italy) + (-aidd suffix for forming
adjectives)
:_______________________________.
Eidaleg
‹ei- dâ -leg› feminine noun
1 Italian = relating to the Italian language
2 (adjective) Italian, the Italian language
ETYMOLOGY: (Eidal = Italy) + (-eg suffix for forming a noun or
adjective indicating a language or dialect)
:_______________________________.
Eidales ‹ei- dâ -les› feminine noun
PLURAL Eidalesau
‹ei-da- lê -se›
1 Italian woman
ETYMOLOGY: (Eidal = Italy) + (-es noun suffix indicating a female)
:_______________________________.
Eidalwr
‹ei- dâ -lur› masculine noun
PLURAL Eidalwyr ‹ei- dal-wir›
1 Italian man
ETYMOLOGY: (Eidal = Italy) + (-wr suffix = man)
:_______________________________.
Eidalwyr ‹ei DAL wir› Italians
:_______________________________.
eiddo ‹ei-dho› masculine noun
1 property
eiddo ar brydles leasehold property, house
or land etc. rented out for a specified
period
:_______________________________.
eiddo coll
‹ei-dho kolh› masculine noun
1 lost property
NOTE: also eiddo colledig ‹ei-dho ko-lhê -dig›
ETYMOLOGY: (eiddo = goods) + (coll = lost, stem of the verb colli = to lose);
colledig = (coll-, root of colli = to lose) + (-edig = past participle passive suffix)
:_______________________________.
Eiddun
‹ei -dhin› feminine noun
1 woman’s name (= beautiful)
ETYMOLOGY: According to Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru / University of Wales Dictionary,
from British *ad-jûn-, and found in
an inscription (in Gaul) as Adiune
:_______________________________.
eidduno
‹ei-dhî-no› verb
1 wish, desire, long for
Drwy y nos, dirion Iesu, eiddunaf Dy
hedd heno i gysgu
(Prayer) Through the night, gentle Jesus, I wish for your peace tonight to
sleep
eidduno clod i praise (‘wish praise
to’)
Rhaid eidduno clod i rai o’n
harchfarchnadoedd am ofalu gosod arwyddion dwyieithog (Y Faner 28 06 1991)
We should praise some of our hypermarkets for taking the trouble to put up
bilingual signs
2 dedicate
eidduno eich holl egni i dedicate
all your energy to (doing something)
ETYMOLOGY: eidduno < *eidd-iuno < *add-iuno); (add- prefix
corresponding to Latin ad) + (*iuno = to desire)
:_______________________________.
Eiddwen ‹EIDH wen›
1 woman’s name
:_______________________________.
eidion ‹EID-yon› (m)
PLURAL: eidionau
‹eid-YOO-nai, -ne›
1 (South Wales) ox,
bullock, beef-cow
cig eidion beef
gwêr eidion beef tallow
seithgant o eidionau seven hundred beef-cows
(Apocrypha)
Llyfr Cyntaf Esdras 1:9 Jechoneias hefyd, a Samaias, a Nathanael ei
frawd, a Sabaias, ac Ochiel, a Joram, milwriaid, a roddasant i'r Lefiaid
ynghyfer y Pasg, bum mil o ddefaid, a seithgant o eidionau.
(Apocrypha)
Esdras-1 1:9 And Jeconias, and
Samaias, and Nathanael his brother, and Assabias, and Ochiel, and Joram,
captains over thousands, gave to the Levites for the passover five thousand
sheep, and seven hundred calves.
ETYMOLOGY: British *otion
Cornish ojon (= ox) (from an older odion; there is not the
expected vowel affection as has occurred in the Welsh and Breton words), Breton
ejen (= ox)
NOTE: In south Wales as eid’on / ’id’on
:_______________________________.
Eifion ‹EIV yon›
1 man’s name (generally
there is a connection with the district of Eifionydd qv)
(delw 7336)
:_______________________________.
Eifiona ‹eiv YOO na›
1 woman’s name
ETYMOLOGY: the male name Eifion
with the addtion of the suffix –a, used to make female names
:_______________________________.
Eifionydd ‹ei vi OO nidh›
1 old territory in the
north-west, one of the two kántrevs of the country of Dunoding (Eifionydd,
Ardudwy)
(delw 7338)
:_______________________________.
● eifl Soft-mutated form - the
radical form has initial g-.
See geifl =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
● eifr Soft-mutated form - the
radical form has initial g-.
See geifr =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
ei gadael hi ‹ii
gâ-del hi›
1 ei
gadael hi rhwng rhywun a’i gawl (“leave it between somebody and his broth”)
ei gadael hi rhwng rhywun a’i botes (“leave it between somebody and his
broth”)
ei gadael hi rhwng rhywun a’i bethau (“leave it between somebody and his
affairs / things”)
let somebody stew in their own juice = leave somebody to deal unaided with the
unfortunate consequences of their actions
:_______________________________.
ei gilydd ‹i gî -lidh› pronoun
1 each other (literally: his fellow), one (with) the other
2 after prepositions:
ar draws ei gilydd one across the other, across each other
at ei gilydd all in all (‘to its fellow’), altogether
dod oddi wrth ei gilydd come apart, fall apart
fel bo’i gilydd equally, one the same as the other (respect them
equally, etc)
mynd i’w gilydd (assembling something) go together, fit together
mynd gyda’i gilydd go together
rhoi wrth ei gilydd put together, assemble
rywsut neu’i gilydd somehow or other
sibrwd ymysg ei gilydd whisper among themselves
3 Maen nhw i gyd yr un fath â’i gilydd They’re all the same (“the
same with / as its fellow”)
4 forms reciprocal
verb-phrases
caru ei gilydd love each other
casáu ei gilydd hate each other
curo ei gilydd hit each other
ETYMOLOGY: “his fellow” (ei
= his) + soft mutaiton + ( cilydd = fellow) < British
From the same British root: Breton egile “his fellow”, each other
:_______________________________.
eigion ‹EIG yon›
1 depths, ocean
:_______________________________.
eigionfor
‹eig- yon
-vor› masculine noun
1
(poetry) ocean
ETYMOLOGY: (eigion = ocean) + soft
mutation + (môr = sea)
:_______________________________.
Eigon
‹EI-gon› [ˡəɪgɔn]
1
saint’s name
Llanigon SO2139 <lhan-II-gon> [ɬanˡiˑgɔn] a
village in Powys.
The present name in fact represents the local pronunciation of Llaneigon <lhan-EI-gon> [ɬanˡəɪgɔn] “church of
Eigon” (llan = church) + (Eigon)
In the penultimate syllable, especially in South Wales, the diphthong <EI> [əɪ] becomes a simple
vowel, short <I> [ɪ] or semi-long <II> [iˑ] , depending on the following consonant
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/471046
yr eglwys / the church
In the Subsidy Rolls of 1292 there is mentioned a Willelmus filius
Eigon in Y Trallwng / Welshpool
(a Latin translation of what would have been Wiliam ab Eigon, or Gwilym ab
Eigon)
:_______________________________.
eil ‹eil›
f
PLURAL: aeliau
‹eil -ye›
1
aisle (church, chapel, cinema, theatre)
mynd i lawr yr eil go down the
aisle, get married
ETYMOLOGY: English aisle < Middle
English ele < Old French <
Latin âla (= wing)
NOTE: also ael
:_______________________________.
eilchwyl ‹eil
-khwil› adverb
1 again, a second time
Genesis 37:14 A dywedodd wrtho, Dos weithian, edrych
pa lwyddiant sydd i'th frodyr, a pha lwyddiant sydd i'r praidd; a dwg eilchwyl
air i mi. Felly efe a'i hanfonodd ef o ddyffryn Hebron; ac efe a ddaeth i
Sichem.
Genesis 37:14 And
he said to him, Go, I pray thee, see whether it be well with thy brethren, and
well with the flocks; and bring me word again. So he sent him out of the vale
of Hebron, and he came to Shechem.
A’r hen Gwmclydach annwyl,
Sydd fel pe bai yn disgwyl
Daw’r hen breswylwyr yn eu tro
I aros yno eilchwyl
Llanwynno (1888) Glanffrwd (William Thomas 1843-1890)
And dear old Cwmclydach
Which is as if it is waiting
The old inhabitants will come back in their turn
To stay / live there another time
2 eilchwyl ac eilchwyl over and over again
3 yn awr ac eilchwyl now and again, now and then, from time to time
ETYMOLOGY: (eil-, penult form of ail = second ) + (chwyl
= turn)
:_______________________________.
yr eildro
‹ər eil
-dro› adverb
1 for a second time, for the second time
also: am yr eildro
priodi
am yr eildro / priodi’r eildro get married for the second time
ETYMOLOGY: (eil-, penult form of ail = second) + soft mtuation + (
tro = turn, time, occasion)
NOTE: Also: yr eiltro
:_______________________________.
eiledol
‹ei- lê -dol› adjective
1
(Electricity) alternating
cyrrent eiledol alternating current,
AC
ETYMOLOGY: (eil- < ail = second, next) + ?
:_______________________________.
eilfyd
‹eil -vid› masculine noun
1
yr eilfyd the afterlife, the world
to come
ETYMOLOGY: (eil-, penult form of ail = second ) + soft mutation + (byd = world)
:_______________________________.
eiliad,
eiliadau ‹EIL
yad, eil YA de›
1 second (sixtieth part
of a minute)
2 ar yr union eiliad at that precise moment
:_______________________________.
Eilian ‹eil -yan› masculine noun
1 name of a saint of the Celtic Church
Llaneilian village in Ynys Môn
“church (of) Eilian” (llan = church)
+ (Eilian)
2 man’s name; revived in the 1800s and 1900s, used occasionally;
usually indicates some connection with the parish of Llaneilian
3 Gŵyl Eilian the
feastday of Eilian (13 January)
Ŵyl Eilian on the feastday of
Eilian, on 13 January (in adverbial phrases there is soft mutation of the
initial consonant, hence gŵyl
> ŵyl)
This adverbial form is used in the saying about the lengthening day after the
winter solstice:
Awr fawr Calan, dwy ŵyl Eilian,
tair ŵyl Fair
‘big hour (on) the calend (“awr fawr y Calan”), two on Eilian’s feastday, and
three on Mary’s feastday’
That is, the day will have lengthened since the solstice on the twenty-first of
December
(1) a full hour by New Year’s Day (Y Calan) on January the first, (half an hour
in the morning a half an hour in the evening),
(2) two hours on Eilian’s feastday (Gŵyl Eilian) on January the
thirteenth, and
(3) three hours by Lady Day (Gŵyl Fair) on February the second
(delw 7043)
ETYMOLOGY: ??
:_______________________________.
Eilir ‹EI lir› (literary word)
1 spring
2 spring equinox
:_______________________________.
eilir
‹ei -lir› masculine noun
1 spring, vernal equinox
also: Alban Eilir the vernal equinox
2 Eilir woman’s name
3 Eilir man’s name
Golygodd y ffaith iddo gyfeirio at Eilir
Davies o’r Felinheli fel ‘pencampWRAIG’ cwis y rhaglen iddo orfod treulio
llawer o’r dydd Mawrth yn amddiheuro i Mr Davies (Cymro 26 05 1993)
The fact that he referred to Eilir Davies of Y Felinheli as ‘female champion’
of the quiz on the programme meant he had to spent much of Tuesday apologising
to Mr. Davies
ETYMOLOGY: word invented by Iolo Morgannwg (ail = second) + (ir =
verdant, green), that is ‘green again’
(1) (Llanofer manuscripts in the handwriting of Iolo Morganwg, 1795)
Gŵyl Alban Eilir, yr unfed ar
hugain ddydd o Fawrth = the festival of the solar quarter of Eilir, the
twenty-first day of March
(2) Dictionary of William Owen-Pughe (produced in sections beginning in 1795): eilir; regeneration, reanimation, a
return of moisture
:_______________________________.
Eiliw ‹EI liu›
1 woman’s name
:_______________________________.
eillio ‹EILH yo›
1 to shave
:_______________________________.
● eill Soft-mutated form - the
radical form has initial g-.
See geill = he / she / it can
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
eilun
‹ei -lin› masculine noun
1 image, likeness, representation
2 idol, graven image = object which is worshipped or revered
Corinthiaid-1 8:4 Am fwyta gan hynny o’r
pethau a aberthir i eilunod, ni a wyddom nad yw eilun
ddim yn y byd, ac nad oes un Duw arall ond un
Corinthians-1 8:4 As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are
offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world,
and that there is none other God but one
3 idol, person who is an object of great love or admiration
Roedd y ferch fach yn eilun ei rhieni
The little girl was the idol of her parents
4 imitation, reflection, poor substitute; unskilful, poor at one’s
job
Eilun o saer yw e He’s a useless
carpenter
5 Bible eilun bugail unskilful shepherd,
useless shepherd
Sechareia 11:15 A’r Arglwydd a ddywedodd
wrthyf, Cymer eto i ti offer bugail ffôl...
(11:17) Gwae yr eilun bugail, yn gadael
y praidd; y cleddyf fydd ar ei fraich, ac ar ei lygad deau, ei fraich gan wywo
a wywa, a’i lygad deau gan dywyllu a dywylla
Zechariah 11:15 And the Lord said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments
of a foolish shepherd... (11:17) Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the
flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall
be clean dried up, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened
ETYMOLOGY: eilun < ‘éil-lun’ (eil, penultimate syllable form of ail = second) + soft mutation + (llun = image)
:_______________________________.
eilun
‹ai -lin› adjective
1 moderately well, neither good nor bad
2 (health) so-so, middling, not too bad..
Rw i’n oilin o iach I’m fairly well
Shwd y’ chi ’eddi? O, oilin bach ’w i
’eddi How are you today? Oh, not too bad today
3 oilin or oilin bach (weather) so-so.
Ma-i’n ddwarnod oilin bach It’s
middling weather today
ETYMOLOGY: from the word eilun =
idol; it is a development of the sense ‘inexpert, poor’.
NOTE:
(1) In the south, eilun > eulun (assimilation of i in the first syllable to the u of the second syllable).
(2) In the south, eu is pronounced ‹oi› and is written ou
or oi.
(3) Hence the South Wales form, spelt oulun
or oilin,
both having the same pronunciation ‹oi lin›
:_______________________________.
● eilw Soft-mutated form - the
radical form has initial g-.
See geilw = he / she / it calls
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
Eilwen ‹EIL
wen› feminine noun
1 woman’s name
ETYMOLOGY: The name is possibly a spelling variant of Aelwen ‹EIL wen›, feminine form of aelwyn (= fair-browed) – the pronunciation
remains the same, at least in Southern Welsh. (Penult ae is pronounced
“eu” <eɨ> [əɨ] in the North and “ei” <ei> [əɪ] in the South)
(ael (f) = brow) + soft mutation + (gwyn = white; fair,
attractive)
NOTE: The name might also be interpreted as having eil-, ail (= second)
as its first element: ‘second-born’
:_______________________________.
ei mentro hi ‹ii men –tro hii› verb
1 have a go; risk it; stick one's neck out
ETYMOLOGY: ‘venture it’ (ei = it / her) + (mentro = to venture)
+ (hi (of) it / her)
:_______________________________.
ein ‹EIN, ƏN›
1 our
:_______________________________.
● eingau Soft-mutated form -
the radical form has initial g-.
See geingau =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
● eingio Soft-mutated form -
the radical form has initial g-.
See geingio =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
eingion ‹eing -yon› feminine
noun
PLURAL einionau ‹ei-
ngyô -ne›
NOTE: Also (a) einion, and in North Wales ingon / engan
1 anvil = heavy steel block on which metals are hammered into shape
2 anvil = something
similar in shape or use to an anvil
Defnyddid boncyff derwen fel einion i hollti coed arno
An oak stump was used as an anvil to split wood on
3 bod cyn galeted ag
einion be very obstinate (“be as hard as an anvil”)
4 Street name Sŵnyrengan (“(the) sound (of) the anvil”)
in Y Gaerwen (county of Môn) (“Sŵn yr Engan”)
ETYMOLOGY: Welsh eingion < einion < enian <
British < Celtic
From the same British root: Cornish anwan (= anvil), Breton anneo
(= anvil)
From the same Celtic root: Irish inneoin [ˈin'o:n']
(= anvil)
NOTE: Seemingly related to Latin incus (= anvil) < incûdere (=
to forge)
:_______________________________.
einioes ‹EIN yos› (m)
1 life
2 peryglu’ch
einioes put your life in danger (“endanger your life”)
colli’ch einioes lose your life
3 cael estyniad einioes
get a new lease of life (after a period of illness, depression, loss of
vitality, etc to have a renewed vigour, health, drive, optimisim, happiness,
etc) (“get an extension of life”)
4 cost = sacrifice, loss
ar draul ei einioes at the cost of his life
ar gost ei einioes at the cost of his life
:_______________________________.
Einion ‹EIN yon›
1 man’s name
South Wales: Einon
Gorseinon gors Einon< cors Einon “(the) bog (of) Einon”
ab Einon (patronymic) > Beinon (coalesced patronymic, and
surname) Spelt “Beynon” in English
:_______________________________.
einion ‹ein -yon› feminine noun
PLURAL einionau ‹ein- yô -ne›
1 anvil =
heavy steel block on which metals are hammered into shape
See eingion
:_______________________________.
Einsiob
‹ein -shob› feminine noun
1 SO2662 village in Powys,
6km south-east of Llanandras. English name: Evenjobb
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/507923
tai newydd / new houses
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/605427
Eglwys Bedr / Saint Peter’s Church
ETYMOLOGY: Cymricisation of the English name Evenjobb
:_______________________________.
eira 1 ‹EI ra› (m)
1 snow
2 bwrw eira ‹BU ru
EI ra› to snow
3 gwneud eira mawr snow heavily (“make
big snow”)
:_______________________________.
Eira 2 ‹EI ra›
1 woman’s name
Eira Wen ‹ei ra WEN› ‹ar saith KO rakh› Snow White
ETYMOLOGY:
‘snow’. See the entry above
:_______________________________.
Eirawen ‹ei RAA wen›
1 woman’s name (rare)
ETYMOLOGY: ‘snow’ (eira =
snow) + (-wen suffix for forming female forenames, from gwen,
feminine form of gwyn = white; pure, holy, fair)
NOTE: Compare the names Eirwen, Gweneira
:_______________________________.
● eirda Soft-mutated form - the
radical form has initial g-.
See geirda =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
● eirfa Soft-mutated form - the
radical form has initial g-.
See geirfa =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
● eirgrawn Soft-mutated form -
the radical form has initial g-.
See geirgrawn =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
ei rhoi hi
‹i hroi hi›
1 ei
rhoi hi (i rywun) lay into someone, attack (someone) = hit, beat ; savagely
criticise (someone)
ETYMOLOGY: (ei = her) + (rhoi = give / giving) + (hi = of-her)
:_______________________________.
● eiriad Soft-mutated
form - the radical form has initial g-.
See geiriad =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
● eiriadur Soft-mutated
form - the radical form has initial g-.
See geiriadur =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
● eiriaduriaeth Soft-mutated
form - the radical form has initial g-.
See geiriaduriaeth =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
● eiriadurol Soft-mutated
form - the radical form has initial g-.
See geiriadurol =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
eirian
‹eir -yan› adjective
1 obsolete fair,
beautiful, bright
ETYMOLOGY: unknown; first example in the century 1300-1400
:_______________________________.
eirian
‹eir -yan› feminine noun
1 (obsolete) beautiful woman
ETYMOLOGY: from the adjective eirian; see preceding entry
:_______________________________.
Eirian
‹eir -yan› feminine noun
1 woman’s name
ETYMOLOGY: from the word eirian (noun
= fair maiden, adjective = fair); ;
see preceding entries
:_______________________________.
eirianedd ‹eir-yâ-nedh› feminine noun
1 brightness, splendour, beauty; (not in use except as a house name)
2 Eirianedd House name in Porthmadog (county of Gwynedd)
(in the list of members in “The Transactions of the Honourable Society of
Cymmrodorion” 1961 / Part 1)
ETYMOLOGY: (eirian = brightness, splendour, beauty) + (suffix -edd);
a word coined by the lexicographer William Owen-Pughe, found in his dictionary
published in instalments 1793-1803 ("A Welsh and English Dictionary")
:_______________________________.
Eirianfa
‹eir-yan-va› feminine noun
1 house name, “beautiful place”
ETYMOLOGY: (eirian = fair,
beautiful) + (-fa, suffix = place, a
soft-mutated form of ma = (Old Welsh) place)
:_______________________________.
Eirianfan
‹eir-yan-van› feminine noun
1 house name, “beautiful place”
Name of a house in Coed-poeth (county of Wrecsam / Wrexham)
ETYMOLOGY: (eirian = fair,
beautiful) + (-fan, suffix,
soft-mutated form of man = place)
:_______________________________.
eirianu
‹ei-ri-â-ni› verb
1 beautify; be beautiful, be radiant
Fel y lili sy’n eiriannu’r
Blodau siriol wrth y drws,
Byddai Maggie yn eiriannu
’Mhlith yr holl wyryfon tlws.
(“Tanybryn”, poem by Twynog (1912))
Like the lily which beautifies the cheerful flowers by the door, Maggie would
be radiant amongst all the fair maidens
ETYMOLOGY: (eirian = fair,
beautiful) + (-u, suffix for forming
verbs)
:_______________________________.
● eiriau Soft-mutated
form - the radical form has initial g-.
See geiriau =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
eirinen
‹ei- rî -nen› feminine noun
PLURAL eirin
‹ei -rin›
1 plum
carreg eirinen plum stone
2 berry = fruits of other trees
3 testicle
Deuteronomium 23:1 Na ddeued neb wedi
ysigo ei eirin, na disbaidd, i gynulleidfa yr Arglwydd
Deuteronomy 23:1 He that is wounded in the stones, or hath his privy member cut
off, shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord.
Lefiticus 21:20 Neu a fyddo yn gefngrwm,
neu yn gor, neu â magl neu bysen ar ei lygad, neu yn grachlyd, neu yn gafrllyd,
neu wedi ysigo ei eirin.
Leviticus 21:20 Or crookbacked, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye,
or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken;
ETYMOLOGY: Welsh eirin < British *agrîn- < Celtic
From the same British root: Breton irin.
Hibernian languages: Irish airne (=
sloe, fruit of the blackthorn)
:_______________________________.
eirinen ddu fach
‹ei-rî-nen dhii vaakh› feminine noun
PLURAL eirin
duon bach ‹ri-rin dii-on baakh›
1 (South-west Wales) sloe, blackthorn
plum, fruit of the common blackthorn Prunus spinosa
mor fân ag eirin duon bach as tiny
as sloes.
In other parts known as eirinen sur,
eirin surion (= sour plum);
(North) eirinen fach dagu, eirin
bach tagu “little choking plums”;
(North-east) eirinen berthi, eirin
perthi “plum of the hedges”
ETYMOLOGY: ‘little black plum’ (eirinen
= plum) + soft mutation + (du =
black) + soft mutation + (bach = little)
:_______________________________.
eirinen foch
‹ei-rî-nen vookh› feminine noun
PLURAL eirin
moch ‹ei-rin mookh›
1 (North Wales) hawthorn berry, haw
coeden ddrain yn goch drosti o eirin
moch
a hawthorn bush completely red with haws
ETYMOLOGY: ‘plum (of) pigs’ (eirinen
= plum) + soft mutation + (moch =
pigs, plural of mochyn = pig)
:_______________________________.
eirinen werdd
‹ei- rî -nen werdh› feminine noun
PLURAL eirin
gwyrdd ‹ei -rin gwirdh›
1 greengage = sweet greenish-yellow
type of plum (Prunus domestica italica)
ETYMOLOGY: ‘green plum’ (eirinen =
plum) + soft mutation + (gwerdd,
feminine form of gwyrdd = green )
:_______________________________.
eirinen
wlanog, eirin gwlanog ‹ei RI nen WLA nog, EI rin GWLA nog›
1 peach
:_______________________________.
● eiriol Soft-mutated
form - the radical form has initial g-.
See geiriol =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
eirion ‹eir
-yon› substantiu plural
1 “what gives splendour, or lustre; ornaments”
2 Eirion house name in Paihai, Bay of Islands, New Zealand (in the list
of members in “The Transactions of the Honourable Society of Cymmrodorion” 1961
/ Part 1)
(delw 7051)
ETYMOLOGY: a word coined by the lexicographer William Owen-Pughe, found in
the “Welsh and English Dictionary" 1793-1803
(eir, penult form of air = brightness, an invented word) + (-ion
plural suffix)
:_______________________________.
Eirion
‹eir -yon› masculine noun
1 man’s name (very rare)
ETYMOLOGY: (= splendour?) See the preceding entry
:_______________________________.
Eirionwen
‹eir-yon-wen› feminine noun
1 woman’s name (very rare)
ETYMOLOGY: (Eirion = man’s name) + (-wen suffix for forming female names
< gwen, feminine form of gwyn = white)
:_______________________________.
eirlaw
‹eir -law› masculine noun
1 sleet
bwrw eirlaw = to sleet
ETYMOLOGY: (eir- < eiry, eira = snow) + soft mutation + (glaw = rain)
:_______________________________.
eirlawio
‹eir-lau-yo› verb
1 to sleet
ETYMOLOGY: (eirlaw = sleet) + (-io suffix)
:_______________________________.
eirlys
‹eir -lis› masculine noun
PLURAL eirlysiau
‹eir-ləs-ye›
1 (flower) Glanthus nivalis = snowdrop
ETYMOLOGY: (eir- < eiry, eira = snow) + soft mutation + (llys = plant)
:_______________________________.
Eirlys
‹eir -lis› feminine noun
1 woman’s name (20th century)
ETYMOLOGY: Welsh, from the name of the flower (snowdrop)
:_______________________________.
eironig ‹ei RO nig›
1 ironic
:_______________________________.
eirth
‹eirth› -
1 bears; plural of the word arth
(= bear)
:_______________________________.
● eirw Soft-mutated form - the
radical form has initial g-.
See geirw (f) = rippling water; waterfall
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
eirw ‹ei -ru› plural noun
1 place names waterfall
Eirw Isha = lower waterfall, Eirw Ucha = upper waterfall - in the
river Rhondda near Y Porth, county of Rhondda Cynon Taf
Heol Eirw street name in Y Porth
ETYMOLOGY: eirw, soft mutation of geirw (= rough (waters)), plural de garw (= rough)
:_______________________________.
eirw ‹i EI-ru› [ˡəirʊ] (m)
South-west Wales
1 a local pronunciation of aerwy [ˡəirui] (= neck-chain, cow
collar, cow-house yoke)
:_______________________________.
Eirwen
‹eir -wen› feminine noun
1 woman’s name
ETYMOLOGY: (eir- < eiry, eira = snow) + (-wen
suffix for forming female names < gwen,
feminine form of gwyn = white)
NOTE: the name Gweneira is the same
as Eirwen, with the elements
reversed
:_______________________________.
● eirwir Soft-mutated
form - the radical form has initial g-.
See geirwir =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
● eirwiredd Soft-mutated
form - the radical form has initial g-.
See geirwiredd =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
eirwyn
‹eir -win› adjective
1 snow-white
ETYMOLOGY: (eir- < eiry, eira = snow) + soft mutation + (gwyn = white)
NOTE: Feminine form: eirwen. See the
proper names Eirwen and Eirwyn
:_______________________________.
Eirwyn
‹eir-win› masculine noun
1 man’s name
ETYMOLOGY: see the preceding entry
:_______________________________.
eiry ‹ei -ri› masculine noun
1 obsolete older form of eira (qv) = snow
:_______________________________.
Eiry ‹ei-ri› feminine noun
1 woman’s name
ETYMOLOGY: see the preceding entry
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
● eiryn Soft-mutated
form - the radical form has initial g-.
See geiryn =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
Eiryn ‹EI rin›
1 man’s name
:_______________________________.
Eiryth
‹ei -rith› feminine noun
1 woman’s name
ETYMOLOGY: ??
:_______________________________.
ei shapo-hi ‹i sha-po hii› verb
South Wales
1 hurry up, get a move on
cwyd, bachan, shapa-hi = get up,
mun, hurry up!
:_______________________________.
eisiau (ishe,
isho)
‹EIS ye
(I she, I sho)›
1 need, necessity
2 mwy nag sydd ei eisiau more than enough, more than sufficient
3 Mae eisiau gras! Give
me strength! (expression of exasperation, loss of patience) (“there is need
(of) grace”)
4 Beth fwy sydd arnoch ei eisiau? What
more do you want?
Beth sydd arno ei eisiau gen i? What does he want from me / with me?
Mae arna i eisiau iddi fynd I want her to go
5 o
eisiau from wanting to
Roedd bron â thorri ei fol o eisiau mynd
He was dead keen to go (“he was almost bursting his belly from (the) want (of)
going”)
6
Mae ar bawb eisiau mynd yno
Everybody wants to go there
7
eisiau bwyd hunger (“want (of)
food”, “necessity (for) food”)
Enllyn bara da yw eisiau bwyd Hunger
is the best sauce (= food no matter how plain becomes very appetising when you
are really hungry) (“(it is) (a) good companage (of) bread that-is want (of)
food”)
8
(Caernarfon, North-west Wales) bsantísho
= pa beth sydd arnat ti ei eisiau what
do you need / require / want?
“Let them see how in their spoken Welsh the accent turns a sentence of many
words into a single word of one or two syllables... e.g. pa beth sydd arnat ti
ei eisieu? has become bsantísho”
T Hudson Williams (1873-1961), University College, Bangor / Vox Populi - A Plea
for the Vulgar Tongue
9
Mwyaf yn y byd sydd o eisiau (rhywbeth) (something) is even more necessary
“Wel, blant bach," ebe hi, gan droi at y genethod ieuainc. "Mwya yn y byd sydd o eisio gweddio yma ynte, os fel
hyn ma petha yn ein plith ni.
Plant y Gorthrwm / 1908 / Gwyneth Vaughan
(= Anne Harriet Hughes 1852-1910)
“Well, children,” she said, turning to the girls. “Prayer is even more
necessary here isn’t it if things are like that in our midst”
10
necessity
Fydd dim o’n ishe i no fory I won’t
be needed there tomorrow
("there won’t be anything of my need there tomorrow")
mae y cwbl yno sydd eisiau ei wybod
everything you need to know is there
:_______________________________.
eisin
‹ei -sin›
1 (plural form) chaff; see eisinen
:_______________________________.
eisingrug
‹ei-sin-grig› masculine noun
1 chaff-heap, mill bank; = heap of husks of wheat etc - after
husking in a nearby mill, the wheat would be winnowed to remove the chaff
2 soft place, soft ground
3 often found in field names with the form Singrug or Shingrug;
...(a) Cwmcaesingrug Name of a farm
between Ynys-ddu and Mynyddislwyn (county of Caerffili)
(cwm cae yr eisingrug) (“(the) valley (of) Cae yr Eisingrug”). The name of the
field is (“( the) field (of) the chaff pile”)
(The local pronunciation is doubtless
“cwm cää shingrug”, cää as in English ‘care’ without saying the’r’)
...(b) In Ffosygerddinen (county of Caerffili) there is a road called Heol Shingrug (“Shingrig Road”)
...(c) Efailshingrug street name in
Trelewis (Treharris, county of Merthyrtudful) (“(the) smithy (of) the chaff
heap”)
ETYMOLOGY: (eisin = chaff) + soft
mutation + (crug = pile)
NOTE: Colloquial forms:
(1) Singrug ‹sin-grig› (loss of the first
syllable),
(2) (in South Wales Shingrug,
with the typical palatalisation in the south si- > shi)
:_______________________________.
Eisingrug
‹ei-sin-grig› feminine noun
1 SH6134 locality in
Gwynedd, 5km north-east of Harlech
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/108118
2
Afon Eisingrug = a river in in this
area
ETYMOLOGY: See eisingrug
NOTE: This place name locally pronounced is the syncopated form Singrug
:_______________________________.
eisinyn
‹ei-si-nən› masculine noun
PLURAL eisin ‹ei -sin›
1 (grain) husk
eisingrug (qv) = pile of chaff
eisin sil oat husks
2 A bryn flawd a bryn eisin
“The person who buys flour buys chaff ‹at the same time›” (to take
the good with the bad)
ETYMOLOGY: British < Celtic eks + sî
+ n, from sê, sêi = to sift
:_______________________________.
● eist Soft-mutated form - the
radical form has initial g-.
See geist (= bitches), plural of gast (= bitch)
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
eistedd ‹EI
stedh› ‹ISH te›
1 to sit
2 eistedd â’ch coesau o boptu’r gadair straddle the chair
3 eistedd ar ben llidiart
sit on the fence, not commit oneself to one side or another in a dispute (“sit
on top of a gate”)
NOTE: local forms show the loss of the final dd, and the reduction of
the diphthong ei to the simple vowel i
iste, ishte, ista, ishta
:_______________________________.
eisteddfa, eisteddfeydd (= eisteddféydd)
‹ei-STEDH-va,
ei-stedh-VEIDD›
1 seat
In the parish of Llangurig there is Eisteddfa Gurig (“(the) seat (of) Curig”).
QUERY: Could this have been a place of contemplation of Curig?
:_______________________________.
eisteddfod,
eisteddfodau ‹ei
STEDH vod, ei stedh VO de›
1 eisteddfod (festival of music / poetry)
2 eisteddfod genedlaethol, eisteddfodau cenedlaethol ‹ei STEDH vod ge ned LEI
thol, ei stedh VO de ke ned LEI thol› national eisteddfod (held annually, alternating between the
north and south of the country)
3 Allteisteddfod street name, Gwynfryn, county of Wrecsam (spelt on
signs and maps as “Allt Eisteddfod”)
= allt yr eisteddfod “(the) hill (of) the eisteddfod”
:_______________________________.
Eisteddfod
y Buarth ‹ei-STEDH-vod ə
BII-arth› feminine noun
1 (usually as ’Steddfod y
Buarth / Steddfod y Buarth)
facetious name for Sioe Amaethyddol
Cymru (Welsh Agricultural Show) held at end of July in Llanelwedd, county
of Powys, one week before the Eisteddfod Genedlaethol / National Eisteddfod.
Many ‘eisteddfodwyr’ (eisteddfod visitors) visit
Llanelwedd, and in the following week the National Eisteddfod.
ETYMOLOGY: “the eisteddfod of the farmyard” (eisteddfod / ’steddfod “session”,
literature and singing competiton) + (y
= definite article) + (buarth =
farmyard), because it is a similar event to the eisteddfod – on a large ‘maes’
(ground), with various ancilliary stands, and competitions with prizes (but for
farm animals rather than poets, writers, musicians, etc)
ETYMOLOGY: “the eisteddfod of the farmyard” (eisteddfod / ’steddfod “session”,
literature and singing competiton) + (y
= definite article) + (buarth =
farmyard)
:_______________________________.
eitem,
eitemau ‹EI
tem, ei TE me›
1 item
:_______________________________.
eithaf ‹EI tha, I tha›
1 quite
eithaf da ‹EI tha,
I tha DAA› quite good
eithaf gwir ‹EI tha,
I tha GWIIR› quite right
2 eithaf un / eitha’
un extreme
cyrraedd y gwaelod eitha’ un reach rock bottom, hit rock bottom
(“reach the extreme bottom, the very bottom”)
:_______________________________.
eithaf
‹ei-tha› masculine noun
PLURAL eithafion, eithafoedd ‹ei-thav-yon, ei-tha-vodh›
1 extremity, furthermost point,
maximum extent
yn yr eithaf pellaf oddi wrth... the
point furthest removed from.., quite the opposite to....
Wrth ddweud “un call yw hwnnw” yr ydym
yn awgrymu nad oes llawer yn ei ben - ni feddylir y gair yn ei ystyr arferol
felly ond yn yr eithaf pellaf oddi wrtho
When we say “un call yw hwnnw” (he’s a bright one”) we are suggesting he hasn’t
got much upstairs - the word isn’t meant in its usual sense but in quite the
opposite sense (“in the furthest extreme from it”)
eithaf gorllewin Cymru westernmost
point of Wales
eithaf gogledd yr Alban northernmost
point of Scotland
hyd at eithafion y ddaear / hyd at eithafoedd y ddaear to the far
ends of the earth
2 utmost endeavour; gwneud
eich eithaf do one’s utmost (“do your utmost”)
3 ar eich eithaf with all
your might, all out (“on your utmost”)
4 hyd eithaf eich gallu
to the utmost of your ability;
5 i’r eithaf to the utmost
6 hyd yr eithaf to the
utmost;
ymdrechu hyd yr eithaf
try all you can, make the maximum effort to (“try as far as the maximum”)
7 manteisio i’r eithaf ar (rywbeth) = make the most of (“take
advantage to the furthest on”)
8 North Wales gweld eithaf (rhywun) see the worst in
someone, see the worst side of someone (“see (the) extremity (of) (someone)”)
9 North Wales eithaf gan (be) really glad, (be) well
pleased;
mae’n eitha’ gen i ‘i gâl o adra
I’m very pleased to have him back home again (= “y mae yn eithaf gennyf fi ei gael ef adref”)
10 i’ch eithaf to your
maximum extent
11 byw bywyd i’r
eithaf
live life to the full
ETYMOLOGY: Welsh eithaf
< British *ekt-amo; equivalent to
modern Welsh (prefix ech- = out of,
from) + (-haf superlative ending)
:_______________________________.
eithafbwynt
‹ei- thav -buint› masculine
noun
PLURAL eithafbwyntiau
‹ei-thav- buint -ye›
1 furthest point, ne plus ultra,
uttermost point
ETYMOLOGY: (eithaf = the most
extreme) + soft mutation + (pwynt =
point)
:_______________________________.
eithaf eithaf
‹ei-tha ei-tha› adjective
1 county of Môn eitha’ eitha’ (with a negative, in
referring to somebody’s supposed mental disfunction);
Dydy i o ddim yn eitha’ eitha’ = he’s not quite right in the head (“he’s
not the fullest extent + the fullest extent”)
:_______________________________.
eithaf gwaith
‹ei-tha gwaith›
1 expressing that retribution is
deserved, that there is just retribution for some wrong done, or some foolish
act; to serve someone right
Eitha gwaith â chdi. Ddysgith hynna i ti
hel diod Serves you right. That’ll teach you to go drinking.
Cythraul o annwyd gafodd wedyn - eitha
gwaith i’r ffwl gwirion am gerdded o gwmpas yn ei sandalau ar ganol gaeaf
He caught one hell of a cold afterwards – serves the silly fool right for
walking about in his sandals in the middle of winter
2 to serve someone right - expresses the fact that the speaker has
no sympathy for the disappointment of the person addressed (after the failure
of some intention);
Eitha gwaith iti! Tough shit, hard
cheese, hard lines, hard luck
ETYMOLOGY: (eithaf = extreme) + (gwaith = work)
:_______________________________.
eithafnod
‹ei- thav -nod› masculine noun
PLURAL eithafnodau
‹ei-thav- nô -de›
1
peak, furthest point, highest point, ne plus ultra, uttermost point, ne plus
ultra
eithafnod dedwyddwch the peak of
happiness
cyrraedd eithafnod dedwyddwch to
reach the peak of happiness
ETYMOLOGY: (eithaf = the most
extreme) + (nod = objective, mark)
__________________.
eithin ‹EI thin›
1 gorse
See eithinen
__________________.
eithinen,
eithin ‹ei THII
nen, EI thin›
1 gorse (Ulex europaeus)
(delw
7066)
canu 'mhlith yr
eithin pigog singing
in the midst of the prickly gorse (from the traditional song Gwcw Fach / Little
Cuckoo)
2 Bryneithin ‹brin-ei-thin› street name
in Porthtywyn / Burry Port (county of Caerfyrddin / Carmarthen)
(spelt as “Bryneithin”). bryn yr
eithin “(the) hill (of) the furze / gorse”
(bryn = hill) + (yr definite
article) + (eithin = furze, gorse). In place names a linking definite
article is often omitted: bryn yr eithin > bryn eithin
3 Brɥnyreithin <brin-ər-EI-thin> [brɪnərˡəɪθɪn]
1
name of a farm SJ1370 near Yr Afon-wen, county of Flintshire (“Bryn yr Eithin”
on the O.S. map)
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/241257
map
ETYMOLOGY: (“(the) hill (of) the gorse”, gorse hill) (brɥn = hill) + (yr definite article) + (eithin = gorse)
:_______________________________.
eithinog ‹ei THII nog› (adj)
1 gorse-covered,
abounding in gorse
Cefn Cnwch Eithinog SN7548 near Ystrad-ffin (county of
Caerfyrddin) “(the) ridge of Cnwch Eithinog”
Cnwch Eithinog is “gorse-covered hill” (cnwch = hill) + (eithinog
= gorse-covered)
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/897045
2 (f) place abounding in gorse
ETYMOLOGY: (eithin = gorse) + (-og
adjectival suffix)
:_______________________________.
eithr
‹ei-thir› preposition
1 obsolete except
2 dieithr = strange
3 eithriad = exception; yn ddieithriad = without exception
4 eithrio = to except,
exclude
5 oddiéithr = except,
excepting
ETYMOLOGY: Welsh < British < Celtic ektr-o (= external)
From the same Celtic root: Irish eachtreach (= external)
From the same Indo-European root: Latin extrâ < extera < exterus (=
outside)
:_______________________________.
eithriad, eithriadau ‹EITH
ryad, eith RYÂ- de›
1 exception
2 Mae’r eithriad yn brawf ar y
rheol The
exception proves the rule (“the exception is a test on the rule”)
Eithriad sydd yn brawf ar y rheol yw hwn This is an exception that
proves the rule
:_______________________________.
eithrio ‹eithr -yo› verb
1 except, exclude
ac eithrio except, excluding, with the exception of
eithrio (rhywun) rhàg talu trethi grant a tax exemption to (somebody),
exempt (somebody) from paying taxes
ETYMOLOGY: (eithr = exemption) + (-i suffix for forming verbs)
:_______________________________.
ei throi hi ‹ii
throi hii› verb
1 go off, go away
Rhaid imi ei throi hi I must be getting along
ei throi hi am adre go off home
ETYMOLOGY: ‘turn it’ ( ei = it / her) + aspirate mutation + ( troi =
turn) + ( hi (of) it / her)
:_______________________________.
*eks
‹eks›
1 “out of”; preposition / prefix in British, equivalent to Latin ex- (= out of, from), as the prefixes ech-,
es- / ys-, e-, ei- in modern Welsh (see following examples)
2 post-British:
(1) This survived as a preposition in Middle Welsh ech (= out of).
It occurs as a prefix in the adverbs
..a/ echdoe (the day before
yesterday) (doe = yesterday),
..b/ echnos (= last night) (nos = night)
Used in modern (literary) Welsh as a prefix in new coinings
..a/ echblyg (= explicit) (plygu = to fold)
..b/ echdoriad (= eruption of a
volcano, solar eruption) (toriad =
breaking, torri = to break)
..c/ echdynnu (= to extract, to
isolate a substance by means of heating, distillation,
application of a solvent, etc) (tynnu
= to pull, to draw)
..d/ echlifol (= eluvial) (llifol = flowing, llifo = to flow)
..e/ echreiddig (= eccentric, not
having a common center) (rheiddio =
radiate)
3 Also from British eks is
the prefix es- (and ys-)
..a/ esgor (= cause, originate) <
eks-kor
..b/ esmwyth (= comfortable) < eks-mukt-
4 Also the prefix e-
..a/ eofn (= fearless) < ehofn < echofn (ech = free from)
+ (ofn = fear) < British (eks + omn-) < Celtic.
In the county of Ceredigion echon
< echofn, with the loss of the
consonant ‹v›.
In South Wales ewn < eon < eofn. Compare southern hewl for
heol (= road)
..b/ eorth (obsolete; = diligent,
studious) < British < Celtic eks-ort-;
stem *or- (= to rise); cf Latin oriri (= to rise, spring from), as in
English origin < Latin orîgô < oriri
..c/ echryd (obsolete; = terror,
fright) this is éch-chryd (ech- prefix = from, out of) + (cryd = quaking).
The adjective from this echrydus (=
terrifying, awful) is common in modern Welsh
..d/ ethol (= to elect), probably (*éth-ddol) < British (*eks-d-dol)
eks (= ex) + interposed consonant
‘d’ + *dol, variant of *del (= to divide)
5 Also the prefix ei-
..a/ eisinyn (= husk of a grain)
British < Celtic eks + sî + n, from sê, sêi = to sift
..b/ eithaf (= extremity) British *ekt-amo; equivalent to modern Welsh “(ech preposition, prefix = out of, from)
+ (-haf superlative ending)”
6 in combination with other prefixes:
..1/ gos- < gwos < British wo-eks
(wo = under)
....a/ gosgordd (= retinue) *gwosgordd (cordd = group)
....b/ goslef (= intonation) *gwoslef (llef = cry)
....c/ gosteg (= calm, silence)
< *gwosteg < British <
Celtic *wo-eks-tek,
< *tak = be silent; cf Welsh tagu
(= to throttle), and, Latin taceo (= be silent)
....d/ gostwng (= to lower) <
*gwostwng < British < Celtic *wo-eks-tong
ETYMOLOGY: British *eks (= out
of, from) < Celtic *eks
From the same Celtic root: Irish es-
From the same Indoeuropean root: Latin ex
(= out of), Greek ex-, ek- (exodus, etc)
:_______________________________.
Elái ‹e-
lai›
1 River
name. Locally it is Lai or Afon Lai (loss of the pretonic
syllable)
.....Afon Elái = ST0285 river in
the counties of Rhondda-Cynon-Taf and Caerdydd, south-east Wales
.....Blaen Lai Name of the source of the river is (“source (of) Lai”,
“top end (of) Lai”), by Carn y Celyn on the mountain between Gilfach-goch in
the Ogwr Fach valley and Pen-y-graig in the Rhondda Fawr valley.
The name occurs badly spelt in a street name in the village of Pen-y-graig,
“Blaenlau Street”) (mispelt with a ‘u’; in South Wales “lai” and “lau” are
pronounced the same, though they are different in the North).
In Welsh the street name would be Heol Blaen Lai if named after the
source itself, Heol Blaen-lai if it is in fact a farm name.
.....Cilelai “source (of the
river) Elái” locality in the county of Rhondda-Cynon-Taf.
Local pronunciation: Cileli ‹kil-e-li›
.....Coedelái “wood (by the river)
Elái
(ST0285) village on the banks of this river
.....Glanelái “bank (by the river) Elái
(ST0382) mansion and locality on the banks of this river
.....Taf-Elái (“(river) Taf and (river) Elái”) This was the name of a county 1974-1996
.....Tre-lai (“town of the (river) Elái”) suburb of Caer-dydd on the
western bank
ETYMOLOGY: Elái < e-léi
< e-le-i < *e-le-ghi < British *elegi, possibly the
prefix el- (= much) + (leg- = flow slowly).
The Breton river name Ellé is the same name
:_______________________________.
elain ‹e
-lain› feminine noun
PLURAL elanedd, alanod ‹e-
lâ –nedh, a-lâ-nod›
1 young
doe, fawn
2 Yr Elain (“the fawn”) Street name in Dynfant (SS5993)
(county of Abertawe)
3 the river name Elan in Powys is probably related to elain (= fawn)
ETYMOLOGY: British < Celtic *elant < *el- (= boar)
A related word is Irish eilteog (= young doe)
:_______________________________.
Elain ‹e
-lain› feminine noun
1 woman’s
name
Elain Haf Morgan ‘fawn, young doe’ + ‘summer’ (two first names) +
‘Morgan’ (surname)
ETYMOLOGY: See the previous entry
:_______________________________.
Elan ‹e
-lan› feminine noun
1
river name
Pont ar Elan (county of Powys)
SN90314-71554, 6km west of Rhaeadr-gwy. A bridge in Cwm Elan (the Elan Valley),
at the head of Cronlyn Craig yr Allt Goch (Craig yr Allt Goch Reservoir) one of
a series of reservoirs constructed to supply water to Birmingham in England in
the 1890s (In the book “The Vale of Nantgwilt: a submerged valley...” by
Richard Eustace Tickell (1894) there is a sketch of the bridge by the author)
("bridge over (the river) Elan") (pont = pont) + (ar = on)
+ (Elan = river name)
ETYMOLOGY: Possibly related to elain (= fawn)
:_______________________________.
elc ‹elk› masculine noun
PLURAL elcod,
elciaid ‹el-kod, elk-yed›
1 elk = large deer of the northern hemisphere. The male has heavy
flattened antlers; it is generally known as ‘elk’ in Europe and ‘moose’ in
North America
2
Eurasian elk (Alces alces)
elc Ewrasiaidd Alces alces Eurasian elk
Yr elc yw anifail cenedlaethol Norwy
Norway’s national animal is the elk
2
American elk, wapiti (Cervus canadensis)
elc Americanaidd Cervus canadensis American elk, moose,
wapiti
ETYMOLOGY: English elk < Old
English; cf Latin alcês, Greek elaphos (= deer)
:_______________________________.
Eldrydd
‹el -dridh› feminine noun
1 woman’s name
ETYMOLOGY: ?
:_______________________________.
elech
‹ê -lekh› feminine noun
PLURAL elechau,
elych ‹e-lê-khe, ê-likh›
1 obsolete
stone slab
2 obsolete gravestone
3 obsolete bakestone
4 obsolete stone table
5 place name: Treflach (=
Tréflach) near Croesoswallt, England (“trêv by the stone slab”)
< Trefelach (= Trefélach)
< Trefelech (= Trefélech) (tref =
trêv, farmstead) + (elech = stone
slab)
ETYMOLOGY: (e = intensifying prefix)
+ soft mutation + (llech = slab)
:_______________________________.
eled ‹ê -led› verb
1 may he go...
Eled i’w grogi! Hang the fellow!
(“may he go to his hanging”)
:_______________________________.
Elen ‹E len›
1 woman’s name
:_______________________________.
Elen Benfelen
‹ê-len ben-vê -len› feminine
noun
1 Elen Benfelen
a'r Tair Arth Goldilocks and the Three Bears
ETYMOLOGY: "Yellow-haired Elen" (Elen = Helen) + soft
mutation + (penfelen, feminine form
of penfelyn = yellow head,
flaxen-haired)
:_______________________________.
Elen Luyddog
‹e-len li-O-dhog› feminine noun
1
(“Elen of the Hosts”) from a noble family in Segontium (Caernarfon).
She married Macsen Wledig (Magnus Maximus), born in the Iberian peninsula, who
became commander of the Roman army in Britain and who in AD 383 went to Rome
where he deposed Gratian and made himself Emperor, and became a Christian.
It is said that Elen returned to Wales after Macsen’s death five years later,
in AD 388.
The tale is preserved in “Breuddwyd Macsen Wledig” (“the dream of Magnus (the)
leader”) , written down around 1400 and forming part of the collection of
twelve medieval Welsh tales known as the “Mabinogion”.
2
Her name apears as Helen in
..a/ Sarn Helen name given to
several sections of Roman road. (for example, north and south of Y Banwen in
the county of Castell-nedd ac Aberafan)
..b/ Coed Helen literally ‘Helen’s wood’, locality in Caernarfon.
Originally though it was “Coed Alun”, the ‘wood (of) Alun’ (?a stream name)
See Helen
ETYMOLOGY: (Elen woman’s name )
+ soft mutation + (lluyddog = having
many warriors)
:_______________________________.
Elenydd ‹e LEE nidh›
1 An area of moorland in
the centre of Wales, taking in the eastern part of Ceredigion, western Powys,
and north-eastern Sir Gaerfyrddin. It extends from the Pumlumon mountains in
the north and is bounded by Mynydd Epynt and Mynydd Du in the south.
In English, the area is called the Cambrian Mountains, though it is mainly an
area of high hills and moorland rather than a range of mountains.
The three highest peaks are Pen Pumlumon Fawr SN7886 (752m), Drygarn
Fawr SN8658 (645m) and Mynydd Mallaen SN7344 (448m). Two large
reservoirs are also in Elenydd – Llyn Claerwen SN8565 and Llyn
Brianne SN8051.
(delw 7042)
Pen Pumlumon Fawr SN7886 (752m) http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/59259
Drygarn Fawr SN8658 (645m) http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/659582
Mynydd Mallaen SN7344 (448m). http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/488271
Llyn Claerwen SN8565 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/502575
Llyn Brianne SN8051 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/480489
2 name of a cantref in the country of Rhwng Gwy a Hafren
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elfael
:_______________________________.
Eleri ‹e LE ri›
1 River in northern
Ceredigion, flowing through Tal-y-bont
Afon Eleri / Afon ’Leri
2 woman’s name (from the name of
the river, or from Eleri, a daughter of the ruler Brychan of Brycheiniog)
:_______________________________.
Elfael ‹EL vel›
1 ancient territory in
south-east Wales
:_______________________________.
Elfair (1)
‹el -vair› feminine noun
1 female name
ETYMOLOGY: Possibly (El- first
syllable of the feminine name Elen)
+ soft mutation + (Mair = woman’s
name, Mary)
:_______________________________.
Elfair (2) ‹el -vair›
1 Siop Elfair name of a Welsh shop in Rhuthun
Elfed a Mair Evans sy’n rhedeg Elfair,
siop Gymraeg yng nghanol Rhuthun, sydd yn arbenigo mewn llyfrau Cymraeg,
casetiau, CDs, crefftau a nwyddau {eraill} (Cymro 01 09 2001)
Elfed and Mair Evans run Elfair, a Welsh-language shop in the centre (of the
town of) Rhuthun, which specialises in Welsh-language books, cassettes, crafts
and other goods
http://www.cymruwales.com/siop/sioplyfrauc.htm
(non-functioning 2008-11-23)
ETYMOLOGY: (El- first syllable of
the masculine name Elfed) + soft
mutation + (Mair = woman’s name,
Mary)
:_______________________________.
Elfed ‹EL ved›
1 a
kúmmud (cwmwd) of the kántrev of Cantref Gwarthaf
Cynwyl Elfed SN3727 a village in Sir Gaerfyrddin, in the old kántrev of
Elfed
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/121322
2 Elmet,
an old Welsh kingdom now in Yorkshire, England
Barwick in
Elmet SE3937 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/79490
Sherburn in Elmet SE4933 http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/104998
3 man’s
name, either from a connection with this area, or more generally after the poet
and hymnwriter Elfed (Howell Elvet Lewis = Hywel
Elfed Lewys 1860-1953), who was born in Cynwyl Elfed.
(delw 7392)
:_______________________________.
elfen ‹el -ven› feminine noun
PLURAL elfennau ‹el- ve -ne›
1 element = component part,
constituent, ingredient
2 element = (ancient philosophy) one of the four simple substances -
earth, water, fire, air – believed held to be the basis of all material bodies
y pedair elfen = the four elements
(note: no soft mutation after the definite article of feminine numerals tair
(= three), pedair (= four).
Cf the place name Llan-y-tair-mair the grave accent indicates a short vowel when
it occurs in a long-vowel environment
3 element = (chemistry) substance which cannot be
broken down into other substances
4 element = word used in combination with another word, or other
words,
or affixes, to form a compound word
5
propensity, innate gift, the makings of something, talent
Mae elfen canu ynddi (“there-is
(the) element (of) singing in-her)
She’s got the makings of a singer, she’s got it in her to be a good singer,
she’ll make a good singer
Mae elfen ffarmio ynddo
He’s got it in him to be a farmer, he’s got the talent to be a farmer
6 one of the first principles of an art or science, or rudiments of
knowledge
7 South Wales - passionate interest
Mae elfen pysgota ynddo He’s mad
about fishing
8 South-west Wales – hobby, interest
Ei elfen e yw garddio Gardening is
his great interest
9 familiar environment, surroundings in which one feels at home
teimlo allan o’ch elfen feel out of
your element
bod yn eich elfen be in your element
10 elfennau elements,
stormy weather (wind and rain / sleet / snow, and cold)
Bu’n hir yn brwydro â’r elfennau ac fel
y bu’r anlwc cryfhaodd yr ystorm
He fought for a long time against the elements but as luck would have it the
storm grew in intensity
ETYMOLOGY: Welsh elfen < British
< Latin el’mentum < elementum
:_______________________________.
elfen hybrin
‹el-ven hə-brin› feminine noun
1 trace element
ETYMOLOGY: (elfen= element) + (hybrin = very scarce)
:_______________________________.
elfennol
‹el-ve-nol› adjective
1 elementary = introductory, explaining first principles
llyfr ar “Ystadegaeth Elfennol”
a book on Elementary Statistics
ETYMOLOGY: (elfenn-, form before a
final syllable of elfen (= element)
+ (-ol suffix for forming
adjectives)
:_______________________________.
eli haul ‹e li HAIL›
1 sun cream, sun block
:_______________________________.
eli, elioedd ‹E li, e LI odh›
1 ointment
:_______________________________.
Elias ‹e LI as›
1 man’s name
:_______________________________.
éliffant,
eliffantod ‹E
li fant, e li FAN tod›
1 elephant
:_______________________________.
elin ‹ee -lin› feminine or masculine noun
PLURAL: elinau ‹e- lii
–nai. -e›
1 elbow (though nowadays penelin is
used)
2 forearm
penelin (“end of elbow” probably
in the sense of “folded elbow, bent elbow, angle made by the elbow”)
cyfelin (f) PLURAL cyfelinau ell, the
length between the elbow and the hand
y gyfelin the ell
(cyf-, prefix = together) + (elin = elbow)
elinad (qv) ell
ETYMOLOGY:
:_______________________________.
elinad
‹e- lî -nad› feminine noun
PLURAL elinadau
‹e-li-- nâ -de›
1 ell, the length between the elbow
and the hand
ETYMOLOGY: (elin = elbow) + (-ad suffix for forming abstract nouns)
:_______________________________.
Elis ‹E lis›
1 man’s name
ab Elis son of Elis (patronymic)
Belis son of Elis – coalesced patronymic, which was used as a surname
(spelt Bellis in English)
:_______________________________.
Eliseg
‹e- li -seg›
1 male name
Croes Eliseg Eliseg’s Cross
Piler Eliseg Eliseg’s Pillar, the Pillar of Eliseg
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/206975
Piler Eliseg
This monument SJ2044 (Croes Eliseg or Piler Eliseg) dates
from the 800s, and commemorates Elisedd ap Gwyllog, a king of Powys who died c.
755. It was erected by Cyngen as a memorial to his great-grandfather.
Part of the Latin inscription (nowadays illegible) read approximately (Welsh
names in modern orthography):
Cyngen son of Cadell, Cadell son of Brochfael, Brochfael son of Eliseg, Eliseg
son of Gwyllog
And this Cyngen, great-grandson of Eliseg, raised this stone here for his
great-grandfather Eliseg
This Eliseg gathered together the inheritance of Powys… out of the power of the
Angle and his sword and fire
Whoever reads this inscription, may he give a blessing to the soul of Eliseg
The Latin name of the Abbey at Llanegwestl, Valle Crucis (“Valley of the Cross”),
refers to the pillar, at one time surmounted by a cross. The Welsh name (Abaty
Glyn y Groes) has the same sense as the Latin name “(the) abbey (of) (the)
valley (of) the cross”. The pillar is a quarter of a mile north of the abbey.
The name Eliseg is a mason’s error for Elisedd
:_______________________________.
-ell ‹ elh ›
(noun suffix; diminutive) (non-productive, except in new literary coinings)
1
Welsh < British *ellâ o *illâ < Celtic
..a) with certain common nons
ffynnon (= spring) > ffynhonnell (= source of information)
iwrch (= roe deer) > iyrchell (= young roe)
llin (obsolete, = line) > llinell (= line)
pib (= pipe) > pibell (= pipe)
traeth ‹TRAITH› (= beach), traethell ‹TREI
thelh› (= little beach;
flat)
..b) occurs in certain stream names
Crafnell (?craf = wild garlic, ransoms)
Crychell (crych = ripple)
Llyfnell (llynf = smooth)
Note its ocurrence too in the river names of Gaul
Indella (French: Andelle; flows into
the river Seine in Normandy)
Mosella (French: Moselle, German
Mosel; flows through France, Luxembourg, Germany)
Timella
..c) occurs in certain personal names
Ariannell (arian = silver)
Gwynnell (gwyn = white, fair)
Mechell (from an original form Mechyll)
(probably mach = bond, surety, guarantee; hostage. Vowel affection a >
e resulting from the presence of y in the final syllable, in the
suffix –yll)
2
Welsh < British < Latin (words ending -ell-us = masculine, -ell-um
= neuter)
Some of these masculine or neuter nouns have become masculine in Welsh:
castellum (= fort) > Welsh castell (m) (= fort, castle)
porcellus (= piglet) > Welsh porchell (m) (= piglet)
Others have been influenced by the native suffix -ell and have become feminine nouns:
botellus (m) (= bottle) > bothell > pothell (f) ( = blister)
cancellus (m) (= chancel) > cangell (f) (= chancel)
cultellus (m) (= knife) > cyllell (f) (= knife)
flagellum (n) (= whip) > flangell (f) (= whip)
3
One word of this type is masculine in Welsh but feminine in Latin
cawell (m) < Late Latin cauella (f) (= basket) < cavea (= cage; fence; basket)
4
(f) new coinings: suffix indicating a machine, a device, a functional object
allweddell piano keyboard (allwedd = piano key)
briwell mincer (USA: ?) (briw-, briwo = to mince)
bysell typewriter key, (bys =
finger) + (-ell). bysellfwrdd
= keyboard;
plygell folder; folder on a computer
(plyg-, plygu = to fold)
pennell bookend (pen = end)
terfynell computer terminal (terfyn = limit, < Latin terminus)
:_______________________________.
ellid
‹e -lhid› verb
1 soft-mutated form of gellid
= it could be (done)
ni ellid it would not be possible
to, it would be impossible to
Ni ellid mo’i well Things are going
just fine (mo’i well = ddim o’i
well – ‘nothing of its better’)
na ellid that it would not be
possible to, that it would be impossible to
Daeth yn glir na ellid codi’r adeilad o
fewn y gyllideb
It became clear that it would be impossible to put up the building within the
budget
:_______________________________.
elli di? ‹E lhi di›
1 can you?
:_______________________________.
● ellir Soft-mutated form - the
radical form has initial g-.
See gellir =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
● elltydd < elltydd Soft-mutated
form - the radical form has initial g-.
See gelltydd < elltydd =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
● ellygen Soft-mutated form -
the radical form has initial g-.
See gellygen =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
ellyll PLURAL
ellyllod ‹E lhilh, e LHI lhod› [ˡɛɬɪɬ] [ɛˡɬəɬɔd] masculine noun
1 sprite
2 Ceubren yr Ellyll [ˡkəibrɛn ər ɛˡɬɪɬ] 'the hollow tree of the sprite’ = hollow oak at Nannau where Owain
Glyndwr is said to have hidden the body of his would-be assassin, his cousin
Hywel Sele
Ceubren yr Ellyll... Yng nghwr isaf
gardd Nannau, ger Meirion, safai gynt dderwen fawr a elwid ar yr enw (Brython
1858-9)
At the bottom of the garden at Nannau... there was formerly a large oak called
by this name
(ceubren = hollow tree) + (yr definite article) + (ellyll = sprite, pixie)
:_______________________________.
Eluned ‹e LII ned› [ɛˡliˑnɛd]
1 woman’s name
:_______________________________.
elusen PLURAL elusennau ‹e LI sen, e li SE ne› [ɛˡlisɛn] [ɛlɪˡsɛnai, ɛlɪˡsɛnɛ] feminine noun
1 alms, charity
byw
ar elusen live on charity
:_______________________________.
elw PLURAL elwau ‹EE lu, EL wai -e› [ˡeˑlʊ] [ˡɛlwai, ˡɛlwɛ] masculine noun
1 profit
:_______________________________.
elwa ‹EL wa› [ˡɛlwa] verb
1 to profit, to make a
profit
2 budrelwa profiteer (budr-
= dirty) + (elwa = profit)
:_______________________________.
Elwern ‹EL wern› [ˡɛlwɛrn]
1
woman’s name (rare)
2 man’s middle name or second forename
2 Bro Elwern “(the)
district (of) Elwern”
Ysgol Bro Elwern name of the primary school in Gwyddelwern
3 Brynelwern LL21 9DQ street
name in Gwyddelwern (“Bryn Elwern”)
ETYMOLOGY: Seemingly a ghost name,
through analysing the name of Gwyddelwern as “(the) grave (of) Elwern” (gw^ydd
= tumulus, burial mound, grave) + (Elwern).
A popular derivation is “Irishman’s alder swamp” (Gwyddel = Irishman) +
soft mutation + (gwern = alder swamp; alder trees)
Melville Richards / Enwau Tir a Gwlad / 1998 / p.246
was inclined to see the word gwyddel (= thicket, bush, brambles) here
rather than Gwyddel (= Irishman).
The basic form is g
yddwal (thicket,
bush), plural g
yddweli
> g
yddfeli (change
of w > f, a change which occurs in other words in Welsh)
> g
yddeli (loss
of the f)
> g
yddel (creation
of a new singular form by removing the plural suffix –i)
(g
y^dd =
wood, trees) + soft mutation + (an unknown element g
al or g
âl)
(possibly g
âl =
animal’s lair, den)
:_______________________________.
● elwir Soft-mutated form - the
radical form has initial g-.
See gelwir =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
..1 Elwy ‹e -lui› feminine noun
1 Afon Elwy SJ0071 =
river in north-east Wales
2 Llanelwy SJ0374 = town
in the county of Dinbych (“(the) ‘llan’ or church (by the river called) Elwy”)
ETYMOLOGY: possibly (el = many) + (gwy = sinuous, winding)
:_______________________________.
..2 Elwy
‹e -lui› feminine noun
1 spurious form for the river Elái in south-east Wales, sometimes
used in the 1800s.
There was a belief that the –wy at
the end of some river names (Conwy, Dyfrdwy, Mynwy, etc), and the river
name Gwy (English: River Wye) were
evidence of the existence of a common noun gwy
(= water).
In fact there is no such word with this meaning, but it appears in William
Owen-Pughe’s Welsh-English dictionary (c.1803) which was popular throughout the
1800s.
There was a temptation on the part of some writers to ‘restore’ this element to
the end of river names.
The existence of the similar-sounding river name Elwy in north-east Wales would have seemed to confirm the correctness
of the notion that Élai was really Elwy.
Eu heiddo hwynt oedd y Collena, o Heol Llantrisant
hyd Afon Elwy
(Hanes Tonyrefail - Atgofion am y Lle a’r
Hen Bobl. Thomas Morgan. 1899, Caer-dydd)
Y Collena was their property, from the Lantrisant Road to the river Elwy / Elái
:_______________________________.
Elwyn ‹EL
win›
1 man’s name
:_______________________________.
● elyn Soft-mutated form - the
radical form has initial g-.
See gelyn =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
● elyniaeth Soft-mutated form - the radical form has initial g-.
See gelyniaeth =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
● elyniaethus Soft-mutated form
- the radical form has initial g-.
See gelyniaethus =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
● elynion Soft-mutated
form - the radical form has initial g-.
See gelynion =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
elyrch ‹E lirkh›
1 swans; plural of alarch
:_______________________________.
● emdy Soft-mutated form - the radical form has initial g-.
See gemdy =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
Emlyn ‹EM lin› [ˡɛmlɪn]
1 name of one of the seven kántrevs of the country of
Dyfed
2 a man’s name, from this district name
Castellnewydd Emlyn (Ceredigion) “(the) Castellnewydd (which is in) (the
kántrev of) Emlyn”.
(Castellnewydd is “new castle”)
NOTE: Emlyn was one of the seven kántrevs of the country of Dyfed in south-west
Wales. It was divided into two kúmmuds – Is Cuch “(place) below (the river)
Cuch”, and Uwch Cuch “(place) above (the river) Cuch”.
Afon Cuch formed the boundary
between the kúmmuds of Emlyn Is Cuch and Emlyn Uwch Cuch. This old boundary is maintained even today,
because the river Cuch separates the county of Caerfyrddin / Carmarthen from
the county of Penfro / Pembroke. The river is 13 kilometres long from its
source at or near Blaen Cuch to where it flows into the river Teifi at Aber
Cuch.
(image adapted from a wikipedia source) (delw 7008)
ETYMOLOGY: The valley of the river Cuch is
called Glyn Cuch. This is the origin of the kántrev name Emlyn - “(district)
on-either-side (of) (the) valley (of the Cuch river)”
(am- prefix = around) + soft mutation
+ (glyn = valley)
a > e through vowel affection – the influence of y in the final syllable.
(Explanation in Enwau Tir a Gwlad / Melville Richards/ 1998, page 48)
:_______________________________.
● emog Soft-mutated form - the
radical form has initial g-.
See gemog =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
Emrys ‹EM
ris›
1 man’s name
:_______________________________.
● emwaith Soft-mutated form -
the radical form has initial g-.
See gemwaith =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
Emwnt ‹E
munt›
1 man’s name - Edmund
:_______________________________.
emyn, emynau ‹E min,
e MI ne›
1 hymn
:_______________________________.
● emydd Soft-mutated form - the
radical form has initial g-.
See gemydd =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
emyn-dôn, emyn-donau ‹E min
doon, e min DO ne›
1 hymn tune
:_______________________________.
emynydd,
eMynyddion ‹e MƏ nidh, e mə NƏDH yon›
1 hymnwriter
:_______________________________.
Emyr ‹E
mir›
1 man’s name
:_______________________________.
..1 -en ‹-› suffix
1 makes a singular noun from a collective noun or plural noun
bedw > bedwen birch > birches
brwyn > brwynen rushes > rush
celyn > celynnen hollybushes >
hollybush
cwningod > cwningen rabbits >
rabbit
dail > deilen leaves > leaf
ffa > ffeuen beans > bean
gwenith > gwenithen wheat > grain of wheat
gwenyn > gwenynen bees > bee
gwern > gwernen alder > alders
llygod > llygoden mice > mouse
pils > pilsen pills > pill
pys > pysen peas > pea
swits > switsen sweets > sweet
twpsod > twpsen stupid idiots
(girls) > stupid idiot (girl)
tywarch / tyweirch > tywarchen
turves > turf
2 makes a feminine noun from an adjective
blac (= English black) > blacen ‘Black’, ‘Blackie’ (name of a
cow)
coch > cochen red > red-haired
girl
moel > moelen hornless > hornless
cow
3 makes a diminutive form from a feminine singular noun
chwil > chwilen beetle
diod > dioden drink
hwyad > hwyaden duck
mwyalch > mwyalchen blackbird
pêl > pelen ball
punt > punten pound (money)
4 Cymricises a borrowing from English (though some words in this
group may also be includable in preceding groups).
The sense of the diminutive form may differ from the radical form
coat > Welsh cot (= coat), coten (=
beating)
pot > Welsh pot (= pot), poten (=
pudding)
:_______________________________.
..2 en-
1 form of the intensifying prefix an- as a result of vowel affection
(y or i in the following final syllable)
..1/ enbyd (= danger)
(an-) + soft mutation + (pyd) > *anbyd > enbyd.
Obsolete Welsh pyd ( = danger),
apparently from Latin puteus (=
hole, well) The same word puteus has
also given pydew (= well) in Welsh
..2/ enfys = (rainbow)
(an-) + soft mutation + (bys = finger); Cf Breton envez (= ring)
..3/ enllib (= calumny, libel,
slander) (= an-) + soft mutation + (llib = element apparently with the
sense of ‘to catch’) > *enlib
> enllib (loss of the mutation)
..4/ enllyn (= something eaten with
bread (eg butter, cheese, meat), something to make plain food more palatable)
(an = intensifying prefix) + soft
mutation + (llyn = liquid) > *enlyn > enllyn (loss of the mutation)
..5/ enwyn = buttermilk
“(thing which is) very white” (an- =
intensifying prefix) + soft mutation + (gwyn
= white)
:_______________________________.
..3 -en
‹-›
A word ending in –en is feminine, if
this is a suffix (see preceding entry)
But beware!
(1) ychen is a plural noun (= oxen).
The singular form is ych (m) (= ox).
This modern form ychen (colloquial
and literary) is in fact more properly ychain
in the literary language.
It is (ych + suffix –ain) with the usual reduction ai > e in a final syllable
Note: Rhydychen (= Oxford), rather
than Rhydychain. Literally “(the)
ford (of the) oxen”. (This place name is feminine, as are all town names).
teg = fair, pretty; Rhydychen deg = fair Oxford
(2) bachgen (= boy)
(3) halen (m) (= salt) < halaen < halwyn
(4) The final –en may be a segment
of another word, All the following are masculine:
(a) llen (m) (= cloth)
Hence
argrafflen (= broadsheet 38 x 61 cm)
(argraffu = to print),
breinlen (= charter) (braint =
privilege),
brithlen (= tapestry) (brith =
variegated),
hysbyslen (= playbill) (hysbysu
= to advertise), etc
newyddlen (= news-sheet) (newydd
= new, piece of news),
taenlen (= spreadsheet) (taenu
= to spread),
taflen (= leaflet) (taflu =
to throw),
(b) pren (m) (= wood, tree)
cambren gambrel; frame, horizontal
pole for hanging a pig from after slaughter; butcher's tree, frame for hanging
a pigs carcass, (cam = crooked, bent)
pompren (= footbridge) (though this
is also a feminine noun, either because of the influence of the element pont (f) (= bridge), the final ‘-en’, or both),
tinbren (American: tailgate)
(Englandic: tailboard) back board of a cart, (tin = arse, rear, back end)
crocbren (= gallows) (crogi =
to hang),
ceubren (= hollow tree) (cau
= hollow) etc
(c) pen (m) (= head)
deupen (= both ends) (dau = two),
etc
(d) dalen (f) leaf of a book
tu (m) side
tudalen (m)
leaf of a book
:_______________________________.
enaid,
eneidiau ‹E
naid, -ed, e NEID yai, -e›
1 soul
2 Mae’n boen enaid imi
ddweud hynny It grieves me to say this (“it is pain (of) soul for me saying
that”)
3
codi ofn am eich enaid arnoch scare
the living daylights out of, scare the shit out of, put the fear of God into,
frighten somebody stiff (“raise fear for your soul on you”)
4
(South-west) becso’ch enaid be
worried out of your mind (“worry your soul”)
lle i enaid gael llonydd a place for a soul to find tranquility
:_______________________________.
● enau Soft-mutated form - the
radical form has initial g-.
See genau =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
enbaid ‹en -bed› masculine noun
1 see embyd
ETYMOLOGY: a variant of the word enbyd
(= danger) (qv)
:_______________________________.
enbyd ‹EN bid›
1 dangerous
2 intensifer enbaid o terribly
Lle imbed o waedlyd oedd Passchendale
(Llafar Gwlad 36 Haf 1992)
Passchendale (battlefield in World War where a quarter of a million soldiers
from the countries of Britain were killed in a single battle) was a really
bloody place
NOTE: In the south-west, the form imbed < inbed, apparently
the result of a metathesis of enbid / enbyd E-I > I-E
:_______________________________.
enbyd
‹en -bid› masculine noun
PLURAL enbydiau,
enbydion ‹en- bəd –ya, -yən›
1 danger
ETYMOLOGY: enbyd < *anbyd < (an-) + soft mutation + (pyd =
danger).
Obsolete Welsh pyd is apparently
from Latin puteus (= hole, well)
The same Latin word puteus has also
given pydew (qv) (= well) in Welsh
:_______________________________.
enbydu
‹eb- bə -di› adjective
1
endanger, put in danger
ETYMOLOGY: (enbyd- ‹“y” = ə›, penult form of enbyd
‹“y” = i› (= perill) + (-u
suffix for forming verbs)
:_______________________________.
encil PLURAL encilion ‹EN kil, en KIL yon› masculine noun
1 refuge, hiding-place, retreat
2 Yr Encil (“the retreat”)
Street name in
..a/ Pen-sarn, Abergele (county of Conwy)
..b/ Maesyfelin, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr (county of Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr)
:_______________________________.
enciliad ‹en KIL yad› masculine noun
1 retreat
seinio’r enciliad to sound the
retreat
estyniad ac enciliad advance and
retreat
:_______________________________.
● enedigaeth Soft-mutated form
- the radical form has initial g-.
See genedigaeth =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
● enedigol ‹e-ne- dî -gol› adjective
Soft-mutated form - the radical form
has initial g-.
See genedigol = (= originating, being by birth)
Roedd yn enedigol o Langurig He was
born in Llangurig
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
eneiniog ‹e- nein -yog› adjective
1
anointed
2
yr Eneiniog (masculine noun) Jesus
Christ, the Messiah ("the Anointed (One)")
3
Eneiniog Duw (masculine noun) Jesus
Christ ("the Anointed (One) (of) God")
ETYMOLOGY: (enein-i, stem of the
verb eneinio = anoint) + (-og, suffix)
:_______________________________.
● eneteg Soft-mutated form -
the radical form has initial g-.
See geneteg =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
● enetegol Soft-mutated form -
the radical form has initial g-.
See genetegol =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
● eneth Soft-mutated form - the
radical form has initial g-.
See geneth = gril
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
● enethaidd Soft-mutated
form - the radical form has initial g-.
See genethaidd = girlish
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
● enethod Soft-mutated form - the radical form has initial g-.
See genethod =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
● enetig Soft-mutated form - the radical form has initial g-.
See genetig =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
● eneuol Soft-mutated form -
the radical form has initial g-.
See geneuol =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
enfawr ‹EN
vaur›
1 enormous
:_______________________________.
enfys ‹en -vis› feminine noun
PLURAL enfysoedd,
enfysau ‹en-və-sodh, en-və-se›
1 rainbow
Enfys y bore, aml gawode;
Enfys y pnawn, tegwch a gawn
weather saying:
(a) rainbow / (in) the morning, / frequent showers;
(a) rainbow / (in) the
afternoon, / (it is) fair weather / that / we shall have
2 Enfys woman’s name
3 obsolete ring
4 obsolete in winding wool
or yarn into a ball, the end of the thread which is wound repeatedly around the
thumb or the fingers to form the nucleus
5 enfys y llygad iris of
the eye
6 enfys y gors Iris Pseudacorus yellow iris (“rainbow
of the bog”)
ETYMOLOGY: (an- = intensifying
prefix) + soft mutation + (bys =
finger); an > en under the influence of the y in the final syllable
Breton envez (= ring)
The Welsh sense development is “ring” > “ring in
the sky / rainbow”.
NOTE: (1) although this is the standard word, it is colloquially a northern
word.
In the south ‘rainbow’ is more usually pont
y glaw (“(the) bridge (of) the rain”)
(2) other local names are
..(a) bwa’r arch (“bow (of) the ark
(of Noah)”)
..(b) bwa’r Drindod (“bow (of) the
Trinity”)
..(c) bwa’r glaw (“bow (of) the
rain”)
:_______________________________.
Enfys ‹EN vis› feminine noun
1 woman’s name (= rainbow)
:_______________________________.
engan ‹e- ngan› feminine noun
PLURAL einganau ‹ei-
ngâ -ne›
1 (North
Wales) anvil
2 Names of houses and streets Sŵnyrengan (“(the) sound
(of) the anvil”)
..a/ street name in Y Gaerwen (county of Môn) (“Swn yr Engan”)
ETYMOLOGY: See eingion
:_______________________________.
enghraifft,
enghreifftiau ‹E
nghreft, e NGHREIFT ye› feminine noun
1 example
2 er mwyn cael enghraifft for argument’s sake
3 Dyma i chwi enghraifft
arall Here’s another example
:_______________________________.
englyn
‹eng-lin› masculine noun
PLURAL englynion
‹eng-lən-yon›
1 four-lined alliterative verse
englyn arobryn prize-winning verse,
winning verse in a contest
2 gwneud englyn compose
an ‘englyn’
Fe ddywedir iddo wneud englyn am y digwyddiad
It is said that he composed an englyn about the event
ETYMOLOGY: unknown
NOTE: pronunciation: ‹ng› as in standard English “singer”, “banger”, and not ‹ng-g› as in English “finger”, “longer”
:_______________________________.
● eni Soft-mutated form - the
radical form has initial g-.
See geni = to be born; to give birth to
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
Enid ‹E
nid› feminine noun
1 woman’s name
:_______________________________.
Enlli
‹en -lhi› feminine noun
1 Enlli, or Ynys Enlli ‹Ə-nis
EN-lhi› [ˡənɪs
ˡɛnɬɪ] (“(the) island
(of) Enlli”) – English name ‘Bardsey Sound’, island off the Welsh mainland in
the Llyn peninsula
2
Swnt Enlli (“(the) sound (of)
Enlli”) – English name ‘Bardsey Sound’, the strait between the Welsh mainland
and Ynys
Enlli (English name of the island: ‘Bardsey Island’)
3
cafn Enlli a flat-bottomed boat
which used to take travellers from the mainland (peninsula of Llyn) across Swnt Enlli (English name: Bardsey
Sound) from the Welsh mainland to the island of Enlli (Ynys Enlli) (English
name: Bardsey Island)
4
name of a chapel near Remsen, New York State
“Similar reports come from the churches to the east and south of Remsen. Enlli has still a few
members and combines with the two other Calvinistic Methodist churches nearby,
Pen-y-caerau and Prospect, to support a supply. The Congregational church at
Ninety-six has been abandoned for nearly thirty years. The Welsh Wesleyan
church there is still open. It had been given up for some years when about
fifteen years ago the last member, a wealthy farmer's wife, had the church
repaired.” (The Welsh in Oneida County, New York. Paul Demund Evans. M.A.
Thesis, 1914, Cornell University.)
5 woman’s forename (rare)
ETYMOLOGY: ?? Apparently a personal name.
The meaning is not “island in the tide, island in the current” as stated in
some places, from assuming that it is Enlli < Ynlli < Ynllif < yn y
llif (“in the current”), for which there is no basis; apart from this, it would
be a most unlikely name anyway for an island, and it is not paralleled by other
names in Welsh or in the other Celtic languages..
:_______________________________.
enllyn
‹en -lhin› masculine noun
1
companage = something eaten with bread (eg butter, cheese, meat), something to
make plain food more palatable, (Scotland: kitchen, kitchie; tea)
Does gen-i ddim enllyn I've only got
dry bread to eat (I've got no 'enllyn')
2
formerly, two accompanying foods (dau enllyn) were considered an excess
Bara a chaws oedd y drefn; gwastraffu
enllyn oedd rhoi bara a menyn a chaws neu rywbeth arall
Y Bwrdd Bwyd yn Ysbyty Ifan / Llafar Gwlad / Gwanwyn 1990 / Rhif 27
Bread and cheese was the usual arrangement; it was a waste of companage to give
bread and butter along with cheese or some other thing
3
Sayings:
Gorau enllyn, enllyn llaeth The best
companage is milk
Gorau un enllyn, halen The very best
companage is salt
Rhaid enllyn da guda bara llwyd You
need a good companage with mouldy bread
Tri enllyn iechyd: mêl, ymenyn a llaeth
The three companages for health are honey, butter and milk
4
Pe bydde’r Wyddfa i gyd yn gaws / Mi
fydde’n haws cael enllyn (part of a traditional verse)
If the Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon mountain) were all cheese / It would be easier to get
companage (i.e. to get something to eat along with a piece of bread)
5
food (especially tasty food)
Macrell fyddai ei brif enllyn ar ddydd
gwaith Mackerel would be his main food on a working day
6
enllyn bara companage (something
eaten along with a piece of bread)
Enllyn bara
da yw eisiau bwyd Hunger is the best
sauce (= food no matter how plain becomes very appetising when you are really
hungry) (“(it is) (a) good companage (of) bread that-is want (of) food”)
ETYMOLOGY: Welsh enllyn (an = intensifying prefix) + soft
mutation + (llyn = liquid) > *enlyn (vowel change en < an through the influence of the
following y) > enllyn (mutation disallowed, n-l
becomes n-ll) (cf cynllun, henllan, henllys, etc)
From the same Celtic root: Irish anlann
(= sauce)
:_______________________________.
ennill ‹E nilh› verb
1 to win
ennill ei fywoliaeth ‹E
nilh i viu OL yeth› earn his
living
2
gwario swllt er ennill ceiniog penny
wise and pound foolish, (“spending a shilling to gain a penny”)
:_______________________________.
● ennod Soft-mutated
form - the radical form has initial g-.
See gennod =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
● enyn Soft-mutated form - the radical form has initial g-.
See genyn =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
ennyn ‹E nin› verb
1 kindle; cause
2 Mae cwrw yn ennyn syrthni
Beer causes sluggishness
3
ennyn parch command respect
:_______________________________.
entrepreneur
‹on-trə-prə-nəər› masculine noun
PLURAL entrepreneuriaid
‹on-trə-prə-nəər-yed›
1 entrepreneur = someone in charge of
a business which is a personal financial risk
ETYMOLOGY: English entrepreneur <
French entrepreneur (= contractor,
entrepreneur) < entreprendre (=
to undertake)
(1) (entre = between) < Latin (inter = between)
(2) (prendre = take) < Latin (prehendere = grasp)
:_______________________________.
entrych
‹en -trikh› masculine noun
PLURAL entrychion
‹en- trəkh -yon›
1
firmament, dome of heaven, heaven, celestial vault, celestial heights
Yr oedd copa’r mynydd uwch ei ben yn
dyrchafu i'r entrych The mountain top was above him reaching inot heaven
2
zenith, peak
cyrraedd yr entrychion reach the
peak (of success)
3
canmol i'r entrychion praise to the
skies
4
yn entrych y ffurfafen high in the
firmament
ETYMOLOGY:
unknown
:_______________________________.
enw, enwau ‹E nu, EN we› masculine noun
1 name
taro
enw rhywun ar restr put somebody’s
name on a list
tynnu enw rhywun oddi ar restr take
somebody’s name off a list, remove somebody’s name from a list
enw
morwynol maiden name, woman’s surname before marriage
2 mynd o dan enw ffug go
under an assumed name
3 difa’ch enw da destroy your reputation, spoil your reputation,
sully your reputation
sarnu’ch enw da destroy your
reputation, spoil your reputation, sully your reputation
4 profi yn llond yr enw turn out to be
exactly as the name suggests
Yn
y flwyddyn 1797, yn mhen dwy flynedd wedi ei urddiad, efe a gymerodd Mary Brees
y Coed, yn ymgeledd cymwys iddo ei hun, yr hon yn ol iaith traddodiad a brofodd
yn llon’d yr enw.
In the year 1797, two years after his ordination, he
took Mary Brees from Y Coed as a wife (“suitable help”), who, according to
tradition, turn
out to be exactly as the name suggests.
(ymgeledd cymwys helpmate = helpful wife or husband, literally
‘‘suitable help’)
Genesis 18:20
Hefyd yr Arglwydd Dduw a ddywedodd, Nid da bod y dyn
ei hunan; gwnaf iddo ymgeledd cymwys iddo...
(18:20) Ac Adda a enwodd enwau ar yr holl anifeiliaid, ac
ar ehediad y nefoedd ac ar holl fwystfilod y maes;
ond ni chafodd efe i Adda ymgeledd cymwys iddo
Genesis 18:20 And the Lord God said, It is not good that the
man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him...
(18:20) And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air,
and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not
found an help meet for him
5
enw dwbl double-barrelled name
(“Jones-Hopkins”, etc)
6 galw rhywbeth wrth ei enw
call a spade a spade (“call something by its name”)
7 dyn ac enw da iddo man with a good
reputation, a man who people speak well of
8 bod o’r un enw â have
the same name as
Blaenor yn Llan-non oedd ei dad. Yr oedd
ei dad-cu o’r un enw â’i dad
His father was an elder in Llan-non. His grandfather had the same name as his
father
:_______________________________.
enwad,
enwadau ‹EN
wad, en WA de› masculine
noun
1 denomination
ETYMOLOGY: (enw- stem of the verb enwi
= to name) + (-ad suffix for forming abstract
nouns)
:_______________________________.
enwadaeth ‹en WA deth›
1 sectarianism
ETYMOLOGY: (enwad = denomination) + (-aeth suffix for forming abstract
nouns)
:_______________________________.
enwadol ‹en WA dol›
1 denominational
ETYMOLOGY: (enwad = denomination) + (-ol suffix for forming adjectives)
:_______________________________.
enwadur,
enwaduron ‹en
WA dir, en wa DI ron› masculine
noun
1 denominator
ETYMOLOGY: (enw- stem of the verb enwi
= to name) + (-adur suffix for forming nouns which
name types of devices or books)
:_______________________________.
enwadwr,
enwadwyr ‹en
WA dur, en WAD wir› masculine
noun
1 sectarian
ETYMOLOGY: (enwad = denomination) + (-wr suffix for denoting an agent, < gw^r
= man)
:_______________________________.
enw bedydd,
enwau bedydd ‹E
nu BE didh› masculine
noun
1 forename, baptismal
name, Christian name, first name
ETYMOLOGY: “baptised name” (enw = name) + (bedydd, stem of the verb bedyddio = to
baptise)
:_______________________________.
enwedig ‹ən en WE dig› (adj)
1 named
2 (adv) yn enwedig = especially
ETYMOLOGY: literally ‘named’ (enw- stem of the verb enwi = to name) + (-edig past
participle suffic)
:_______________________________.
enwog ‹EN wog›
1 famous
2 drwgenwog (character) disreputable, infamous (drwg = bad) + (enwog =
famous)
ETYMOLOGY: (enw = name) + (-og
suffix for forming adjectives)
:_______________________________.
● enyn Soft-mutated form - the radical form has initial g-.
See genyn =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
● enynnol Soft-mutated form -
the radical form has initial g-.
See genynnol =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
● enynnol Soft-mutated form -
the radical form has initial g-.
See genynnol =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
eofn ‹E
ovn› (adj)
1 bold, familiar, cheeky, impudent, cocky, arrogantly clever,
(USA colloquial: nervy, sassy)
mynd yn eofn ar get cheeky with
bod yn eofn ar be cheeky to, make
free with
2 Siarl Eofn Charles the
Bold
ETYMOLOGY: (e- suffix = without) + (ofn = fear); but probably already
a compound in British as *eks-obn-o- (eks suffix = without,
equivalent to Latin ex-) + (obn-o- = fear)
There is a Latinised Gaulish name Exobnus corresponding exactly to Welsh
eofn.
NOTE: In northern Ceredigion
it occurs as echon < echofn
< ehofn (eh-, a form of e-) +
(ofn), from the British form *eks-obn-o-
A common colloquial
pronunciation in the south is ewn
eofn > eo’n > ewn
Cf heol (= road) > hewl, eos (= nightingale) > ews,
Nanteos > Nant-ews
:_______________________________.
eofndra ‹e OVN dra› masculine noun
1 boldness
ETYMOLOGY: (eofn = bold) + (-dra suffix
for forming abstract nouns, the soft-mutated form of the suffix -tra)
:_______________________________.
eog, eogiaid ‹E og, e OG yed› masculine noun
1 (Salmo salar) salmon, Atlantic salmon
2 (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) eog cefngrwm (m) eogiaid cefngrwm pink salmon (“bent-back salmon”)
:_______________________________.
eorth ‹e-orth› adjective
1 (obsolete) diligent, studious
ETYMOLOGY: British < Celtic eks-ort-;
stem *or- (= to rise);
Cf Latin oriri (= to rise, spring
from), as in English origin <
Latin orîgô < oriri
NOTE: eorth has also a variant form iorth
:_______________________________.
eorthryn ‹e- orth-rin› masculine noun
1 (obsolete) diligence, studiousness. See iorthryn
ETYMOLOGY: eorthryn < ehorthryn
(= diligence); (eorth = diligent) +
soft mutation + (rhyn)
:_______________________________.
eos ‹EE-os›
(f)
PLURAL eosiaid (eosydd, eosau)
‹e-OS-yaid,
-yed, e-OS-au. -e›
1 nightingale
In south-east Wales the
colloquial form is ios ‹II
os ›
1 (Luscinia megarhyncos) = nightingale
eos Sir Gaer (south-east Wales), pronounced as ios Shir Ga’r owl “(the)
nightingale (of) Sir Gaer”. Sir Gaer is the short form of Sir
Gaerfyrddin, “(the) county (of) Caerfyrddin”, in English:
Carmarthenshire
2 somebody who sings sweetly; used
(nineteenth century) in pseudonyms by singers (tenors) or bards
Eos Dâr “(the) nightingale (of) (the) Dâr (river)”, i.e. from Aber-dâr
or nearby)
Thrwy ei gyfeillgarwch â'r ddau gerddor Daniel Evans (Eos Dâr) a Tom Bryant, cyfansoddodd
[Watcyn Wyn] nifer o benillion i'w canu gan rai o brif ddatgeiniaid ei gyfnod.
Casglwr 52 Mai 1994
Through his friendship with the two musicians Daniel Evans (Eos Dâr) and Tom
Bryant,
Watcyn Wyn composed a number of penillion (verses) to be sung by the
main performers of his period
3 eos bren (south-east Wales), pronounced as ios bren a terrible singer,
somebody with no talent for singing (“wooden nightingale”)
4 In names of houses and streets
Llwynyreos
Street name, Ffosygerddinen / Nelson (county of Caerffili) (“Llwyn-yr-eos”)
Street name and public house name, Abercannaid (county of Merthyrtudful)
(“Llwyn-yr-eos”)
Street name, Treforus (county of
Abertawe)
Street name, Llanelli (county of Caerfyrddin)
Street name, Penparcau, Aberystwyth (county of Ceredigion), and the name of a
primary school here
House name – name of the house in which Ivor Novello was born, in Heol y
Bont-faen (Darn dwyreiniol) (“Cowbridge Road East”) west of Caer-dydd (Caerdydd) city center
House name, Crug-y-bar, Llanwrda (Caerfyrddin)
House name, Nantgaredig (Caerfyrddin)
House name, Cwmorgan (Caerfyrddin)
House name, Glanyfferi (Caerfyrddin)
House name, Llanwennog (Ceredigion)
Heol
Llwynyreos (“Llwynyreos Road”), Rhydargaeau (Caerfyrddin)
Llwyneos llwyn eos < llwyn yr eos (with the loss of the
linking definite article) Pen-rhiw-llan
Mynyddyreos
name of a street in Dinas (Rhondda Cynon Taf) (“(the) hill / mountain (of) the
nightingale”)
Pantyreos (“(the)
hollow (of) the nightingale”) a street in Rhisga; also here are Nant Pantyreos
(“Pantyreos Brook”) and Cronlyn
Pantyreos (Pantyreos Reservoir)
Pantyreos Farm
in Llanfrechfa, Cwm-brân
Pantyreos House
in Henllys, Torfaen
Rhodfa'r Eos
name of a street in Ynysforgan (county of Abertawe) ("(the) walk / parade
(of) the nightingale")
Sŵnyreos
(“(the) sound (of) the nightingale”)
..a/ street name in Ystradgynlais (district of Brycheiniog, county of Powys)
(spelt as “Swn yr Eos”)
Twynyreos
name of a street in Treherbert (Rhondda Cynon Taf) (“(the) hill (of) the
nightingale”)
ETYMOLOGY: Unknown. Breton has eostik
(= nightingale)
NOTE: Alternative pronunciation is ews, showing the change
eos > ews as in
heol (= street) > hewl,
eofn (= bold) > e’on > ewn
Nant-ews [nantˡɛʊs] is the pronunciation of Nanteos in
northern Ceredigion
NOTE: In the south-east eos > ios
:_______________________________.
eoslais ‹e-os-lais› masculine noun [ɛˡɔslaɪs]
1
voice of a nightingale
Yr Eoslais
A folk tune mentioned in “The Cambrian
Quarterly Magazine and Celtic Repertory” (1830). The English name is given as “The Voice of the Nightingale”
ETYMOLOGY: (eos = nightingale) + soft mutation + (llais = voice)
:_______________________________.
EPENTHETIC
VOWELS IN WELSH ‹-›
-
1
Many monosyllables nave become bisyllabic colloquially with the insertion into
a consonant cluster of an echo vowel, one which duplicates the vowel of the
first syllable (or final vowel of a diphthong)
This is especially characteristic of South Wales
cefn (= back) > cef(e)n / cefen ‹ke-ven› (South Wales)
gwydr (= glass) > gwyd(y)r / gwydyr ‹gui-dir› (general?)
llyfr (= book) > llyf(y)r / llyfyr ‹lhi-vir› (South Wales)
ochr (= side) > och(o)r / ochor ‹oo-khor› (general)
pobl (= people) > pob(o)l / pobol ‹poo-bol› (general)
syml (= simple) > sym(y)l / symyl ‹si-mil› (general?)
:_______________________________.
épithet ‹E
pi thet›
1 epithet
:_______________________________.
Epona
‹e-pô-na› feminine noun
1 Celtic goddess of horses
ETYMOLOGY: British (ep- = horse) + (on- suffix often used in the names of
deities) + (-a suffix denoting a
female)
NOTE: See eb (= horse)
:_______________________________.
Epynt
‹e-pint›
1
mountain in the county of Powys.
Also: Mynydd Epynt
ETYMOLOGY: probably “horse path” (eb
= horse) + (hynt = way, path) (b + h = p)
:_______________________________.
er ‹er› preposition
1 for = for the sake of (used especially in the names of societies
and organisations)
Y Gymdeithasfa Brydeining er Hyrwyddo’r
Gwyddorau
The British Association for the Advancement of Science (“the British
association for advancing science”)
Y Gymdeithas er Atal Sŵn
The Noise Abatement Society (“the society for stopping noise”)
Y Gymdeithas er Atal Creulondeb i Blant
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (“the society for stopping
cruelty to children”)
2
for
er anrhydedd i in honour of (“for
honour to”)
er bendith for the good of (“for
blessing (of)”)
er budd for the benefit of (“for
benefit (of)”)
er cof am in memory of (“for memory
/ remembrance for”)
er cwrteisi out of courtesy (“for
courtesy”)
er dim on any account
er mwyn for the sake of (“for
advantage”)
er popeth for heaven’s sake (“for
everything”)
er tegwch â in fairness to (“for
fairness with”)
3
in spite of, despite, notwithstanding (+ noun, pronoun)
ymláen â’r sioe er pob anffawd
the show must go on! (“on with the show in spite of every mishap”)
er hynny in spite of that,
notwithstanding that
er ei hoedran fawr in spite of her
great age
er gwaethaf in spite of (gwaethaf = worst)
er pob pregeth i’r gwrthwyneb in
spite of being told not to do it many times (“in spite of every sermon to the
contrary”)
4
(in spite of) + (noun phrase) + (i =
to)
er dirfawr sioc iddi to her great
shock, to her great consternation
er mawr boen i mi to my great
chagrin
er mawr embaras iddo to (his) great
surprise
er mawr glod iddynt, buont yn adeiladol
dros ben
to their great credit, they were very constructive
er mawr syndod i bawb to everyone’s
great surprise
er syndod dirfawr i Dewi to Dewi’s
immense surprise
5
er bod although it is / it was
6
with the equative form of an adjective (..-ed)
although so..., although such a... in spite of being so...
er amled y Mynyddoedd a’r afonydd sydd
rhyngom...
in spite of all the mountains and rivers between us
(“although so plentiful the mountains and rivers between us”)
er arbeniced personoliaeth ydoedd
although he was such a special personality
(“although so special his personality”)
er garwed y driniaeth
in spite of the roughness of the treatment, in spite of the rough treatment
(“although so rough the treatment”)
er cyn lleied however little
7
with (conjugated forms of the preposition i)
+ (verbnoun) to express the past tense
er iddo gyffrói drwyddo
in spite of being badly shaken
8
since = from a specified point in the past;
With this sense, usually ers (qv)
er creadigaeth since the creation
er pump o’r gloch since five o’
clock
9
er pan (qv) (conjunction) since
er pan ddeuthum yma since I came
here
10
obsolete during
With this sense, usually ers (qv)
er oes donci for donkey’s years
(“during (a) life (of a) donkey”)
In the compound form erióed (=
never); literally “er (e)i oed” during his life
11 newid (verb) er
gwell a change for the better
newid (noun) er gwell
to change for the better
newid (verb) er gwaeth
a change for the worse
newid (noun) er gwaeth
to change for the worse
12
conjugated forms (now obsolete)
erof ‹e-rov› = for me,
erom ‹e-rom› = for us,
erot ‹e-rot› = for thee,
eroch ‹e-rokh› = for you,
erddi ‹er-dhi› = for her,
erddo ‹er-dho› = for him,
erddynt ‹er-dhint› = for them
ETYMOLOGY: Welsh er < British
< Celtic
From the same British root: Cornish er
(= for)
From the same Indoeuropean root: Latin per
(and Catalan per), Greek peri (= around, near)
:_______________________________.
er- ‹er› prefix
1 variant of the intensifying prefix ar- (ar- becomes er-
through the influence of i
‹i› or y ‹i› or y ‹ə› in the following syllable)
..a/ erfain (= impudent) (ar) + (main = thin)
This word is rarely used in modern Welsh
..b/ erfyn (= beg, implore) (ar + myn-, the same element
as in mynnu = insist)
..c/ erglywed (= to listen, to hear)
(ar) + (clywed = to hear) (though here the vowel y is ‹ə›)
This word is rarely used in modern Welsh
..d/ ergyd (= blow, knock, punch) (ar) + (cyd = ‹probably› aim)
..e/ erlyn (= chase, prosecute) (ar) + (glyn- = to stick)
..f/ erwyn (= pure white, splendid)
(ar) + (gwyn = white)
..g/ eryl (= lookout; originally: hunt ) (ar) + (hyl = a hunt, a variant of hel-
/ hela = to hunt)
:_______________________________.
-er ‹er› verb termination
1 impersonal imperative
dyweder let it be said
os mynner if
you so wish
2 In literary Welsh, equivalent to an English direct imperative
(a) cynhaner = pronounce...! (“let
it be pronounced”)
..........“Penllad”. Cynhaner: pen-llâd.
“Rhad penllad” = y gras pennaf, y fendith fwyaf.
“Penllad”. Pronounce it as “pen-llâd”. “Rhad penllad” = the highest grace, the
greatest blessing
(b) gocheler efelychiadau beware of
imitations
(c) gweler = see...! (“let it be
seen”)
.........Gweler Tudalen 5 (= pump)
See Page 5
(d) gwneler Dy ewyllys Thy will be
done (Lord’s Prayer)
(e) sylwer = observe...! (“let it be
observed”)
(f) Ysgydwer y botel Shake the
bottle
3 hyd oni wahaner ni gan angau till death us do
part
:_______________________________.
”er”
1 Some loans from English
conserve ‹er› which in Englandic is nowadays ‹aa’›.
In the USA some of these words have ‹aa’› as in Englandic;
others have conserved ‹er› which in present-day American has become ‹əərr›
1/ CERFIO
Welsh cerfio = to carve; in Middle English this was kerve ‹kerv›
2/ CLERC
Welsh clerc (= clerk);
..:(a) the same as older English clerk ‹klerk›,
...(b) modern Englandic ‹klaa’k›. This is spelt with an 'e' clerk as a common
noun, and with an 'a' as a surname (Clark)
3/ FFERM
Welsh fferm (= farm);
...(a) modern Englandic and American English farm ‹faa’m›.
...(b) Formerly ferm in English. The
later form has also been borrowed into Welsh, and ffarm exists alongside
fferm, though the latter word is considered the standard form
4/ Welsh persli (= parsley) < Middle English ‹pérsli›, now modern English parsley
‹pársli›
5/ Welsh person (= parson);
...(a) the same as in older English person ‹pérsən›.
...(b) In modern Englandic and American English parson ‹páarrsən› although person is
retained in the sense of ‘an individual, a body’
...(c) In American English the common noun has retained ‹er›, but clerk is in
present-day American pronounced ‹kləərk›
2 some words borrowed from English
preserve the sound ‹er› which in both Englandic and in American English is
now ‹əə’ /
əər›
Welsh term (= term); modern Englandic
and American English term ‹təə’m / təərm›
:_______________________________.
eraill ‹E rilh›
1 others - plural of arall
:_______________________________.
erbyn ‹ER bin›
1 by, before (time)
Daeth yn ôl erbyn naw - He came back
by nine
2 yn erbyn ‹ən
ER bin› against
3
erbyn ystyried all things considered,
considering the circumstances, in view of the situation
erbyn meddwl all things considered,
considering the circumstances, in view of the situation
:_______________________________.
erbyn hyn
‹er-bin hin› adverb
1 by now
gan ei fod wedi cystadlu mewn cymaint o
eisteddfodau yr oedd erbyn hyn yn hen law ar sefyll o flaen cynulleidfa
since he had competed in so many eisteddfods he was by now an old hand at
standing in front of an audience
ETYMOLOGY: (erbyn = against) + (hyn = this (moment))
:_______________________________.
erbyn hynny
‹er-bin hə-ni› adverb
1 by then
ETYMOLOGY: (erbyn = against) + (hynny = that (moment))
:_______________________________.
erch ‹erkh› feminine noun
1 daughter of
Gwenllian erch Dafydd Gwenllian daughter (of) David
From an original form Gwenllian ferch Dafydd
< Gwenllian merch Dafydd.
In genitive constructions, there was soft mutation of the first consonant
– here "m" > "f" ‹v› -
and later loss of the consonant "f"
merch > ferch > erch
Compare
ab / ap > fab > mab
Siôn ap Dafydd (= Siôn ab Dafydd – originally the final
"p" represented both ‹p› and ‹b›)
John, son (of) David
< Siôn fab Dafydd
< Siôn mab Dafydd
A possible place name example of erch (from the form as it appears on
maps - examples of earlier forms needed to confirm this) is a farm called Llwyn-erch-Idwal
("the wood of the daughter of Idwal") to the east above the village
of Y Glais in the county of Abertawe, unless it is a fanciful reworking of
“llannerch” (= clearing in a wood, glade), with llwyn (= bush, grove)
replacing llan (= land)
:_______________________________.
erch ‹erkh› adj
1 (obsolete) mottled, speckled, dappled
It survives in
the names of various rivers and streams, referring to the colour or the mottled
appearance
Afon Erch (Gwynedd) “dappled river”, and the village name Aber-erch (estuary
of the Erch river)
Nant Erchan (erch + diminutive suffix –an) , flowing into Nant Brân
at Llanfihangel Nant Brân, Powys (Erchan could possibly be a personal
name, with the same etymology)
Nannerch village in Sir y Fflint. This is Nant Erch (=
dappled stream; or dappled valley)
Blaenannerch
< blaen Nannerch Source of the stream called Nant Erch
llannerch clearing, glade (“llann- < llan land) + (erch =
dappled)
2 (obsolete) dusky, dark
3 frightful, horrible, horrendous
ar fin dibyn erch on the edge of a horrendous cliff
ETYMOLOGY:
Welsh erch < British *erk- < Celtic
From the same Celtic root: Irish earc, Scottish ears (Dwelly’s dictionary marks it ‘obsolete’. The
first meaning is ‘speckled’, and the second, taken from Armstrong’s earlier
dictionary from mid-Perthshire, is ‘red’)
:_______________________________.
erchwyn ‹er- khəlh -ter› masculine noun
PLURAL erchwynion,
erchwynnau ‹erkh-uin-yon,
erkh-ui-nai -e ›
1
horror, atrocity
1 side, border, edge
2 bedside
wrth erchwyn gwely y claf at the bedside of the patient
3 (South Wales) (f) edge of a
grave, side of a grave
rhwng y ddwy erchwyn in the grave (“between the two sides (of the grave)”)
4 (obsolete), protector, defender
ETYMOLOGY:Welsh < British < Celtic
*ari-sqend-,
Cf Latin scando, scandere (= mount, climb), ascendo (= ascend),
descendo (= descend) < *squand (= go up)
NOTE: Page 46 / A Welsh Grammar
- Historical and Comparative / John Morris-Jones (1864-1929) /1913: The
following words may be mentioned as those most commonly mispronounced: wy
is the falling diphthong in cer
n
‘vat’, disg
l,
‘look, expect’, G
nedd
‘Venedotia’, G
ndid,
id., mor
n
‘maiden’, ter
n
‘ fervent’; it is the rising diphthong in oher
dd
‘because of’, cych
n,
‘rise, start’, erch
n
‘protector, [bed]-side’, ded
dd
‘happy’
:_______________________________.
erchyll ‹ER khilh› adjective
1 terrible
2 mynd yn
frwydr erchyll (“to become a terrible fight, to go into a terrible fight”)
aeth yn frwydr erchyll a terrible fight broke out
:_______________________________.
erchyllter
‹er- khəlh
-ter› masculine noun
PLURAL erchyllterau
‹er-khəlh-tê-re›
1
horror, atrocity
erchyllterau rhyfel the horrors of
war
ETYMOLOGY: (erchyll- ‹ə› < erchyll ‹i› = horrible ) + soft
mutation + (gwaith = act)
:_______________________________.
erchylltra
‹er- khəlh
-tra› masculine noun
PLURAL erchyllterau
‹er-khəlh-tê-re›
1
horror, atrocity
ETYMOLOGY: (erchyll- ‹ə› < erchyll ‹i› = horrible ) + (-tra suffix for forming abstract nouns)
:_______________________________.
erchyllwaith
‹er- khəlh
-waith› masculine noun
1
atrocity, atrocities
Torasant eu draed a’u dwylaw oddi wrth
eu cyrff, a thynasant eu llygaid, a gwnaethasant erchyllwaith gwaeth. They
cut their feet and hands off (“off their bodies”), and pulled out their eyes,
and committed ‹even› worse atrocities
ETYMOLOGY: (erchyll- ‹ə› < erchyll ‹i› = horrible ) + soft
mutation + ( gwaith = act)
:_______________________________.
Ercwlff ‹ er -kulf › m
1
Hercules
llawffon Ercwlff Hercules’s club /
Hercules’s cudgel
Neuadd Ercwlff Hercules Hall, a building in Portmeirion
:_______________________________.
ercyd ‹ER kid›
1 (South –east Wales) to
fetch
Cer i ercyd
ercyd < ergyd, an alternative form of the verbnoun ergydio (=
to strike)
:_______________________________.
erddi ‹ER dhi›
1 for her. See er
:_______________________________.
erddigan ‹er-DHII-gan › femenine noun
PLURAL erddiganau
‹, er.dhi-GAA-nai -e›
1 air, melody, tune, song
Erddigan Caer Waun caer
y Waun (“(the) castle (of) Y Waun”)
A folk tune in “The Cambrian Quarterly
Magazine and Celtic Repertory” (1830). The English name is given as “The Minstrelsy of Chirk Castle”.
ETYMOLOGY: (erddi-)
+ soft mutation + (cân = song)
erddi is a combination of the prefixes ar + di
(ar- intensifying prefix) + soft
mutation + (di- intensifying prefix)
> *arddi- > erddi (vowel
affection – final i causes change a > e in the preceding
syllable)
:_______________________________.
erfinen, erfin ‹er VI
nen, ER vin›
1 turnip
:_______________________________.
erfyn ‹ER
vin›
1 beg
:_______________________________.
ergyd ‹er-gid› femenine noun (can also be masculine)
PLURAL ergydion,
ergydiau ‹er-gəd-yon, er-gəd-ye›
1 blow (from fist, etc), impact; sock
= hard blow
adroddiad fesul ergyd a blow-by-blow
account
anelu ergyd at strike at
ar yr ergyd gyntaf at the first blow
ergyd gas nasty blow
ergyd gorffennol coup de grace
gwneud (rhywbeth) ar yr un ergyd do (something) at the
first blow
heb un ergyd without striking a blow
mae’r ergyd gyntaf yn werth dwy
(saying) the first blow is half the battle (“the first blow is worth two”)
rhoi ergyd strike a blow
rhoi ergyd i rywun strike somebody
taro ergyd strike a blow
taro ergyd ar ôl ergyd (yn erbyn rhywbeth) strike blow after blow
(against something)
roedd marciau ergyd ar ei gefn there were bruise marks on his back
2 firing of a gun, blast, shot
ar un ergyd in one go, with one shot
bod yn ddi-ffael eich ergyd be a sure
shot, be a dead shot (“be without fail your shot”)
ergyd gwn gunshot
ergydion reiffl rifle shots (USA:
riflery)
ergyd pistol pistol shot
ergyd reiffl rifle shot
fel ergyd o ddryll like a shot, very
rapidly
fel ergyd o wn like a shot, very
rapidly
gollwng ergyd shoot
o fewn ergyd reiffl within rifle
shot
sicr eich ergyd having a sure shot
tanio ergyd fire a shot
...heb danio ergyd without a shot
being fired, without firing a shot
3
ergyd bwyell axe-blow, axe-stroke
4
explosion, detonation
5
shot = arrowshot
ergyd saeth arrow shot
fe ellir rhoi ergyd cwmws (= cymwys) o hen fwa “you can shoot straight from
an old bow”
6
ergyd ar y disiau throw of the dice
7
ergyd llaw chwith sly dig,
back-handed complement (“left-hand blow”)
8
ergyd pladur sweep of the scythe
9
ergyd dros ysgwydd a parting shot,
caustic remark on leaving
ergyd o gyrraedd a passing shot
(“shot from reaching”)
10
throw, cast
ergyd carreg hit with a stone
lladd dwy frân ag un ergyd kill two
birds with one stone ("kill two crows with one blow")
lladd dau aderyn ag un ergyd kill
two birds with one stone ("kill two birds with one blow")
11
blow = (emotional), shock, unpleasant event
dadebru o'r ergyd recover from the
shock
Ergyd drist oedd ei farw cynnar yn 49
oed His premature death at the age of 49 was a grievous blow
12
blow = disappointment, unexpected rebuff
Bu’n ergyd drom imi It was a
terrible blow for me
13 aim, intention; point of a story; theme = subject of a speech;
punchline of a joke
14
import, meaning
15
shot = reach, range
o fewn ergyd dryll within range
16
ergydwst (rare) concussion
(ergyd) + mutació suau + (gwst = pain)
17 gwrthergyd (rare) repulse
18
ergyd o waith stroke of work
Cawson nhw arian mawr pan nad oedd ergyd
o waith yn cael ei wneud ganddynt
They were paid handsomely, when they weren’t doing a stroke of work
ETYMOLOGY: ergyd (now generally
feminine, but formerly masculine) <
(ar- = intensifying prefix) + (cyd element apparently meaing ‘aim’)
:_______________________________.
ergydio ‹er-
gəd -yo› verb
1 hit, knock (with a shot)
2 kick (with the foot)
ergydio'r bêl i'r rhwyd kick the ball into the net
3 fetch, go and get
(South Wales) ergyd (verbnoun, variant of ergydio) > ercyd
ercyd bara o'r siop go and get some bread from the shop
4 ergydio ar hit against, strike against
Dyma ddyrnaid o raean yn ergydio ar gaead yr arch
A handful of gravel hit against the lid of the coffin
5 ergydio ar knock (someone), criticise
Chwarae teg i'r pregethwr y dyddiau hyn. Y mae llawer yn ergydio arno
Fair play where it’s due to the preacher these day. Many people criticise
him…
ETYMOLOGY: (ergyd- ‹ə› < ergyd ‹i› = blow) + (-io
suffix for forming verbs)
:_______________________________.
erioed ‹er YOID›
1 ever (referring to the
past - have you ever – a wyt ti erióed...)
2 a fu erióed that ever was
y cyfle gorau a fu erióed the chance of a lifetime (“the best chance
that has ever been”)
3
Ni fu erioed ddrwg na fu’n dda i rywun
(“there was never bad that wasn’t good for someone”) It’s an ill wind that blow
nobody any good
Also: Ni fu erioed ddrwg na fu’n
ddaioni i rywun
ETYMOLOGY: “during his time” (er during) + (i his) + (oed age, time)
In older Welsh the possessive determiner was replaceable (thus “during my time,
during your time” etc. But the phrase became stereotyped with the third person
singular masculine possessive determiner.
:_______________________________.
erlid ‹ER
lid› verb
1 pursue
2 erlid o goed i gastell (“chase from wood to castle”) hound from
pillar to post = pursue from place to place
:_______________________________.
erlyn
‹er-lin› verb
1 prosecute = start legal proceedings against, take to court
Erlynir y sawl a fo’n tresmasu;
(“it-will-be-prosecuted the person who might trespass”)
Trepassers will be prosecuted;
Erlynir tresmaswyr
(“it-will-be prosecuted trespassers”)
Trepassers will be prosecuted;
2 sue
erlyn rhywun am iawndal
sue someone for damages, take somebody to court in order to try to obtain
compensation
(the colloquial word is an Englishism: siwio
(“sue” + the Welsh suffix for forming verbs -io))
ETYMOLOGY: Welsh (ar- = intensifying
prefix) + soft mutation + (glyn-,
the same root as in the verb glynu =
to stick, to adhere) (the final y
causes the change a > e in the preceding syllable)
:_______________________________.
er mwyn
‹er muin› preposition
1
(+ noun / pronoun) for the sake of, for the good of
er mwyn (rhywun) for the sake (of
something)
er mwyn popeth for God’s sake
er eich mwyn chi for your sake
er mwyn yr Arglwydd for the love of
God er fy mwyn for my sake
2
er mwyn dadl for argument’s sake
er mwyn cael enghraifft for
argument’s sake
3
er mwyn (gwneud rhywbeth) in order
(to do something)
er mwyn (cael gwneud rhywbeth) in
order (to do something)
er mwyn (peidio â gwneud rhywbeth)
in order (not to do something)
er mwyn (cael peidio â gwneud rhywbeth)
in order (not to do something)
4
after verbs:
aberthu eich bywyd er mwyn... (rhywbeth)
sacrifice your life for (something)
5 (+ verbnoun) for the sake of, in order to
ETYMOLOGY: (er = (preposition) for)
+ (mwyn = sake, good)
:_______________________________.
erodynamig
‹e-ro-di- na -mig› adjective
1 aerodynamic
corff erodynamig (USA) airflow body,
(England) streamlined body)
ETYMOLOGY: English aerodynamic <
Greek (aero- < aêr = air) + (dynamic < French dynamique
< Greek dunamikos = powerful, dunamis = power, dunasthai = to be able )
:_______________________________.
eroplên,
eroplêns ‹E
ro pleen, E ro pleens›
1 airplane (Englishism)
:_______________________________.
ers ‹ers› since
- ers pryd ‹ers PRIID› since when?
- ers talwm ‹ers TA lum› for ages
:_______________________________.
erthygl,
erthyglau ‹ER
thi gəl, er THƏ gle›
feminine
noun
1 article
:_______________________________.
erthyl
‹er -thil› masculine noun
PLURAL erthylod
‹er-thə-lod›
1 aborted foetus, aborted infant or animal, castling (= foetus
aborted before the end of the normal gestation period)
Salmau 58:8 Aed ymaith fel malwoden
dawdd, neu erthyl
gwraig; fel na welont yr haul.
Psalms 58:8 As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like the
untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun.
2 abortion = the result of an induced abortion
3 (adjective) aborted
llo erthyl aborted calf
oen erthyl aborted lamb
4 ugly, misshapen person
5 something ugly and imperfect
6 abomination, atrocity, something repugnant, something totally
unacceptable,
something very bad of its kind, bastardisation
Nid Cymraeg fel y byddwch chi a finnau
yn deall y gair oedd ganddi. Ar ei rhaglen radio mynnai siarad rhyw erthyl
cymysg o iaith oedd yn merwino clust pob Cymro da
She didn’t speak Welsh as you or I understand the word. On her radio programme
she insisted on speaking some mixed abomination which grated on the ear of every
good Welsh person
Ar gyrion yr hen dref y mae
Mynachlog-nedd. Gyda llaw, o ble daeth yr erthyl diweddar ‘Abaty Nedd’ sydd i’w
glywed byth a beunydd gan wyr y cyfryngau?
On the edge of the old town is Mynachlog-nedd (“the monastery of the district
of Nedd”). By the way, where did the abomination ‘Abaty Nedd’ (i.e. a direct
translation of the English name ‘Neath Abbey’) come from, which is to be
heard constantly from the people of the media?
O ddychymyg William Owen-Pughe a’i
dylwyth daeth erthylod fel “cadben” am “capten”, a “Tafwy” am yr Afon “Taf”
From the imagination of William Owen-Pughe and his followers (“his family”)
came the abominations such as “cadben” instead of “capten” (= captain;
reformed to make it appear to be Welsh ‘battle-leader’), and “Tafwy” for
the river “Taf”(i.e. adding a supposed suffix meaning ‘water’ to river
names)
ETYMOLOGY: British *artila <
Celtic
:_______________________________.
erw ‹e -ru› feminine noun
PLURAL erwau
‹er -we›
1 acre = unit of measurement
equivalent to 4046.86 square metres (but in the past the size varied according
to the locality)
2 land measuring one acre in area
3 field
Very common in field names, house names and street names
Erw-deg (“fair field”) street in
Bryntirion, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr (“Erw Deg”)
Erw-fach (“small field”) street in
Gartholwg (county of Rhondda Cynon Taf) (“Erw Fach”)
Erw-hir (“long field”) street at
Caeau’r-llan, Llantrisant (county of Rhondda Cynon Taf) (“Erw Hir”)
Erwifan (“Ifan’s field”) street in
Pen-coed (county of Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr) (“Erw Ifan”)
Erw Gerrig (“(the) field (of)
stones”, “stone field”) field name
(erw = field) + soft mutation + (cerrig = stones, plural of carreg
= stone)
Erw-las (“green field”) street at
(1) Llanisan (county of Caer-dydd) (“Erw Las”),
(2) Gelli-deg (county of Merthyrtudful) (“Erw Las”),
(3) Pen-y-waun (county of Rhondda Cynon Taf) (“Erw Las”)
Erw-wen (“white field” or “fair
field”) street at
(1) Rhiwbina (county of Caer-dydd) (“Erw Wen”),
(2) Pen-coed (county of Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr) (“Erw Wen”),
(3) Gogledd Corneli (county of Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr) (“Erw Wen”)
Erw’r Delyn
(“field of the harp”, harp-shaped field)
(erw = field; acre) + (yr definite
article) + soft mutatioj + (telyn = harp)
John Hobson
Matthews (Mab Cernyw) in ‘Cardiff Records’ (1889-1911) notes an English form of
the name occurring in 1492:
“HARP-ACRE (the harp-shaped piece of land.) A meadow in the lordship of Leckwith (1492.)”
Erwrdelyn house and street (in
English as “Erw’r Delyn Close”), Penarth (Pennárth), Bro Morgannawg
Ysgol Erwrdelyn (Ysgol Erw’r Delyn) school in Penarth
The name also occurs without the linking definite
article (the loss of this in Welsh place names is very common): Erw Delyn /
Erwdelyn
4 with monosyllabic numerals, erw
often compounded, losing the final “w” to give -er
dwy (= two) + erw > dwyer
tair (= three) + erw > teirer
pump (= five) + erw > pumer
chwech (= six) + erw > hwecher
saith (= seven) + erw > seither
wyth (= eight) + erw > wyther
deg (= ten) + erw > deger
cant (= a hundred) + erw > canner
5 erwau ar erwau o acre
upon acre of, acres and acres of
Yr oedd yno erwau ar erwau o flodau
cochion, gwynion, a melynion.
There, there was acre upon acre of red, white and yellow flowers
6 (literary Welsh) erwau’r
glo the coalfield, the coalmining region (“(the) acres (of) the coal”)
7 (literary Welsh) Erw Duw
God’s Acre = piece of land with a church and churchyard
ETYMOLOGY: Welsh erw ‹e-ru›, originally with one
syllable ‹erw›
< British < Celtic.
From an Indo-European root *er-, as
in English earth, Dutch aarde (= earth), German die Erde (= earth).
The other neo-British forms are: Cornish erow
(= acre), Breton erv (= ridge
between furrows)
:_______________________________.
erwain ‹ER-wain›
1 meadowsweet (Filipendula
ulmaria)
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/500088
ETYMOLOGY: Unknown
:_______________________________.
Erwain ‹ER-wain›
1 female forename (rare)
ETYMOLOGY: “meadowsweet”. See preceding entry
:_______________________________.
Yr Erw Hir ‹ør
EE-ru HIIR›
1 field name
..a/ Llangatwg Lingoed, Mynwy
22 June
1603… Parcel of land arable and pasture with appurtenances called Errowe hire containing 5
acres situate in the parish of Llangattocke Llingoed Co. Mon.
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~llangattocklingoed/deedswills/hanbury.html#1518B Hanbury Family Papers
ETYMOLOGY: “the long acre; the long
field”. (yr = definite article) + (erw = acre, field) + (hir =
long)
:_______________________________.
● erwin Soft-mutated form - the
radical form has initial g-.
See gerwin =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
● erwindeb Soft-mutated form -
the radical form has initial g-.
See gerwindeb =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
● erwinder Soft-mutated form -
the radical form has initial g-.
See gerwinder =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
● erwino Soft-mutated form -
the radical form has initial g-.
See gerwino =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
● erwinol Soft-mutated form -
the radical form has initial g-.
See gerwinol =
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
..1 erwydd ‹er -widh› -
1 rods, poles; plural form of the noun erwydden (qv) = rod, pole
2 rod, pole; alternative singular form of the noun erwydden (qv) = rod, pole
:_______________________________.
..2 erwydd
‹er -widh›
1 see herwydd (= by means
of)
:_______________________________.
erwydden
‹er-wî-dhen› feminine noun
PLURAL erwydd,
erwyddi ‹er -widh, er-wî-dhi›
1 obsolete
staff, rod, pole
2 (music) stave
papur erwydd manuscript paper
llyfr erwydd manuscript music book
3 county of Dinbych rod
for plashing hedges
4 obsolete splint (for a
broken bone); nowadays sblint
5 erwydden casgen plural erwydd, erwyddi stave (for making
barrels)
rhoi erwydd ar gasgen to stave a
barrel
6 obsolete erwydd (singular form) unit of length
and of square measure - perch, pole, rod, rood; rood of land - portion of land
with this measure
ETYMOLOGY: erwydd is apparently (ar = on) + soft mutation + (gwydd = wood)
:_______________________________.
Erwyn
‹ER-win› (m)
1
male forename
ETYMOLOGY: “splendid”, literally “very white”
(ar intensifying prefix) + soft
mutation + (gwyn = white, holy,
fine, fair, splendid)
There is vowel affection, with a > e caused by the y in the
final syllable
NOTE: The name Arwyn is the same, though without vowel affection (a
becoming e as a result of the y in the following final syllable)
:_______________________________.
eryl ‹EE ril›
1 obsolete hunt
2 house name - “lookout”
A Pocket Dictionary (Welsh-English) (1861) William Richards:
Eryl, n. a watch, a look
(delw7049)
William Owen-Pughe, A Welsh and English
Dictionary; published in instalments 1793-1803
Y lle y gosoter cwn yn eryl, y cyntaf ohonynt a gymero iwrch, neu gadno, neu
ysgyfarnawg, ei berchen bieufydd
Where dogs are placed on the watch, the first of them shall take a buck, or
a fox, or a hare, his owner shall possess whichever it be. Welsh Laws
Brenin a’i werin yn ei eryl
A king with his commonality guarding him.
L. G. Cothi (= Lewys Glyn Cothi c. 1420 - 1490)
ETYMOLOGY: eryl (= lookout; originally: hunt ) < erhyl
(ar) + (hyl = a hunt, a variant of hel- / hela = to hunt)
The h was dropped, as often occurs when it is the first consonant of the final
syllable
There is vowel affection, with a > e caused by the y in the
final syllable
:_______________________________.
Eryl-môr ‹EE ril MOOR›
1 house name in Bangor
(Gwynedd) (“Eryl Môr”)
ETYMOLOGY: “sea lookout” eryl môr < eryl y môr
eryl (=
lookout) + (y definite article)
+ (môr = sea)
The linking definite article is frequently dropped in
place names
:_______________________________.
eryr, eryrod ‹E rir,
e RƏ rod› (f)
1 eagle
:_______________________________.
Eryri ‹e
RƏ ri›
1 mountainous part of Gwynedd
2 Gwêleryri view of Eryri (street in Llandegfan, Môn)
(gwêl = view, Eryri name of a mountainous district in Gwynedd, ‘Snowdonia’)
:_______________________________.
-es ‹es›
1 suffix for making
feminine nouns
awdures ‹au-DIIR-es› author (awdur = author) + (-es)
maeres ‹meir -es› mayoress (maer = mayor) + (-es)
Gwyddeles ‹gwə-DHEE-les› Irishwoman (Gwyddle =
Irishman) + (-es)
Eidales ‹ei- daa -les› Italian woman (Eidal = Italy) + (-es)
meddyges ‹me-DHƏG-es›
doctor (meddyg = doctor) + (-es)
peunes ‹PEIN-es› peahen (paun = peacock) + (-es)
:_______________________________.
esblygiad, esblygiadau ‹e
SPLƏG yad, e spləg YA de› (m)
1 evolution
:_______________________________.
esblygu ‹e
SPLƏ gi›
1 evolve
:_______________________________.
esboniad,
esboniadau <e-SPON-yad,-e-spon-YA-dai, -de> [ɛˡspɔnjad,
ɛspɔnˡjɑˑdaɪ, -ɛ] masculine noun
1 explanation
:_______________________________.
esboniadol <e-spon-YAA-dol> [ɛspɔnˡjɑˑdɔl]
1 explanatory
:_______________________________.
esboniadur <e-spon-YAA-dir> [ɛspɔnˡjɑˑdɪr] masculine noun
PLURAL esboniaduron
<e-spon-ya-DII-ron> [ɛspɔnjaˡdiˑrɔn]
1
explanatory book, expositor, interpreter; especially one which explains
Biblical texts
ETYMOLOGY: (esbon- stem of esbonio = explain) + (-i-adur = agent suffix)
:_______________________________.
esbonio <e-SPON-yo> [ɛˡspɔnjɔ]
1 to explain
:_______________________________.
esgair,
esgeiriau <E-skair, -sker, e-SKEIR-yai, ye> [ˡɛskaɪr, -ɛr,
ɛˡskəɪrjaɪ, -ɛ] (f)
1 (obsolete) leg
2 (place names) ridge
- yr Esgair Ddu <E-skair,
-sker, DHII> [ˡɛskaɪr,
-ɛr, ˡðiː ] place name - black ridge
- Esgair Elan <E-skair,
-sker, EE-lan> [ˡɛskaɪr,
-ɛr, ˡeˑlan] place name - ridge of the river Elan
- yr Esgair Fraith <E-skair,
-sker, VRAITH> [ˡɛskaɪr,
-ɛr, ˡvraɪθ] place name - speckled ridge
- Esgair Garthen <E-skair,
-sker, GAR-then> [ˡɛskaɪr,
-ɛr, ˡgarθɛn] place name - blanket ridge
- Esgair Geiliog <E-skair,
-sker, GEIL-yog> [ˡɛskaɪr,
-ɛr, ˡgəɪljɔg] place name - rooster ridge
- Esgair Irfon <E-skair,
-sker, IR-von> [ˡɛskaɪr,
-ɛr, ˡɪrvɔn] place name - ridge of the river Irfon
:_______________________________.
esgeulus <e-SKEI-lis> [ɛˡskəɪlɪs]
1 negligent
:_______________________________.
esgeuluso <e-skei-LI-so> [ɛskəɪˡlɪsɔ]
1 neglect
esgeuluso moddion gras fail to attend chapel, not attend chapel services
:_______________________________.
esgeulustod <e-skei-LI-stod> [ɛskəɪˡlɪstɔd]
1 negligence
:_______________________________.
esgid
<E-skid> [ˡɛskɪd] feminine
noun
PLURAL esgidiau
<e-SKID-yai,
-ye> [ɛˡskɪdjaɪ,
-ɛ]
1 shoe;
carrai esgid shoelace
cau’ch esgidiau do up your shoelaces
/ your shoes
cwyr esgidiau shoe wax, shoe polish
datglymu’ch esgidiau undo your
shoelaces / your shoes
datod eich esgidiau undo your
shoelaces / your shoes
“Esgidiau” (sign) “Footwear”
gwisgo’ch esgidiau put on your shoes
(“wear your shoes”)
llyfu esgidiau rhywun / (South) llio esgidiau rhywun lick someone’s
boots
mysgu’ch esgidiau (misgi’ch
sgitsha) (Sud-est) undo your shoelaces / your shoes
rhoi’ch esgidiau put on your shoes
(“give your shoes”)
rhoi’ch esgidiau am eich traed put
on your shoes (“give your shoes around your feet”)
siop esgidiau shoeshop
tynnu’ch esgidiau take your shoes
off
esgidiau cryfion = stout shoes
esgidiau dala adar = esgidiau dal
adar
esgidiau gloywon = polished shoes
esgidiau glaw botes de goma rubber
boots, wellingtons
esgidiau gwaith = work shoes
esgidiau hoelion hob-nailed boots
esgidiau isel short boots
esgidiau rwber rubber boots
....plant mewn esgidiau rwber children in (= wearing) rubber boots
esgidiau tenau = light shoes
esgidiau trymion = heavy-duty shoes
esgidiau uchel high boots, long
boots
esgidiau ysgafn = light shoes
sgitsha pert (South-east Wales) =
ready-made shoes
sgitsha cwmws (South-east Wales) =
shoes made to fit both feet, tailored to each foot
sgitsha bycla (South-east Wales) =
shoes with buckles
2 something shaped like a boot, bootshaped object
Esgid yr Eidal the boot of Italy
(the shape of Italy as seen on a map)
3 bod yn esgidiau rhywun
be in somebody’s shoes, be in somebody’s situation
4 Mae'r esgid yn gwasgu
The shoe's too tight, the shoe is pinching (“the shoe is squeezing”);
lle mae'r esgid yn gwasgu / lle mae'r esgid fach yn gwasgu where
the trouble lies
pan fyddai'r esgid fach yn gwasgu when money is tight, when we have very little money
(“when the little shoe pinches”)
5 Pws Esgid Uchel Puss in
Boots (“Puss (of) High Boot”)
6 esgideuau (double
plural) = pairs of shoes
7 bod yn esgidiau rhywun
be in somebody’s shoes, be in somebody’s situation
Hoffwn i ddim bod yn eich esgidiau chi
I wouldn’t like to be in your shoes / in your place / in your situtation
8 Ddaw e byth i sgidiau ei
dad He’ll never be anything like his father, He’ll never be of the same
stature as his father (“he’ll never come into his father’s shoes”)
ETYMOLOGY: Welsh < British < Celtic
From the same British root: Cornish
eskiz (= shoe)
NOTE: Colloquially esgidiau >
<e-SKID-yai,
-ye> [ɛˡskɪdjaɪ,
-ɛ] > sgidiau / sgidie <SKID-ye> [skɪdjɛ] (loss of the first syllable)
South-east Wales: esgidiau > sgitsha <SKI-cha> [ˡskɪʧa]
:_______________________________.
esgideuau
<e-ski-DEI-ai,
-e> [ɛskɪˡdəɪaɪ,
-ɛ]
1
(double plural) = pairs of shoes
ETYMOLOGY: (esgid = shoe) + (-euau, double form of the suffix au)
:_______________________________.
esgob,
esgobion <E-skob,-e-SKOB-yon> [ˡɛskɔb, ɛˡskɔbjɔn]
1 bishop
:_______________________________.
esgobaeth,
esgobaethau <e-SKOO-beth, e-sko-BEI-thai, -e> [ɛˡskoˑbaɪθ,
-ɛθ, ɛskɔˡbəɪθaɪ, -ɛ]
1 diocese, bishopric
2 yr Esgobaeth Sanctaidd The Holy See (“the
sacred bishopric”)
:_______________________________.
esgobaethol <e-sko-BEI-thol> [ɛskɔˡbəɪθɔl]
1 diocesan
:_______________________________.
esgobion Bangor [ɛˡskɔb–jɔn ˡbaŋgɔr]
1 (Dwyfor, district in western
Gwynedd) large white clouds on a clear day indicating a coming storm, literally
“bishops (of) Bangor”;
also esgobion Bangor yn eu gwenwisg “bishops
(of) Bangor in their surplice”
ETYMOLOGY: (esgobion = bishops,
plural of esgob = bishop) + (Bangor, one of the four cathedrals of
Wales)
:_______________________________.
esgobol <e-SKOO-bol> [ɛˡskoˑbɔl]
1 episcopal
2 Eglwys Esgobol yr Alban Church of Scotland (“episcopal church of
Scotland”)
:_______________________________.
esgor (ar) ‹E skor›
1 give birth to
2 give rise to, cause
:_______________________________.
esgoriad
‹es- gor -yad› masculine noun
PLURAL esgoriadau
‹es-gor- yâ -de›
1
birth, giving birth, bringing forth of young
2
camesgoriad miscarriage, loss of a
child which a woman is bearing
(cam = wrong, bad) + (esgoriad = giving birth)
ETYMOLOGY: (esgor, stem of esgor = give birth to) + (-i-ad noun-forming suffix)
:_______________________________.
esgud
‹E-skid› adjective
1 nimble
2 quick, hasty
t98 Yr Iaith Gymraeg – Ei Horgraff a'i Chystrawen; D Tecwyn Evans; Lerpwl 1911
Bydded pob un yn esgud i wrando (Iago 1:19) cyflym, parod, eiddgar. Clywir y gair ar lafar gwlad, "un
sgut ydi o," am w^r effro, buan, medrus.
Translation: let every man be
swift to hear (James 1:19), quick, ready, keen. The word is to be heard in
colloquial Welsh – “he is very quick” for an alert, swift, capable man
Iago 1:19 O achos hyn, fy mrodyr
annwyl, bydded pob dyn esgud i wrando, diog i lefaru, diog i ddigofaint:
James 1:19 Wherefore, my
beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
Apocrypha: Ecclesiasticus 4:29 Na fydd esgud â'th dafod, a diog ac
araf yn dy weithredoedd.
Apocrypha: Ecclesiasticus 4:29 Be not hasty in thy tongue, and in thy deeds
slack and remiss.
3 quick = sharp, intelligent
mae o'n sgut am ddysgu (“he’s quick to learn”)
4 eager
(North Wales) un sgut am fwyd glutton (“one eager for food”)
ETYMOLOGY: Welsh < British <
Celtic
From the same British root:
Breton skuizh (= tired),
Cornish skwidh (= tired)
From the same Common Celtic root:
Irish éasca (= nimble), scíth (= tiredness),
Scottish Gaelic sgíth (= tired)
NOTE: A suggested derivation from Latin exsecûtus, past
participle of exsequi (= to execute), < (ex-) + sequi (=
to follow) seems unlikely.
:_______________________________.
esgudwyth
‹e- skid -uith› adjective
1 (South Wales) (person)
irritable
ETYMOLOGY: (esgud = quick) + soft
mutation + (gwyth = muscle)
:_______________________________.
esgus,
esgusion ‹E
skis, e SKIS yon›
1 excuse
2 esgus cystal
â dim an excuse as good as any
Nid yw anwybodaeth o’r gyfraith yn esgus
Ignorance of the law is no excuse / no defence
:_______________________________.
esgusodi ‹e ski SO di›
1 to excuse
:_______________________________.
esgusodwch fi
‹e ski SO
dukh vi›
1 excuse me
:_______________________________.
esgymun ‹e SKƏ min›
1 excommunicated
:_______________________________.
esgyn ‹E skin›
1 to go up
esgyn i’r mynydd go up into the
mountain
Cf Yr Efyngyl yn ôl Sant Mathew 15:29 A’r Iesu a aeth
oddi yno, ac a ddaeth gerllaw môr Galilea, ac a esgynnodd i’r mynydd, ac a
eisteddodd yno.
15:29 And Jesus
departed from thence, and came nigh unto the sea of Galilee; and went up into a
mountain, and sat down there.
:_______________________________.
esgynglawr ‹e-skən-laur› masculine
noun
PLURALesgynloriau
‹e-skən-lor-ye›
1 stage, platform
2 cockloft, hen roost
Mae hen ddihareb i’r perwyl fod pob
ceiliog yn gawr ar ei esgynlawr ei hun, a buaswn innau yn medru eich annerch
chwi yn hyfach yr ochr arall i afon Teifi, ar dir a daear Ceredigion, yng
ngwlad fy ngenedigaeth. (Enwau Lleoedd /
John Rhys/ Cymru Cyfrol XI. RHIF 63. Hydref 15fed, 1896)
There’s an old saying to the effect that every rooster is a giant on its own
perch, and I would be able to address you in a bolder manner on the other side
of the river Teifi, in Ceredigion (“on the ground and land of Ceredigion”), in
the land of my birth
ETYMOLOGY: (esgynn- ‹ə› < esgyn
‹i› = to raise) + soft mutation + (llawr = floor)
:_______________________________.
esmwyth ‹E smuith›
1 smooth
:_______________________________.
Esperanto ‹e spe
ran TO›
1 Esperanto
:_______________________________.
Esperantwr,
Esperantwyr ‹e spe RAN tur, e spe RANT wir›
1 Esperanto speaker
:_______________________________.
estron,
estroniaid ‹E stron, e STRON yed›
1 stranger
:_______________________________.
estrongasaol ‹e-stron-gas-â -ol› adjective
1
xenophobic = hating foreigners
Also: estrongasineb
ETYMOLOGY: (estron = stranger) +
soft mutation + (casaol = detesting,
hating)
:_______________________________.
estrongasäwr
‹e-stron-ga-sâ -ur› masculine noun
PLURAL estrongasäwyr
‹e-stron-ga-sâ -wir›
1
xenophobe (man)
estrongasäwraig ‹e-stron-ga-sâ –wreg› xenophobe (woman)
ETYMOLOGY: (estron = stranger) +
soft mutation + (casäwr = hater,
person who hates)
:_______________________________.
estrongasedd
‹e-stron-ga -sedh› masculine noun
1
xenophobia = hatred of foreigners
Also: estrongasineb
ETYMOLOGY: (estron = stranger) +
soft mutation + (casedd = hatred)
:_______________________________.
estyllu
‹e- stə -lhi› verb
1 board up (a shop, etc)
ETYMOLOGY: estyllu < (estyll = boards, plural of astell = board) + (-u suffix for forming verbs)
:_______________________________.
estyn ‹E stin›
1 extend
2 estyn bys at (rywun)
(“extend (a) finger to”)
..1/ point somebody out,
..2/ betray somebody;
..3/ shake one’s finger at, reprimand somebody
estyn bys yng ngwegil (rhywun) point the finger of scorn at
(“extend (a) finger in (the) back-of-the-neck (of) someone”)
:_______________________________.
estyniad,
estyniadau ‹e
STƏN yad, e stən YÂ de›
1 extension
2 cael estyniad einioes
get a new lease of life (after a period of illness, depression, loss of
vitality, etc to have a renewed vigour, health, drive, optimisim, happiness,
etc) (“get an extension of life”)
3 estyniad ac enciliad advance and retreat
:_______________________________.
● esyd Soft-mutated form - the
radical form has initial g-.
See gesyd = puts, will put
● symbol
used here to indicate the absence of an initial g because of soft mutation
:_______________________________.
gesyd ‹GE-sid› v
1 (indicative mood, third.-person singular present-future tense) he / she / it
places, puts, sets < gosod
Apocrypha –
Ecclesiasticus 22:27 Pwy a esyd gadwraeth
o flaen fy ngenau, a sêl doethineb ar fy ngwefusau, fel na syrthiwyf yn
ddisymwth trwyddynt, ac na'm difetho fy nhafod?
Apocrypha – Ecclesiasticus 22:27 Who shall set a watch before my mouth, and a seal of wisdom upon my
lips, that I fall not suddenly by them, and that my tongue destroy me not?
:_______________________________.
Esyllt ‹E
silht›
1 woman’s name
:_______________________________.
ethol ‹ê -thol› verb
1 elect = choose by means of casting votes
2
swyddog ethol = returning officer,
official in charge of the counting of votes in a constituency and who announces
the results
ETYMOLOGY: probably (*éth-ddol) <
(*eks- + d + dol), British eks (= ex), + interposed consonant ‘d’
+ *dol, variant of *del (= to divide)
:_______________________________.
etholaeth ‹e- tho -leth› feminine noun
PLURAL etholaethau
‹e-tho- lei -the›
1 constituency = district represented
in a parliament
ETYMOLOGY: (ethol = to elect) + (-aeth suffix for forming nouns)
:_______________________________.
etholiad,
etholiadau ‹e THOL yad, e thol YA de›
1 election
:_______________________________.
eto, ’to ‹E
to, TO›
1 again
hanner cymaint eto half as big again
2 yet, still
Rw i eto heb wybod pam
I still don’t know why (“I am still without knowing why”)
3 ni + fyth eto never again / not .. ever again
Soft-mutated form of byth eto (byth = never / ever) + (eto
= again)
Wela i mohoni fyth eto I’ll never see her again < Ni welaf fi...
:_______________________________.
eu
1 eu > ew
The diphthong eu ‹EI›
becomes ew ‹EU›
in some words:
..a/ brycheuyn
(= freckle) > (dialect form) brychewyn
..b/ creu- (= crau stockade) + -yn (diminutive suffix)
> crewyn (= pile, heap, load)
..c/ dihewyd (= burning desire,
zeal)
(dyheu = yearn) + (-yd suffix for forming verbs) > *dyheuyd
> diheuyd > dihewyd
..d/ teneuyn > tenewyn (= flank) (< tenau = thin)
:_______________________________.
eu ‹I, EI›
1 their
2 in colloquial Welsh, usually
omitted, and only the tag pronoun nhw indicates
that the meaning is “their”
Os dalia i nhw wrthi! (instead of “*os eu daliaf fi”)
if I catch them at it!
3 (title) their
Eu Mawrhydi Their Majesties
Eu Teilyngdod Their Worships
(judges; mayors)
:_______________________________.
Euas ‹EI as›
1 part of the county of
Hereford in England, separated from Wales at the annexation to England 1536/42
:_______________________________.
Euddogwý ‹di DHOG ui›
1 Celtic missionary
saint
His name is preserved in Llaneuddogwy (qv) (Llandogo in English) in the
county of Mynwy.
He is one of the three Celtic saints to whom the Cathedral at Llan-daf is
dedicated (the other two being Teilo and Dyfrig)
(delw 7065)
ETYMOLOGY: Euddogwy < Old Welsh Ouddogwy (meaning unknown)
:_______________________________.
euog ‹ei -og› adjective
1 guilty
pledio'n euog plead gulity
cyhoeddi (rhywun) yn euog declare
(somebody) guilty
euogfarnu (rhywun) declare
(somebody) guilty
ETYMOLOGY: euog < geuog (geu- penult form of gau
= false) + (-og suffix for forming
adjectives)
:_______________________________.
euogfarnu ‹ei og VAR ni› verb
1 euogfarnu (rhywun) declare (somebody) guilty
:_______________________________.
euogi
‹ei-ô -gi› verb
1 incriminate
ETYMOLOGY: (euog = guilty) + (-i suffix for forming verbs)
:_______________________________.
euogrwydd ‹ei O gruidh›
1 guilt
:_______________________________.
euraidd ‹EI redh›
1 golden
2 helygen
euraidd (Salix
alba ssp. vitellina) golden willow
helygen wylofus euraidd (Salix
chrysocoma) golden weeping willow
:_______________________________.
Eurfron ‹EIR vron›
1 woman’s name
ETYMOLOGY: “golden breast” (eur-, penult form of aur = gold) + soft mutation + (bron = breast; bosom)
:_______________________________.
eurgain
‹eir -gain› adjective
1 (obsolete) golden and beautiful, of golden brightness
2 (f) Eurgain name of a
female saint.
Survives in the place names Llaneurgain
SJ2468 and Cefneurgain SJ2267 (in Y
Fflint county, north-east Wales)
3 (f) Eurgain revived and
in use as a female forename in recent decades, though rare
ETYMOLOGY: (eur-, penult form of
aur = gold) + soft mutation + (cain = splendid)
:_______________________________.
eurin ‹eir in› adjective
1
golden, splendid, magnificent
Occurs in the name Gwri Wallt Eurin (“Gwri (of the) golden hair”, gwallt
= hair), the original name of Pryderi fab Pwyll in the Mabonogi (circa
1100). The name is usually spelt (or rather, misspelt) as Gwri Wallt Eiryn. In southern Welsh Eurin and Eiryn
would be pronounced the same <EI-rin> [ˡəɪrɪn], though not in the North:
Eurin <EÏ-rin> [ˡəɨrɪn],
Eiryn <EI-rïn> [ˡəɪrɨn],
ETYMOLOGY: (eur-
penultimate-syllable form of aur =
gold) + (-in adjectival suffix)
Cf ariannin (= made of silver), derwin (= oaken, made of oak), heyernin
(= made of iron)
:_______________________________.
Eurof ‹EI rov›
1 man’s name
:_______________________________.
eurwallt
‹əir-
walht› masculine noun
1
golden hair
ETYMOLOGY: (eur- penultimate-syllable
form of aur = gold) + soft mutation
+ (gwallt = hair)
:_______________________________.
Eurwen ‹EIR wen›
1 woman’s name
:_______________________________.
Euryn ‹eir in› masculine
noun
1
male forename (twentieth century)
ETYMOLOGY: “golden object (coin, piece of gold jewellery, etc)” (eur- penultimate-syllable form of aur = gold) + (-yn noun suffix)
Possibly taken from the name Gwri Wallt Euryn , the original name of
Pryderi fab Pwyll in the Mabonogi (circa 1100), also written as Gwri Wallt
Eirin. See Eirin
:_______________________________.
ew
1 ew < eu
..a/ teneuyn > tenewyn (= flank) < tenau (= thin)
See eu
:_______________________________.
ewa <EU-a› [ˡɛua] (m)
1 Diminutive form of ewythr (= uncle)
ETYMOLOGY: (ew-, first syllable of ewythr / ewyrth = uncle) + (-a diminutive suffix)
:_______________________________.
ewch ‹EUKH›
1 go!
:_______________________________.
Ewenni
‹e-we-ni› feminine noun
1 Afon Ewenni SS9177
river in the county of Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr
2 Ewenni SS9077 locality in the county of
Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr
3 Ewenni a parish at this
place
(1961) population 949; proportion of Welsh-speakers 17%
(1971) population 1100; proportion of Welsh-speakers 10%
4 A spurious form used in the 1800s by literati was Ewynwy (supposedly ‘foam river’). See
separate entry
The House of Commons Journal mentions the parish on 3 March 1646 as
“Wenny”:
Resolved, &c. That the Garison of Wenny
be disgarisoned, and the Place made indefensible.
This might be from a local form of the name – Ewenni > Y Wenni
ETYMOLOGY: Welsh < British Aventi- = name of a goddess; cf Gaulish
Aventia
:_______________________________.
ewig ‹e -wig› feminine noun
PLURAL ewigod
‹e- wî -god›
1 hind, doe
rhedeg fel yr ewig run like the wind
(“run like the hind”)
2
ewig lwyd female fallow deer
3
llam yr ewig “(the) leap (of) the hind”
Llamyrewig SO1593 locality and parish in northern Powys, 5km north-west
of Y Drenewydd (on the Ordnance Survey map as “Llanmerewig”)
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/654510
map
ETYMOLOGY: Welsh < British < Celtic owikâ
From the same British root: Cornish ewik
(place name Rosewik, English
“Rosewick”)
:_______________________________.
ewin ‹e-win› feminine noun
PLURAL ewinedd
‹e-wi-nedh›
1 nail = fingernail or toenail
cnoi’ch ewinedd bite your nails
(often indicating nervousness)
ewin smalio (Cosmetics) false
fingernail
farnais ewinedd nail varnish
glas ewin top of the fingernail or
toenail (“(the) blue (of) (the) nail)
torri’ch ewinedd cut your nails
trwy lafur eich ewinedd (earn one’s
living) the hard way (“through the labour of your fingernails”)
tynnu ewinedd (rhywun) o’r gwraidd pull out (someone’s)
fingernails (“pull nails from the root”)
2 claw (eg claws of a cat, lion)
dangos eich ewinedd i rywun (“show your claws to
somebody”) defy somebody
tynnu’r
ewinedd i mewn retract the claws
tynnu’r ewinedd o’r blew
(1) bring out the claws, put out the claws
(2) put one’s hand to the plough, set to it, begin a task
tynnu’r ewinedd yn ôl retract the
claws
3 clutching, hold,
holding-on
Sechareia 11.16 Canys wele fi yn codi
bugail yn y tir, yr hwn ni ofwya y cuddiedig, ni chais yr ieuanc, ni
feddyginiaetha y briwiedig, a fyddo yn sefyll ni phortha; ond bwyty gig y bras,
ac a ddryllia eu hewinedd hwynt.
Zechariah
11:16 For, lo, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, which shall not visit
those that be cut off, neither shall seek the young one, still: but he shall
eat the flesh of the fat, and tear their claws in pieces.
4 (obsolete) hoof (of a cow, etc).
Modern Welsh carn
yr ewin fforchog the cloven hoof;
also as an attribute of the devil
ewin-fforchog cloven-hoofed
fforchog yr ewin cloven-hoofed
(“forked ‹in› the hoof”)
Lefeticus 11:3 Beth bynnag a hollto’r
ewin, ac a fforchogi hollt yr ewinedd, ac a gno ei gil, o’r anifeiliaid; hwnnw
fwytewch
Leviticus 11:3 Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth
the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.
Deuteronium 14.6
A phob anifail yn hollti’r ewin, ac yn
fforchogi hollt y ddwy ewin, ac yn cnoi cil, ymysg yr anifeiliaid; hwnnw a fwytewch
Deuteronomy 14:6 And every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft
into two claws, and cheweth the cud among the beasts, that ye shall eat.
Exodus
10:26 Aed ein hanifeiliaid hefyd gyda
ni; ni adewir ewin yn ôl: oblegid ohonynt y cymerwn i wasanaethu yr ARGLWYDD
ein DUW : ac nis gwyddom â pha beth y gwasanaethwn yr ARGLWYDD, hyd oni ddelom
yno.
Exodus
10:26 Our cattle also shall go with us;
there shall not an hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve the
LORD our God; and we know not with what we must serve the LORD, until we come
thither.
5
division of a hoof
carnewin (plural carewinedd) forepart of the hoof
6 (South Wales) prong of a fork
7 ewin garlleg clove of
garlic
8 ewin oren segment of an
orange or grapefruit
9 (North Wales) ewin o sebon
a sliver of soap
10 ymladd ewinedd a dannedd
fight tooth and nail (“fight nails and teeth”, i.e. biting and scratching)
11 tip of a diamond
Jeremeia 17:1 Pechodd Jwda a ysgrifennwyd
â phin o haearn, ag ewin o adamant y cerfiwyd ef ar lech ei calon, ac ar gyrn
eich allorau
Jeremiah 17:1 The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the
point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the
horns of your altars;
12 bird’s claw (usually crafanc)
Daniel 4:33 Yr awr honno
y cyflawnwyd y gair ar Nebuchodonosor, ac y gyrrwyd ef oddi wrth ddynion, ac y
porodd wellt fel eidionau, ac y gwlychwyd ei gorff ef gan wlith y nefoedd, hyd
oni thyfodd ei flew ef fel plu eryrod, a’i ewinedd fel ewinedd adar.
Daniel 4:33
The same hour was the thing fulfilled upon Nebuchadnezzar: and he was driven
from men, and did eat grass as oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of
heaven, till his hairs were grown like eagles’ feathers, and his nails like
birds’ claws.
byrewin ‹bər-eu-in› short-toed (in bird’s names)
ehedydd byrewin bach Calandrella rufescens lesser short-toed
lark
13 ewin ebill tip or
screw of an augur
14 North Wales hen ewin o ddyn a man with nerves of
steel
15 ewinedd yr aderyn (“(the) claws (of) the
bird”) Ornithopus perpusillus
bird’s-foot
The standard name is troed yr aderyn
(“(the) foot (of) the bird”)
ewinedd yr gath (“(the) claws (of)
the cat”) Sedum rupestre Reflexed
Stonecrop
The standard name is llwynau’r fagwyr
(“(the) bushes (of) the wall”),
16 y deg ewin (or y deng ewin)
the ten nails, the nails of the two hands; in expressions such as
byw wrth eich deg ewin live from
one’s hard toil
bod wrthi â’ch deg ewin be working
flat out
17 du ewin (“black
(thing) (of) nail”) black spot on a finger nail; blot on one’s character
18 dal (rhywun) tan yr ewin have somebody under your
thumb (‘hold somebody under the claw’)
ETYMOLOGY: ewin < eghwin < British *angwîn- < Celtic
Breton ivin (= nail)
Irish ionga (= nail)
Related words:
(1) Latin unguis (from Latin:
Catalan ungla = nail; English unguis ‹ú·nggwis› = nail, claw,
hoof, claw-like base of a petal) ungula
‹ú·nggyələ› part of a cone from making a cut across the cone not
parallel with the base);
(2) Greek; the English word English onyx
(= kind of gem; jet black colour; fingernail); < Latin onyx < Greek onyx (=
nail, claw, gem with veins).
NOTE: Colloquially
(1) ewin > gewin ‹ge-win› (addition of an initial g;
as ewin is a feminine noun, it has
been supposed that rather than being the radical form, it is a soft-mutated
form of gewin)
(2) gewin > giewin ‹gye-win› (with palatalisation of the g)
(3) ewinedd (plural) > gewinedd > g’winedd > gwinedd ‹gwi-nedh›
:_______________________________.
ewinbil
‹eu-in-bil› masculine noun
PLURAL ewinbilion,
ewinbiliau ‹e-win-bil-yon, -ye›
1 hangnail = skin peeling away from
the side or bottom of the fingernail
ETYMOLOGY: (ewin = fingernail,
toenail) + soft mutation + (pil =
peel)
NOTE: In South Wales it is generally wimbil;
ewinbil > winbil (loss of the first syllable) > wimbil (change of n > m
before b)
:_______________________________.
ewinbren
‹e-win-bren› masculine noun
PLURAL ewinbrennau,
ewinbrenni ‹e-win-bre-ne, -ni›
1 girder, tie-beam
Gelliwimben locality in Cynwyl Gaeo
(county of Caerfyrddin)
representing “celli yr ewinbren” (the) wood (of) the girder / beam
ETYMOLOGY: (ewin = nail, claw, grip)
+ soft mutation + (pren = tree,
trunk)
NOTE: In South Wales it is generally wimben;
(1) ewinbren > winbren (loss of the first syllable)
>
(2) wimbren (change of n > m before b) >
(3) wimben (loss of the r)
:_______________________________.
ewinedd ‹eu-î-nedh› plural
1 plural of ewin =
fingernail, etc
:_______________________________.
ewinfedd ‹e-win-vedh› feminine noun
PLURAL ewinfeddi
‹e-win-vê-dhi›
1 nail’s breadth
2 obsolete two-and-a-half
inches
3 the least bit, ‘inch’
ac nid ewinfedd pellach and not an
inch further
4 a little bit
Symudodd y ci ewinfedd eto yn agosach at
y gath
The dog moved a little bit nearer the cat again
5 i’r ewinfedd, exactly
Roedd y siaced las yn ei ffitio i’r
ewinfedd
The blue jacket fitted him exactly
ETYMOLOGY: (ewin = nail, i.e. finger
nail, toe nail) + soft mutation + (medd
= measure)
NOTE: colloquial forms:
(1) ewinfedd > winfedd - loss of the first syllable e-
(2) ewinfedd > winfedd > finwedd (change of w > f)
(3) ewinfedd > winfedd > finwedd > minwedd (with the f mistaken for the soft mutation of m)
(4) ewinfedd > winfedd > gwinfedd (a
false radical form - the w has been
mistaken for the soft mutation of gw)
:_______________________________.
ewinor
‹e-WII-nor› feminine noun
1 North Wales winor, hangnail;
ETYMOLOGY: literally ‘nail abcess’ (ewin = nail) + soft mutation + (gôr = abcess)
NOTE: (ewinor > winor)
Apheresis (loss of an unstressed first syllable), usually a pretonic syllable,
is very common in Welsh
:_______________________________.
ewinrhew ‹e-WIN-hreu› (m)
1 numbness in fingers from cold, frozen fingers
Ma'r
winthraw ar 'y mysedd My fingers are numb with cold, my fingers
are frozen (“there-is the numbness on my fingers”)
2 frostbite
dioddef
o ewinrhew suffer from frostbite
3
Pantywinthrew SJ1401 Farm near Pant-y-ffridd, Powys (“Pantywynthrew” on
the Ordnance Survey map)
http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/553611
map
“(the)
hollow (of) the numbness of the fingers from cold”
(pant
= hollow) (y = definite article) + (winthrew,
a local form of ewindrew = numbness of fingers from the cold)
ETYMOLOGY (ewin = fingernail, toenail)
+ soft mutation + (rhew = ice, frost) > ewín-rew > ewinrhew
(soft mutation lost in the combination n-r)
Cornish: ewinrew, Breton ivinrev (= numbness of fingers from the
cold)
NOTE:
There
are numerous local variants based on ewinrew > winrew (loss of the
pretonic syllable)¡
(1)
North Wales: winraw, winthraw, winthro
(2) South-west Wales hwindrew, windrew,
windre
(3)
South-east Wales windrew, gwynrew
(delw 7456)
:_______________________________.
Ewrop ‹EU
rop›
1 Europe
:_______________________________.
Ewropeaidd ‹eu ro
PE edh›
1European
:_______________________________.
ewyllys, ewyllysau ‹e UI
lhis, e wi LHI se›
1 will = intent
bod ewyllys haearnaidd gan (rywun) have an iron will
bod ewyllys ddurol gan (rywun) have an iron will
2 will = testament
:_______________________________.
ewyllysu
‹e-ui-LHə-si› verb
1
to will, to wish
See ewyllysio
:_______________________________.
ewyn ‹EU in›
1 foam
(delw 7091)
:_______________________________.
Ewynwy
‹e-wə-nui›
1 Spurious form for the river Ewenni
in south-east Wales, sometimes used in the 1800s.
2 Also used for Ewenni, the name of a village near the town of Pen-y-bont ar
Ogwr. (The river Ewenni passes through the village.)
Yr wyf yn cofio yn dda y “syndod” yn
mhlith yr hen dadau ar Donyrefail pan ddaeth “Hanes Bywyd ‘Siencyn Penhydd’”
allan o’r wasg, wedi ei gyfansoddi gan yr anwyl a’r gwir hybarch Edward
Matthews, y pryd hwnw o’r Ewynwy, ger Penybont.
(Hanes
Tonyrefail - Atgofion am y Lle a’r Hen Bobl. Thomas Morgan. 1899, Caerdydd)
I well
remember the “surprise” among the old patriarchs (“the old fathers”) in
Tonyrefail when “Hanes Bywyd Siencyn Pen-hydd’ (the history of the life of
Siencyn of Pen-hydd farm) was published (“came out of the press”), written by
(“composed by”) the dear right honourable Edward Matthews, at the time from
Ewynwy, near Pen-y-bont (Bridgend).
ETYMOLOGY: The name Ewenni reworked so that it has the sense of ‘foam river’ (ewyn = foam) + (-wy suffix supposedly meaning ‘water’).,
In the 1800s there was a belief by some writers / lexicographers that the
element –wy at the end of some river
names, and the existence of the river name Gwy
/ Afon Wy, was evidence of a lost word gwy
meaning “water”. In fact there was no such word with this meaning. Some writers
though insisted on ‘restoring’ this element to the end of river names, hence
Ewenni
> supposed main element *Ewenn- /
*Ewen-
> (with the addition of the suffix -wy)*Ewenwy;
then with the meaningless ‘ewen’ being explained by ewyn (= foam) > Ewynwy.
In fact the name is not ‘foam river’ but rather the modern Welsh form of a
British word which is the name of a Celtic female deity, Aventia
:_______________________________.
ewythr,
ewythrod ‹EU
i thər, eu Ə throd›
Colloquial form: ewyrth, ewyrthod ‹EU irth› ‹eu ƏR thod›
1 uncle
Diminutive form: ewa (qv) <EU-a› [ˡɛua] uncle
:_______________________________.
ey ‹-›
1
a spelling for Welsh -au (formerly -eu) in Anglicised spellings of Welsh
names
..a/ “Clydey” (place name) Clydau
(county of Caerfyrddin)
..b/ “Nanney” (surname from a place name) Nannau
(“streams”)
..c/ “Blayney” (surname from a place name) Blaenau
(“stream sources”)
..d/ “Gwysaney” (place name, in the county of Y Fflint) Gwysanau
1077e y tudalen nesaf
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