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Place-names Dictionary
- Welsh place names and place-name elements explained 0817
CONTENTS OF THIS PAGE
27 uchaf /
isaf
28 hen = old
29 compound words
30 gwledÿdd, cantrefi, cymydau
31 some Latin words in Welsh
32 colloquial pronunciations - Wales as a whole
33 colloquial pronunciations - North Wales
34 colloquial pronunciations - South Wales
35 shifting accent - Tre-y-clawdd > Trefyclo
35a 'y' at the
beginning of some Welsh words
36 dropped sounds - Caradog > C'radog
37 standard forms or local forms: Machynllaith / Machynlleth
37a local forms: shortenings (Pontarddulais > Y Bont; Ffestiniog >
'Stiniog)
37b local forms: dropping of the linking definite
article - Glan-y-môr > Glan-môr
38 local forms: various distortions
39 Llanfairpwllgwyngÿllgogerychwÿrndrobwllllantysiliogogoch
40 field names
41 house names
42 street names
43 restoring the correct orthography
44 British names in the lost lands of the Britons
45 Modern Welsh names for places in the island of Britain
46 Welsh names overseas (USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand)
46a Welsh names overseas; Y Wladfa - Wales in Patagonia
46b Miscellany
(taulology - Brÿn Hill, etc)
(English words in Welsh which are used in place names)
(tags replacing the full name : Llangadwaladr Trefesgob > Trefesgob)
(soft mutation where it shouldn't be)
(French names in Wales)
(combination names - Cwm-bach Llechrÿd)
47 mutations - summary page
48 Bibliography
49 list of place name elements
27 uchaf / isaf
There are often groups
of farms which have originated from a single settlement
One way of differentiating them is to use mawr (= big, great) and bach (= little).
And if there is a third one in the group, canol (= middle) .
This is from Latin "canal-" (as in English canal, channel)
which meant pipe, grrove, channel. Since the channel in a river is always the
middle section, it came to mean 'middle' in Welsh. In the South-east it is
'cenol', and this is often the pronunciation even if the name is spelt in the
standard form 'canol'.
Brÿn-gwÿn Mawr = Great Brÿn-gwÿn (also in English - greater,
Brÿn-gwÿn Canol = Middle Brÿn-gwÿn
Brÿn-gwÿn Bach = Little Brÿn-gwÿn (also in English - lesser)
But more often we see the mutated forms -
Brÿn-gwÿn Fawr
Brÿn-gwÿn Ganol
Brÿn-gwÿn Fach
The reason is possibly that, with unmutated forms, the underlying word is
'house' which is masculine; with the mutated form it is 'tre' or 'fferm', which
are feminine
HIGH AND LOW
uchel / uwch / uchaf [u-khel, iukh, u-khav] high, higher, highest
isel / is / isaf [i-sel, iis, i-sav] high, higher, highest
ISEL / UCHEL.
These are seen in other names too.
The Welsh name for the
The Highlands of Scotland are the 'Ucheldiroedd' (the same as in English -
'high lands')
UCHAF / ISAF
Although 'uchaf' is literally 'highest', the English equivalent would be
'high', 'higher' / 'upper', and although 'isaf' is 'lowest' this is 'low',
'lower', or 'nether'
In colloquial Welsh the final 'f' disappears in words of more than one syllable
- and this has been characteristic of the language for many centuries. The
standard language maintains it. In place names, the rule is usually to use
standard forms, but the use of the forms without 'f' is common.
In the North, the [i] sound in 'ucha' becomes [ø], resulting in the
pronunciation 'ycha' [ø-kha], though
it is never written as such in place names
Brÿn-gwÿn Uchaf / Ucha / Ycha
In
mis = month,
So 'Isaf' is 'Isha' and sometimes is written as such in place names.
Brÿn-gwÿn Isaf / Isa / Isha
They're also used in village names - usually a translation of the English
administrative practice of calling a village 'Upper' and 'Lower'. Since the
language of municipal administration has been English until the more liberal
language laws of the sixties and nineties which have permitted the use of
Welsh, it is not surprising to find patterns of naming in Welsh which seem to
be imported from beyond Clawdd Offa / Offa's Dyke
Cwm-twrch Uchaf, Cwm-twrch Isaf (Upper Cwm-twrch / Lower Cwm-twrch)
Machen Uchaf, Machen Isaf
When uchaf / canol / isaf are not used to distinguish different farm names or
village names they are run together with the element they qualify
(uchaf = top, canol = middle, centre, isaf = bottom)
Tÿuchaf = upper house, top house
Tÿcanol = middle house, halfway house
Tÿisaf / Tÿisha = lower house, bottom house
28 hen
Like other adjectives,
hen [heen] can come after the noun it describes.
Examples are:
y goetref hen = the old farm by the wood
yr heol hen = the old road
Goetre-hen is 6km north of Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr (on English maps as Coytrahen,
representing the south-eastern pronunciation coetra instead of coetre, and
apparently a form without a preceding definite article to give the soft
mutation c > g). Heol Hen is a street in (Blaendulais)
Usually, though, it goes before the noun. And in this position it causes
the soft mutation.
Hen Golwÿn = Old Colwÿn, (the) old (part of ) Colwÿn
Examples with the definite article:
yr hen gapel = the old chapel (< capel)
yr hen ysgoldÿ = the old schoolhouse
yr hen felin = the old mill (< melin)
yr hen domen = the old mound, the old castle mound (< tomen)
yr hen gastell = the old castle (< castell)
yr hen gwrt = the old court (< cwrt)
In place names of this type the article is generally lost. In street
names too it is generally omitted - Hen Gwrt, a manor in Llandeilo
Gresynni in the
In some words and often in place names it is used as a prefix, and has a
short vowel.
Some words with this prefix are to be found in modern Welsh:
(1) hengerdd. The earliest Welsh poetry, from around 500-1000, is called
'Yr hengerdd' (cerdd = poetry) in Welsh, the 'old poetry', a term first
recorded in the 1300's. These early poets are the 'henfeirdd', (beirdd = bards,
poets) the old poets.
(2) henoed. Old people are the 'henoed' (oed = age).
(3) henlo. In North-west Wales, cinders are 'henlo' (glo = coal).
But it is far more common in place names:
'Hendÿ' (hen + tÿ) is literally 'old house', but developed the sense of
'mansion'. Part of Llanelli is known as Yr Hendÿ.
The word 'tÿ' was also 'monastery', as in Tÿddewi (St. David's, the monastery
of Dewi). In Sir Gaerfyrddin / Carmarthenshire, we find Hendÿ-gwÿn ar Daf.
('Whitland' in English) ("old monastery on the river Taf")
Hendref. Another very
common name is 'hendref', the farmstead, the main farmhouse, the winter farm,
the place in a valley to which a family would return in the winter months after
grazing the cattle all the summer in the highlands. (Often a hendre has a
corresponding 'hafod' - a summer dwelling). For centuries the final 'f' [v] in
a word of more than one syllable has been lost in colloquial Welsh - 'hendre'.
It makes a reappearance in the plural 'hendrefi', and in the standard language
the form with 'f' is considered to be the correct form. In place names, the
'f'-less form is the usual one. (See....)
Note that in
Henllwÿn. Although in modern Welsh there is a mutation of ll > l
after 'hen', in place names generally the 'll' is unmutated (Actually, this is a
simplified explanation of the real but more complicated explanation, but as a
rule of thumb
llwÿn = wood, henllwÿn = old wood
Exercise:
01 old ford: hen + rhÿd =
02 old field: hen + maes =
03 old wood: hen + coed =
04 old court: hen + cwrt =
05: old graves: hen + beddau =
06: old road: hen + ffordd =
07: old castle: hen + castell =
08: old church: hen + llan =
09: old court: hen + llÿs =
10: old mansion: hen + plas =
ANSWERS: 01 Henrÿd [hen rid]. Name of a village (SH 7774) 3km south of
Conwÿ. 2
Henfaes [hen vais] 03 Yr Hengoed [hen goid]. Name of a village
(ST 1595) in south-east Wales 04 Hengwrt [hen gurt]. 05 Henfeddau [hen ve
dhe]. (SN 2431). District in Sir Benfro
06 The Welsh name for the English town of
In Welsh it is called Henffordd, a name which is recorded in the 1200s. It
seems though to be an adaption of the English name to give it sense in Welsh.
(The real etymology is Old English "her-" = army, as in modern German
'Heer' = army, and "ford" = ford, crossing-place at river. ??Erfurt
in Germany is the same name) 07 Yr Hengastell [hen gas telh] (SO 2116) a
district of Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr 08 Henllan [hen lhan] - (SJ 0268) - a
village in Sir Ddinbÿch, and another (SN 3540) in Ceredigion 09 Henllÿs [hen
lhis] - name of a mansion in Sir Benfro (SN 1039) 10 Yr Henblas [hen
blas] - name of a mansion in Llangristiolus, Môn (Anglesey) (SH 4272) and
another in Llanderfel, Sir Meirionÿdd (SH 9837)
29 compound
words
In Common Celtic, the
use of the adjective before the noun was the usual, rather like in the German
languages today (English, German, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, etc). The
names of Celtic towns across
Noviodunon (nov- + dun-) new fort
In the same way, a noun could be placed first
Camulodunon (Kamulos = A Celtic war god, + dun-)
Modern Welsh, and the other modern Celtic languages, now have a system like the
Latin languages. New combinations in natural spoken Welsh would generally use
first the noun followed by a qualifying element (but as with every good rule -
exceptions abound).
In literary Welsh the older system is still acceptable, and many modern
coinings use it.
There are many place names of this type, and since it has not been the normal
pattern for over one thousand five hundred years we can assume that such names
are either (1) recent poetic names, or (2) old compounds preserved either as
common nouns, and later applied to places, or names that have remained in situ
since British times.
There is soft mutation of the second element
Glas - Glasfrÿn, Glasgoed, Glaslÿn, Glasgwm,
Du - Dugoed, Dulün, Dulas, Dulais, Dugwm
Gwÿn - Gwynfrÿn, Gwynlais
Llwÿd - Llwÿtgoed, Llwÿdiarth
hir - Hirnant, Hirwaun, Hirgoed,
Moel - moelfre, moelfrÿn,
Golau (prefix form goleu-) - goleugoed
There is no mutation with n + ll (but see our remark after 'henllwÿn' above)
onllwÿn - ash wood, henllÿs -old court, gwinllan -
vineyard
30
gwledÿdd, cantrefi, cymydau
GWLEDYDD; CANTREFI,
CYMYDAU
These are the 'gwledÿdd' (lands or territories) of which Wales was made up
before 1282 and the English conquest; though some survived longer (in general,
it was the most Welsh areas, the ones which had resisted English incursions
most, which were broken up by the English crown after the military occupation
of Wales)
Brycheiniog territory of Brychan
Ceredigion territory of Ceredig
Dyfed (from a British tribal name Demet-)
Gwÿnedd Is Conwÿ (the) (part of) Gwÿnedd below / east of (the river) Conwÿ
Gwÿnedd Uwch Conwÿ (the) (part of) Gwÿnedd above / west of (the river)
Conwÿ
Morgannwg = the territory of Morgan
Powÿs Fadog = (the) (part of) Powÿs (belonging to) Madog
Powÿs Wenwynwÿn = (the) (part of) Powÿs (belonging to) Gwenwynwÿn
Rhwng Gwÿ a Hafren = (the land) between (the river) Gwÿ ("Wye") and
(the river) Hafren ("Severn")
Ystrad Tywi = (the) valley (of) (the river) Tywi
There were some forty-eight cantrefi (each territory was split in to a number
of smaller administrative units called cantrefi, from cantref - one hundred
'trêvs' or farm places)
|
01 |
Aberffraw |
|
02 |
Ardudwÿ |
|
03 |
Arfon |
|
04 |
Arllechwedd |
|
05 |
Arwÿstli |
|
06 |
Buellt |
|
07 |
Caereinion |
|
08 |
Cantref
Bychan |
|
09 |
Cantref
Mawr (Brycheiniog) |
|
10 |
Cantref
Mawr (Ystrad Tywi) |
|
11 |
Cantref
Selÿf |
|
12 |
Cedewain |
|
13 |
Cedweli |
|
14 |
Cemais
(Dyfed) |
|
15 |
Cemais
(Gwynedd) |
|
16 |
Cyfeiliog |
|
17 |
Dyffrÿn
Clwÿd |
|
18 |
Eifionnÿdd |
|
19 |
Elfael |
|
20 |
Emlÿn |
|
21 |
Gwÿr |
|
22 |
Gwarthaf |
|
23 |
Gwrinÿdd |
|
24 |
Gwrtheÿrnion |
|
25 |
Gwynllwg |
|
26 |
Is
Aeron |
|
27 |
Is
Coed |
|
28 |
Llÿn |
|
29 |
Maelienÿdd |
|
30 |
Maelor |
|
31 |
Mechain |
|
32 |
Meirionÿdd |
|
33 |
Mochnant |
|
34 |
Pebidog |
|
35 |
Penfro |
|
36 |
Penllÿn |
|
37 |
Penweddig |
|
38 |
Penychen |
|
39 |
Rhos
(Dyfed) |
|
40 |
Rhos
(Gwynedd) |
|
41 |
Rhosÿr |
|
42 |
Rhufoniog |
|
43 |
Senghennÿdd |
|
44 |
Swÿdd
y Waun |
|
45 |
Talgarth |
|
46 |
Tegeingl |
|
47 |
Uwch
Aeron |
|
48 |
Uwch
Coed |
The cantrefi were subdivided into cymydau (singalur: cwmwd). This word is Englished
as commote (though "kumud" might be a better form in English) .
It derives from a combination of CYM- = together, BOD = dwelling
|
CWMWD
NAME |
MEANING |
THE CWMW FORMS PART
OF THIS KANTREV |
THE KANTREV IS PART
OF THIS TERRITORY |
|
Abergafenni
|
|
Uwch
Coed |
Morgannwg |
|
Afan
|
(river
name) |
Gwrinÿdd |
Morgannwg |
|
Amgoed
Cantref |
|
Gwarthaf
|
Dyfed |
|
Anhuniog
|
Annhun + -iog = |
Uwch
Aeron |
Ceredigion |
|
|
|
|
|
|
B |
|
|
|
|
Brÿnbuga
|
hill (of) Buga, a
personal name, possibly related to "bugail" = shepherd, originally
cowherd (bu- = cow) |
Is
Coed |
Morgannwg |
|
|
|
|
|
|
C |
|
|
|
|
Caeo
|
|
Cantref
Mawr |
Dyfed |
|
Caerwedros
|
|
Is
Aeron |
Ceredigion |
|
Cafflogion
|
|
Llÿn
|
Gwÿnedd
Uwch Conwÿ |
|
Carnwÿllion
|
|
Cedweli
|
Ystrad
Tywi |
|
Ceinmerch
|
cein (= cefn) +
meirch ridge of horses |
Rhufoniog
|
Gwÿnedd
Is Conwÿ |
|
Cetheiniog
|
|
Cantref
Mawr |
Dyfed |
|
Cibwr
|
|
Senghennÿdd
|
Morgannwg |
|
Coetÿ
|
coed
+ ty wooden
house |
Gwrinÿdd
|
Morgannwg |
|
Colion
|
|
Dyffrÿn
Clwÿd |
Gwÿnedd
Is Conwÿ |
|
Creuddÿn
|
|
Penweddig |
Ceredigion |
|
Cwmwd
Deuddwr (Cwmteuddwr) |
|
Gwrtheÿrnion |
Rhwng
Gwÿ a Hafren |
|
Cwmwd
Isaf |
lower
'commote' |
Arllechwedd
|
Gwÿnedd
Uwch Conwÿ |
|
Cwmwd
Uchaf |
upper
'commote' |
Arllechwedd
|
Gwÿnedd
Uwch Conwÿ |
|
Cwnsÿllt
(Coleshill) |
|
Tegeingl
|
Gwÿnedd
Is Conwÿ |
|
Cymÿd
Maen |
The commote of the stone
- referring to a large stone know as Y Maen Melÿn (the yellow stone) |
Llÿn |
Gwÿnedd
Uwch Conwÿ |
|
Cynffig
|
|
Gwrinÿdd |
Morgannwg |
|
Cynllaith
|
|
Swÿdd
y Waun |
Powÿs
Fadog |
|
|
|
|
|
|
D |
|
|
|
|
Daugleddau
|
dau + Cleddau, the two rivers
called Cleddau |
Rhos |
Dyfed |
|
Derllÿs
|
|
Cantref
Gwarthaf |
Dyfed |
|
Deuddwr
|
two
rivers |
Caereinion
|
Powÿs
Wenwynwÿn |
|
Deuparth
|
|
|
|
|
Dindaethwÿ
|
|
Rhosÿr
|
Gwÿnedd
Uwch Conwÿ |
|
Dinlláen
|
|
Llÿn |
Gwÿnedd
Uwch Conwÿ |
|
Dinmael
|
|
Penllÿn |
Powÿs
Fadog |
|
Dogfeiling
|
|
Dyffrÿn
Clwÿd |
Gwÿnedd
Is Conwÿ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
E |
|
|
|
|
Edeirnion
|
|
Penllÿn |
Powÿs
Fadog |
|
Edeligion
|
|
Is
Coed |
Gwÿnedd
Uwch Conwÿ |
|
Efelfre
|
|
Cantref
Gwarthaf |
Powÿs
Wenwynwÿn |
|
Elfed
|
|
Cantref
Gwarthaf |
Dyfed |
|
Ewias
|
|
Uwch
Coed |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
G |
|
|
|
|
Genau'r
Glÿn |
(the) mouth (of) the
valley |
Penweddig
|
Ceredigion |
|
Glÿn
Ogwr |
(the) valley (of)
(the river) Ogwr |
Gwrinÿdd |
Gwÿnedd
Uwch Conwÿ |
|
Glÿnrhondda
|
(the) valley (of)
(the river) |
Penychen |
Gwÿnedd
Uwch Conwÿ |
|
Gorddwr
|
|
Caereinion |
Powÿs
Wenwynwÿn |
|
Gwidigaidd
|
|
Cantref
Mawr |
Dyfed |
|
Gwynionÿdd
|
|
Is
Aeron |
Ceredigion |
|
|
|
|
|
|
H |
|
|
|
|
yr
Hob |
English name -
[hoop] Hope = valley |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I |
|
|
|
|
Iâl |
upland |
Maelor |
Powÿs
Fadog |
|
Is
Aled |
below / east of (the
river) Artro |
Rhufoniog |
Gwÿnedd
Is Conwÿ |
|
Is
Artro |
below / south of
(the river) Artro |
Ardudwÿ |
Gwÿnedd
Uwch Conwÿ |
|
Is
Cennen |
|
Cantref
Bychan |
Ystrad
Tywi |
|
Is
Coed |
below / north of
(the) wood |
Arwÿstli |
Powÿs
Wenwynwÿn |
|
Is
Coed |
below / south of
(the) wood |
Gwÿr |
Ystrad
Tywi |
|
Is
Coed |
|
Is
Aeron |
Ceredigion |
|
Is
Cuch |
below / west of (the
river) Cuch |
Emlÿn |
Dyfed |
|
Is
Dulas |
below / east of (the
river) Dulas |
Rhos |
Gwÿnedd
Is Conwÿ |
|
Is
Gwÿrfai |
below / north-east
of (the river) Gwÿrfai |
Arfon |
Gwÿnedd
Uwch Conwÿ |
|
Is
Mynÿdd |
below / south of
(the) upland |
Elfael |
Rhwng
Gwÿ a Hafren |
|
Is
Nyfer |
below / north of
(the river) Nyfer |
Cemais |
Dyfed |
|
Is
Rhaeadr |
below / east of (the
river) Rhaeadr |
Mochnant |
Powÿs
Wenwynwÿn |
|
Is
Trywerÿn |
below / east of (the
river) Trywerÿn |
Penllÿn |
Powÿs
Fadog |
|
|
|
|
|
|
L |
|
|
|
|
Llannerch
|
woodland
glade |
Dyffrÿn
Clwÿd |
Gwÿnedd
Is Conwÿ |
|
Llannerch
Hudol |
(the) glade (of)
(the) magician |
Caereinion
|
Powÿs
Wenwynwÿn |
|
Llebenÿdd
|
|
Is
Coed |
Morgannwg |
|
Llifon
|
|
Aberffraw
|
Gwÿnedd
Uwch Conwÿ |
|
Llythyfnwg
|
|
Elfael
|
Rhwng
Gwÿ a Hafren |
|
|
|
|
|
|
M |
|
|
|
|
Mabelfÿw
|
|
Cantref
Mawr |
Dyfed |
|
Mabudrud
|
|
Cantref
Mawr |
Dyfed |
|
Maelor
Gymráeg |
Welsh
'Maelor' |
Maelor
|
Powÿs
Fadog |
|
Maelor
Saesneg |
English
'Maelor' |
Maelor
|
Powÿs
Fadog |
|
Maenordeilo
|
|
Cantref
Mawr |
Dyfed |
|
Mallaen
|
|
Cantref
Mawr |
Dyfed |
|
Malltraeth
|
|
Aberffraw
|
Gwÿnedd
Uwch Conwÿ |
|
Mawddwÿ
|
(river
name) |
Cyfeiliog
|
Powÿs
Wenwynwÿn |
|
Mebwÿnion
|
|
Is
Aeron |
Ceredigion |
|
Meisgÿn
|
|
Penychen
|
Morgannwg |
|
Menai
|
(name
of a strait) |
Rhosÿr |
Gwÿnedd
Uwch Conwÿ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
N |
|
|
|
|
Nanheudwÿ
|
|
Swÿdd
y Waun |
Powÿs
Fadog |
|
Nantconwÿ
|
(the) valley (of)
the (river) Conwÿ |
Arllechwedd
|
Gwÿnedd
Uwch Conwÿ |
|
Nedd
|
(the
river) Nedd |
Gwrinÿdd
|
Morgannwg |
|
|
|
|
|
|
P |
|
|
|
|
Pennardd
|
hill top (pen =
summit, garth / gardd = hill) |
Uwch
Aeron |
Ceredigion |
|
Penrhÿn
|
promontory |
Cantref
Gwarthaf |
Dyfed |
|
Perfedd
|
midland |
Cantref
Bychan |
Ystrad
Tywi |
|
Perfedd
|
midland |
Penweddig |
Ceredigion |
|
Peuliniog
|
territory
of Peulin (Paulinus) |
Cantref
Gwarthaf |
Dyfed |
|
Prestatÿn
|
|
Tegeingl |
Gwÿnedd
Is Conwÿ |
|
Rhuddlan
|
red slope (rhudd =
red, glan = slope) |
Tegeingl |
Gwÿnedd
Is Conwÿ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
T |
|
|
|
|
Talacharn
|
|
Cantref
Gwarthaf |
Dyfed |
|
Talybolion
|
|
Cemais |
Gwÿnedd
Uwch Conwÿ |
|
Tal
y Bont |
(place)
facing the bridge |
Meirionÿdd |
Gwÿnedd
Uwch Conwÿ |
|
Tal
y Fan |
(place)
facing the peak |
Penychen
|
Morgannwg |
|
Teirtref
|
=
three trêvs |
Uwch
Coed |
Morgannwg |
|
Tir
Iarll |
(the) land (of) the
earl |
Uwch
Coed |
Morgannwg |
|
Tir
Ralff |
(the)
land (of) Ralff |
Cantref
Mawr |
Brycheiniog |
|
Traean
|
third |
|
|
|
Trefynwÿ
|
(the) town (on) (the
river) Mynwÿ Monmouth - which is
a translation of an older Welsh name, Abermynwÿ (confluence of the Mynwÿ) |
Uwch
Coed |
Morgannwg |
|
Tre
Grug |
|
Is
Coed |
Morgannwg |
|
Tryleg |
|
Is
Coed |
Morgannwg |
|
Twrcelÿn |
|
Cemais |
Gwÿnedd
Uwch Conwÿ |
|
|
|
|
|
|
U |
|
|
|
|
Uwch
Aled |
above / west of (the
river) Artro |
Rhufoniog
|
Gwÿnedd
Is Conwÿ |
|
Uwch
Artro |
above / north of
(the river) Artro |
Ardudwÿ
|
Gwÿnedd
Uwch Conwÿ |
|
Uwch
Cuch |
above / east of (the
river) Cuch |
Emlÿn
|
Dyfed |
|
Uwch
Coed |
abovev / south of
(the) wood |
Arwÿstli
|
Powÿs
Wenwynwÿn |
|
Uwch
Coed |
above / north of
(the) wood |
Gwÿr |
Ystrad
Tywi |
|
Uwch
Dulas |
above / west of (the
river) Dulas |
Rhos
|
Gwÿnedd
Is Conwÿ |
|
Uwch
Gwÿrfai |
above / south-west
of (the river) Gwÿrfai |
Arfon
|
Gwÿnedd
Uwch Conwÿ |
|
Uwch
Mynÿdd |
above / north of
(the) upland |
Elfael |
Rhwng
Gwÿ a Hafren |
|
Uwch
Nyfer |
above / south of
(the river) Nyfer |
Cemais |
Dyfed |
|
Uwch
Rhaeadr |
above / west of (the
river) Rhaeadr |
Mochnant
|
Powÿs
Wenwynwÿn |
|
Uwch
Trywerÿn |
above / west of (the
river) Trywerÿn |
Penllÿn
|
Powÿs
Fadog |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Y |
|
|
|
|
Ystlwÿf
|
|
Cantref
Gwarthaf |
Dyfed |
|
Ystrad
Marchell |
(the) valley (of)
Marchell (= Marcellus) |
Caereinion |
Powÿs
Wenwynwÿn |
31 some Latin
words in Welsh
During the Roman
occupation of the
In addition, many personal names were taken into British from Latin, and
some have survived until today. Indeed the symbol of the country - the red
dragon - was in origin ___ XXXX
Pontem replaced *briva - maybe because the Roman manner of building bridges was
adopted. Similarly there are two words for wall - mur and magwyr. On the other
hand, some words ousted native Celtic terms for no discernible reason - such as
the words for fish (pÿsg), and parts of the body (barf = beard (barca), coes =
leg (coxa), and braich = arm (bracchium)
Of course, many of these are also found in a similar form in English - taken
from medieval French (canal/channel, castle, cross, finish. fork,
font/fountain, martyr, plebian, port, saint, tavern) or Latin ecclesiastical
There are some five hundred words and personal names in use in Welsh today
which came directly from Latin - they entered the British language during the
four hundred years of Roman occupation of the
Of these, over a hundred are to be found in place names. The most common of
these elements are
(LIST INCOMPLETE)
cadair chair (cathedra = chair)
canol middle (canal- = channel)
castell castle (castell- = small fort)
coch red
croes cross (crux = cross)
eglwÿs church
ffin boundary, border
fforch fork (in a road or
river)
ffos ditch, fosse (fossa = ditch)
ffynnon well, spring (fontâna = well)
melin mill (molina = mill)
merthÿr graveyard (martyrium =
martyr's shrien)
mynwent graveyard (monument- =
monument)
plwÿf parish (pleb- = common people)
pont bridge (pons, pont- = bridge)
porth port
porth town gate; pass
between hills
Sais/Saeson Englishman/Englishmen
sant saint
tafarn tavern, public house
For a full list of Welsh words from Latin, see our page at 0992
32
colloquial pronunciations -
Welsh is 'phonetic' in
the sense that in general one letter or letter combination represents one
sound. So it is possible to read a word and repodruce the standard
pronunciation. However, spoken forms have diverged greatly from the standrad
forms (as in English I don't know > dunno, I would have gone if...
> I'd've gone if..., etc)
In the nineteenth century Emrÿs ap Iwan called for the spoken forms common to
the whole of
So place names are usually written in their standard forms, but the local
pronunciation may be somewhat different
In general, Welsh place names are written in standard Welsh and not according
to the local pronunciation, just as for example the capital of
(as in the
Some forms are common to most of the country. Others are specific to the north,
and others to the south.
(1) pronunciation 'e' in the final syllable
(2) the loss of 'f' [v] at the end of words of more than one syllable
(1) In general, we can say that in a final syllable, ai / ae / au are
pronounced as 'e' over most of
For example, 'pethau' (things, or Welsh culture) is 'pethe'.
Owain is now generally pronounced and spelt Owen (The form Owain is a
twentieth-century revival of the medieval formusually in derefence to Owain
Glÿn Dwr, the Welsh fighter for independence at the beginning of the 1400s)
(2) Many words in Welsh historically end in 'f', but since the 1300s there are
examples of this final 'f' being dropped. The standard language though
maintains it, though by now in the spoken language it has disappeared (except
in new words taken from the literary language)
Generally in place names the 'f' is retained, unless it is a derivative of
'tre' = farmstead
Pentref / pentre, hendref / hendre, maerdref / maerdre, cantref / cantre,
coetref / coetre, melindref / melindre
In the house name Cartref / Cartre.
In other words it is usually retained, though the local pronunciation would
omit it
isaf / uchaf / pellaf
(3) -aw- in the final syllable is reduced to -o-
For example, 'athro' is teacher, but originally was 'athraw' in medieval Welsh.
The plural retains the old form - 'athrawon'.
gwair = hay, clawdd = ditch, earth bank; gweirglawdd > gweirglodd = hay
meadow
mwÿnglawdd retains aw
33 colloquial
pronunciations - North Wales
(1) The most notable aspect is that what is pronounced
-e- in a final syllable over most of Wales is pronounced as -a- in the
North-west (and along a coastal strip estending as far as Sir y Fflint /
Flintshire).
Sometimes minor place names indicate the local pronunciation
Gorad (= Gored)
Henwalia (= Henwaliau)
How are these pronounced in North-west Wales?
(1) aber
(2) cadair
(3) Dolgellau
ANSWERS: (1)
abar, (2) cadar, (3) Dolgella
(2) Another noticeable feature is the pronunciation of 'u' and 'ÿ' (the
two have the same pronunciation, although historically they were different). In
the North, a [i] sound is used. In the South, this has been lost, and
'u' and 'ÿ' are pronounced the same as 'i'.
Lly^n (a peninsula in Gwÿnedd)
34
colloquial pronunciations -
Around 1900, the
typical dialect of
(1) In the South, in a final syllable, the [y] sound at the beginning is
usually lost
Einion (man's name) > Einon
cochion = red (plural) > cochon [ko khon] cochon
dynion = men > dynon
gwynion = white > gwynnon
bryniau = hills > brynna (for the explanatio of the final -a, see below)
and in the south-east,
another feature was the consonants g b d at the beginning of a final syllable,
which became unvoiced - that is, they became k p t.
Ogwr > Ocwr
(2) MONOSYLLABLES: In the South-east long 'a' becomes long 'ä' (sounds
like English care, wear, hair, etc)
tân = fire > tään
bach = little > bääch
So the 'dâr' in Aber-dâr is 'däär'; and this is the pronunciation preserved in
the English name Aberdare
(3) MONOSYLLABLES: In the south-west ae [ai] becomes a long 'a' [aa], and in accordance
with the above rule in the south-east we have [ää]
cae = field / caa - cää [kaa];
maes = field / maas - määs [maas];
maen = stone / maan - mään [maan];
llaeth = milk / llaath - llääth [lhaath]
Other examples of this sound are in Y Gaer, which in the south becomes Y
Gâr, and so in the south-east Y Gäär, again rhyming with 'care' .
(4) MONOSYLLABLES: oe
[oi] becomes a long 'o' [oo]
coed = wood / co'd [kood];
oer = cold / o'r [oor];
moel = bald / mo'l [mool];
croes = cross / cro's [kroos]
(5) MONOSYLLABLES: au [ai] becomes 'ou' [oi]
cau = hollow / cou [koi] (Ynÿs-gou)
(6) POLYSYLLABLES:
IN THE PENULT (the syllable before last)
ei > ii (really a half-long i if followed by a single consonant
sound)
meibion = sons > miibon
ei > i (short i if followed by two consonants together)
Meisgÿn (place by Llantrisant) = M'isgÿn [mi skin]
(7) POLYSYLLABLES:
IN THE PENULT (the syllable before last)
eu [ei] becomes 'ou'
[oi] -
Pendeulwÿn > Pendoulwn
neuadd = hall / nouadd [noi adh]
(8) POLYSYLLABLES:
IN THE PENULT (the syllable before last)
"epenthesis".
An echo vowel is placed between two consonants -
ochr > ochor
cefn = back, hill / cefen [ke-ven],
Lloegr =
(9) IN A FINAL SYLLABLE
Anything pronounced with -e in the final syllable in the south-west is -a
(au / ai / ae / e become a)
Pentra
Hendra
panwaun = bog / panwen [pan wen] > panwan (Tai'rbanwan)
tyle = hill > tyla
bylchau / "bylche" = gaps > bwlcha
bryniau / "brynie" = hills > brynna;
Penydarran
(10) IN A FINAL SYLLABLE
final wÿ > w
cerwn
in the spoken language: ofnadwÿ = terrible / ofnadw [ov na du].
Place names Ebwÿ = river name / Ebw [e bu]
(11) 's' next to 'i' becomes 'sh'
isaf > isa > isha
Y Glais > Y Glaish
(12) In the south-east the 'h' was regularly dropped.
Which explains the comment of a Northerner moving south to work in the
mining valleys -
dw'i'n mÿnd i'r wlad lle mae'r haul yn mÿnd yn oil (see sound change 5)
I'm going to the land where the sun becomes 'oil' (i.e. where the pronuciation
of 'haul' is 'oil', but 'oil' is also colloquial Welsh for oil - i.e.
lubricant, and so can be understood as 'where the sun turns into oil')
Regional pronunciations:
Generally, place names are spelt according tio the standard form even if
locally the name is pronounced differently. Curiously though some names do not
abide by this convention and the spelling reflects local pronunciation rather
than the standard form. This often involves the reduction of final 'ai' or 'au'
to 'e'.
For example, the diphthong 'ai' in an unstressed syllable is usually
pronounced 'e' over most of
Llanybydder (Llanybyddair would be the more 'correct' form) 'church of the
deaf people'
(See 37: standard forms or local forms)
35 shifting accent - Tre-y-clawdd > Trefyclo
Ffynnon Fair = Mary's
Well, (the) well (of) Mary.
From this came the the name the name Ffynnon-fair
Sometimes the stress
in a name shifts, and it is accented on the penult
Ffynnónfair
(name of a mansion in
….)
This is one of the ambiguities which the hyphen in place name spellings
is supposed to resolve.
The instruction book
for the field examinners recommeded the use of the hyphen to denote a stressed
final element:
"When the accent is on the last syllable, this name should be written
with a hyphen - e.g. Pen-sarn, Bryn-du
It is only on the ground that it can be ascertained whether a name is
pronounced Bryngwÿn or Brÿn-gwÿn; Bryndÿ or Brÿn-du
The following, amongst many others, belong to this class
Rhiwlas sometimes Rhiw-las
Henblas sometimes Hen-blâs
Maesmawr sometimes Maes-mawr
Hafodwen sometimes Hafod-wen
Penrhos sometimes Pen-rhôs
Penbrÿn sometimes Pen-brÿn
Maengwÿn sometimes Maen-gwÿn"
This recommendation for using the hyphen has been maintained in by the
Bwrdd Gwÿbodau Celtaidd. Unfortunately, it was somewhat devalued by allowing
exceptions
"Caerdydd instead of Caer-dydd
Maesteg intead of Maes-teg
Abergwaun instead of Aber-gwaun"
More examples of
shifted stress:
Brÿn-croes > Bryncroes
Brÿn-baw > Brymbo
Llan-fair > Llanfair
Llan-bedr > Llanbedr
Sometimes, curiously, the definite article takes the stress
Llan-y-cil > Llanýcil (in Penllÿn, Gwÿnedd)
Pen-y-berth > Penýberth (Llanbedrog)
Tref-y-clawdd > Trefýclawdd > Trefýclo powÿs; English name Knighton)
Talýbrÿn (Llanefÿdd)
And in some instances the definite article y > e
Pen-y-goes >
Penýgoes > Penegoes
35a 'y' at the beginning of some Welsh words
Some words in Welsh begin with an 'y' - historically a prosthetic
[pros-the-tik] 'y'. These are words historically beginning with s- + consonant.
(Prosthesis [pros-thii-sis] is the addition of a sound to the beginning
of a word).
In Old Welsh, people found it difficult to pronunce this initial 's' without
putting a helper vowel in front. In Cornish and Breton this development did not
take place.
The process is to be ssen today in speakers of certain Latin-derived
languages which have added a prosthetic vowel. When such speakers try to pronounced
a word beginning with s + consonant in another language, they tend to add the
prothestic vowel - the English 'a snob' becomes 'an esnob' [e SNOB]. In
Catalan, snob has been taken from English in the form 'esnob'.
In Old Welsh, some were British words:
(i) sgyfarn (ear) became ysgyfarn. The word is obsolete in modern Welsh,
and only occurs in the name '(the) (long-) eared (animal) - ysgyfarnog, the
hare. Cornish and Breton bothe have skovarn = ear
(ii) stlÿs (side) became ystlýs and then ýstlÿs. In Irish it is slios =
side
(iii) strad (flat valley) > ystrád > ýstrad.
Cornish has stras = flat valley, and Breton strad = bottom
Others are Latin words which were taken into British
(English often has the same words of Latin origin taken from French -
school, stable)
(iv) Latin: schôla (school): originally Old Welsh 'sgôl', later 'ysgôl',
and after ýsgol (spelt ysgol in modern Welsh)
(Catalan escola, Castilian escuela, French école (earlier escole).
In Breton and Cornish - Breton skol, Cornish skol
(v) Latin: scâla (ladder): sgawl > ysgáwl > ýsgawl > ýsgol.
Catalan escala, Castilian escala.
Cornish and Breton both have skeul = ladder
In Welsh, ysgol can be either 'school' or 'ladder'.
36 dropped sounds - Caradog > C'radog
(1) In a prepenult syllable, between (c or g) and (l or n
or r ), a vowel is often squeezed out
|
C |
vowel |
L |
|
G |
|
N |
|
|
|
R |
caledi > c'ledi (hardship)
calennig > c'lennig (a New Year gift)
Calan Mai [ka lan MAI] > Cala' Mai > Calámai > C'lame [CLA me] -
the first of May
a similar example is thre north-eastern word for a funeral:
cynhebrwng > c'nebrwng (funeral)
In place names:
Llangarannog > Llang'rannog > Llangrannog (
caled + dwr > Caletwr > C'letwr > Cletwr (hard - i.e.
strong-flowing - stream)
caled + rhÿd > Y Galedrÿd > G'ledrÿd > Y Gledrÿd (hard - i.e.
strong-flowing - ford, ford with a strong current)
Celynennau (= small holly bushes) > C'lenna > Clenna (place in
Eifionÿdd)
(2) Apheresis (a-fiø-rø-sis) is the loss of one or more letters or sounds at
the beginning of a word.
There are some examples in English, often with words which were taken
from French. In English, the clipped word has often developed a new meaning.
esquire / squire
estate / state
defence / fence
acute / cute
In Welsh, this process is called 'blaendoriad' - cutting off the front
part (blaen = front, front part; torri = to cut).
In spoken Welsh, it is not unusual for a certain types of words to lose
the first syllable. The accent in Welsh is usually on the syllable before last.
Sometimes the syllable before it is so weak that it drops away.
Some examples of words from modern Welsh with three or more syllables
which are often reduced in this way are:
|
Nadolig [na DO lig] |
>
'Dolig [DO lig] (Christmas) |
|
adnabod [ad NA bod] |
> 'nabod [NA bod]
(know somebody) |
|
hosanau [ho SA ne] |
>
'sane [SA ne] (socks) |
|
esgidiau [e SKID ye] |
> 'sgidie [SKID
ye] / 'sgitshe [SKI che] (shoes) |
Some examples found both in colloquial Welsh and in place names:
|
ymenÿn |
> 'menÿn (butter)
[ø-me-nin, me-nin] |
|
ystafell |
> 'stafell [ø-st-velh, sta-velh] = room |
|
eisingrug
(Southern form: eishingrug) |
> 'shingrug [ei-shin-grig, shin-grig] =
mound of chaff |
|
eboles |
boles
= filly |
|
ehedÿdd |
hedÿdd
= skylark |
|
aderÿn |
derÿn
= bird |
|
hanner
erw |
nerer = half an acre
(in this compound word the w is a consonant; and this drops away) |
|
ysgubor
|
>
sgubor = barn |
|
ysgyfarnog
|
sgyfarnog
(North: sgwarnog) = hare |
Disappearing f
In Welsh there is a tendency for the sound 'v' to disappear before a consonant.
Buddugfre > Buddug're > Buddugre
Maesglasfre > Maesglas're > Maesglase (afterwards the 'r' disappeared
too)
Rhiwfabon > Rhiw'abon > Rhiwabon
Bodforgan > Bod'organ > Bodorgan
Cefnffordd > Ce'nffordd > Cenffordd
Curiously the same has happened in English
'hevd' > 'hed' (head)
'havz' > 'hav' (have)
'øv-klok' > 'ø-klok' (o' clock)
'havok' > hauk > hook (hawk); See Welsh 'hebog'
Disappearing dd
A number of words which
had dd at the end or within the word have lost it at sometime on the past, and
the modern word now has no trace of it
Latin Davidus > British > Welsh Dewÿdd > Dewÿ' > Dewi
(David)
Sometimes the change is still taking place.
rhoddi > rhoi = to give
Modern Welsh maintains 'rhoddi' as a standard form. The spoken language uses
'rhoi'
In Sir Benfro (Pembrokeshire), the loss of a final dd in words is a
feature of the Welsh spoken here, where it is usual in modern Welsh outside
this area and in standard Welsh
mynÿdd (high ground) > minidd > mini (the change of y into i before the
tonic accent is also noticeable here)
Casnewÿdd (Casnewÿdd Bach, village name) > Casnewÿ'
Such words which are found in place names are some place name elements:
tyddÿn > ty'ÿn > tÿn
(South Wales) banadl > banaddl > bana'l > banal (broom bushes)
and some names -
Troddi (river name, south-east Wales) > Tro'i > Troi
hardd (fine, beautiful) +llech (rock) > Harddlech > Har'lech > Harlech
Disappearing w
In words such as derw meddw (drunk) and enw (name) in pre-modern Welsh,
the 'w' was a consonant, and these were monsyllables. In modern Welsh they are
two-syllable words [ME dhu, E un], but in compounds they are atill one-syllable
words endind in a consonant
meddwdod = drunkeness, enwebiad = nomination.
In meddwdod the w drops away to give the form medd'dod [MEDH dod]. In
enwebiad in becomes the first consoant of the following syllable [en WEB ad]
Some words which behave in this way are to be found in place names:
derw (oak trees),
bedw (birch trees), garw (rough) [DE ru, BE du, GA rw]
In compounds they are monosyllables. Sometimes the 'w' is included in
the spelling, and sometimnes it isn't.
(1) (derw = oak trees) + soft mutation + (llwÿn = wood, grove) gives
derwlwÿn, which is simplified der'lwÿn > der'lwÿn.
Both spellings - derwlwÿn and derlwÿn - are to be found
(2) (bedw = birch trees) + soft mutation + (llwÿn = wood, grove) gives
bedwlwÿn, which is simplified bed'lwÿn > bed'lwÿn.
Again, both spellings - bedwlwÿn and bedlwÿn - are to be found
(3) (garw = rough, strong-flowing, violent) + (nant = stram) gives
garwnant, which is simplified gar'nant > garnant.
Both spellings - garwnant and garnant - are to be found
SUMMARY:
bedwlwÿn > bedlwÿn = birchwood
derwlwÿn > derlwÿn = oakwood
garwnant > garnant = rough (violent) stream
Long vowel change in English c1500
Around the year 1500 most long vowels in English became diphthongs.
Some of these changes were
(1) [aa] to [ei].
(2) [ii] to [ai].
(3) [oo] > [ou]. Sometimes the [oo] comes from earlier [aa] in English
(4) [ee] > [ii].
(5) [uu] > [au].
Words taken into Welsh from English before this change circa 1500
occurred have retained the sounds [aa], [ee], [ii] and [oo] sounds.
Welsh plât [plaat]
English plate [pleit], but in pre-1500 English [plaat]
And words taken into English from Welsh before circa 1500 have undergone
these vowel changes
(1) [aa] to [ei].
Rhÿs [hriis], English Rice [rais] - this would have been English [riis] to
[rais]
and Pen-rhÿs (Abertawe) > Penrice [pen RAIS]
The forms Rees / Reece in English show that they are later borrowings
Iâl [yaal], English Yale; formerly [yaal], now [yeil]
___________________________________________
(2) [ii] to [ai].
In the south 'pil' is a creek. The word is originally from English 'pill'
[pil] = creek. It occurs inWelsh with a long vowel soemtimes, as in Y Pîl
[piil], near Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr.
The place called Y Pîl is Pyle [pail] in English.
Other pîl names have no English forms - Pen-y-pîl, a former farm in
Caer-dÿdd.
Places with the element clun [kliin] (= meadow) have no English form,
except for the village of Clun in Castell-nedd ac Aberafan, which has an
English form Clyne [klain]
The saint's name Bride in English, now pronounced [braid] was formerly
[briid], and this is the pronunciation conserved in the two villages in
south-east Wales called Sant-y-brid. (Bride is the English form of the name of
the Swedish female saint Birgitta)
___________________________________________
(3) [oo] > [ou]
Some English words were originally [aa], as "stone" - staan >
stoon > stoun; an example in a Welsh place names is Y Rhath [hraath], early
English [raath] > [rooth]; then this [oo] became [ou] - hence Roath [routh],
the English name for this village which is now a district of Caer-dÿdd.
___________________________________________
(4) [ee] > [ii].
Examples in English are "feet" - feet > fiit, "week" -
week > wiik.
The river Nedd [needh] is in English "Neath" [niith] (with a change
from [dh] > [th])
___________________________________________
(5) [uu] > [au].
Examples in English are "house" - huus > haus, "town" -
tuun > taun.
Llan-dw [lhan DUU] in south-east Wales, semi-anglicised as Llan-dow - [lan
DAU], as in English how, now, cow
37 standard forms or local forms: Machynllaith /
Machynlleth
Curiously, some names though reflect the local pronunciation. For
example, the diphthong 'ai' in an unstressed syllable is usually pronounced 'e'
over most of Wales.
Ystradau > Strade (plural of ystrad = flat valley)
Llangywair > Llangywer
Cadair Idris > Cader Idris ((the) seat / fort (of) Idris)
Machynllaith > Machynlleth (ma Chynllaith - (the) plain (of)
Cynllaith)
Llanymynaich > Llanymynech (llan y mynaich 'church (of) the monks')
Maes-hyfaidd > Maesyfed (the) open country / the field (of) Hyfaidd
Llanybyddair > Llanybydder
llan y byddair means 'church of the deaf people' (byddar is the
adjective deaf. In English to describe a group of people with a certain
characteristic, it is sufficient to use only the definite article before the
certain adjectives to transform into a collective noun - the rich, the poor,
the French, the Welsh, the Irish, the homeless. In Welsh it is necessary to use
the plural form with certain adjectives; y byddair corresponds to English 'the
deaf')
In speech, there is a
tendency to reduce a place name as much as possible in speech.
37a local forms: shortenings (Pontarddulais > Y
Bont; Ffestiniog > 'Stiniog)
In the USA, Philadelphia is sometimes Philly, and Los Angeles, itself a
short form of 'el Pueblo de Nuestra SeNora la Reina de los Angeles de
Portiuncula' becomes L.A. (the village of Our Lady the Queen of the Angels of
Portiuncula)
In England there are names such as Scunny, Donny, Chippy, the Pool for
Scunthorpe, Doncaster, Chipping Norton and Liverpool.
The football team Manchester United becomes Man United.
In Argentina, Santos Trinidad y Puerto de Santa Maria de Buenos Aires is
reduced to the last two words.
J E Lloyd (1890) described the process like this:
The main purpose of name giving is to distinguish... Where only one object
of its kind exists in a district clearly no adjective element is needed to
define it for the untravelled folk of that district. The hill-fortress of the
region, for instance, would be known as Y Gaer, and only if there were more
than one in the vicinity would it be necessary to speak of Y Gaer Fawr [the big
fort], Y Gaer Wen [the white fort], and so on. Names which originally contained
an adjective element are often curtailed by the people who use them daily and
have not to contrast them with others similarly formed. Thus Penrhÿndeudraeth
[(the) headland (of the) two beaches]
is locally clipped down to Y Penrhÿn, and Portmadoc into Y Port. Tywÿn
Meirionÿdd [(the) sand flats (of) (the cantrev of) Meirionÿdd... is now
everywhere known as Tywÿn.
In general, Welsh place names are written in standard Welsh and not according
to the local pronunciation, just as for example the capital of England is
London although a local pronunciation is 'Landøn'.
Local pronunciations can be:
(1) reduction to the main element of the name
There are many examples of these shortenings. In a few instances (as in Tywÿn)
the short form becomes the official name, and the longer name is forgotten. The
names which have been replaced by the shorter form are marked with an asterisk
Yr Aber – (“The Confluence”) Abertyleri (locally Yr Apar, 'Rapar),
Aber-erch
Y Bont – (“The
Bridge”) Pontneddfechan, Pont-tÿ-pridd, Pontarddulais, Pontrhÿdfendigaid,
Bontdolgadfan, Y Bontnewÿdd (Gwÿnedd)
Y Borth – (“The Port”) Porthaethwÿ, *Porthwÿddno (here Y Borth has
become the usual and offical name)
Caer - Caerllion
Fawr (Chester, England)
Y Capel – (“The Chapel of Ease”) Capel Llanilltern (locally: Y Capal)
Y Cefn (Cefncoedycymer) (locally Y Cefan)
Y Cei – (“The Quay”) Y Ceinewÿdd
Y Cribÿn – (“The Ridge”)
formerly Cribÿn y Clotas (Llambed, Ceredigion)
Y Dinas - Dinasmawddwÿ
Y Felin - Y Felinheli
Y Gelli – (“The Grove”) Y Gelligandrÿll
Y
Glÿn - Glÿncywarch
SH6034, Glÿntarell
Y Penrhÿn (“The Headland”) -
Penrhÿndeudraeth
Y Rhos - Rhosllannerchrugog
Y Traws - Trawsfynÿdd
Tywÿn – (“The Sand Dunes”) *Tÿwÿn Meirionÿdd
Y Waun - Gwauncaegurwen
Yr Ynÿs - Ynys-y-bŵl
(2) clipped forms:
Ffestiniog > Stiniog (village in the county of Gwÿnedd, north-west
Wales)
Hafotÿ > Fotÿ (name of various upland farms - the short form is
sometimes found on maps)
Mynachlog-ddu > Nachlog-ddu
Gwastadwaun > Gwastadwan > Stadwan
Helygain > Lygan (village in the county of Y Fflint, north-east
Wales)
37b local
forms: dropping of the linking definite article - Glan-y-môr > Glan-môr
The dropped article in
the middle of the word is a very noticeable feature in many Welsh names.
Sometimes the article is used in the official form, but the spoken form
omits it; snd sometimes the standard form has lost the article.
Exxamples:
Pen-y-sarn > Pen-sarn (both
Pen-y-sarn and Pen-sarn occur as offical names)
Llwÿnypia (Rhondda Cynon Taf) becomes Llwÿnpia in colloquial speech (in fact, Llwnpia) though officially it is never written without the article
38 local forms: various distortions
Distortion is seen in certain names in England, as in English Brummigam
[bru-mi-jøm] for Birmingham.
(Various phonological process are involved, but for convenience sake
I'll label it 'distortion')
Cnafron = Caernarfon
Y Bliw = Biwmaris
Pesda = Bethesda
Slafera = Ystalyfera
Smitw = Ynÿsmeudwÿ
Llanach-medd = Llannerch-y-medd
Pom-ffään = Y Bont-faen (ffään pronounced approximately as in English
"fain" in "faint", "face")
Aber is often reduced to
(1) Aber > Y Ber > Y Br- > Br-
Aberogwr > Aberocwr > Y Berocwr > Y Brocwr > Brocwr
(2) Aber > Byr
Aber-dâr > Byr-dâr
also:
Aber-erch > Y Berch
39
Llanfairpwllgwyngÿllgogerychwÿrndrobwllllantysiliogogoch
Llanfair (8) +
Pwllgwÿngyll (12) + goger (5) + y (1) + chwÿrn (6) + drobwll (7) + Llantysilio
(11) + Gogo (4) + goch (4)
One of the stereotyped ideas about Wales is that the place names are
weird, unpronounceable and unnaturally long. And the proof of this is the
village in Môn which has the distinction of having the longest place name in
Britain.
The name though is a fabrication. The correct name in full has twenty letters
Llanfair Pwllgwyngÿll - the Llanfair which is in the medieval township
of Pwllgwyngÿll.
Llanfair is the 'Church of the Virgin Mary'. After the Normans rededicated
existing churches or dedicated new churches to Mary, there were so many that it
was necessary to distinguish them from each other by means of a tag. In Môn
there are also Llanfair yn y Cwmwd, Llanfair yng Nghornwÿ and Llanfair Is Gaer.
See 0510
40 field
names
An important element
in Welsh place names is field names. Often they become the names of farms; when
a village or town grows and surrounding fields are built on, the name of the
fields
may become the name of a street or housing estate; and in house names, field
names are often used (either taken directly from names of fields, or from names
of farms, or made up).
In general, field names are composed of a first element denoting a type of
field, and a second element qualifying this.
The most usual words for types of fields are
cae (= enclosed
field),
maes (= originally, open field),
dôl (riverside meadow) and
ynÿs (riverside meadow).
Dôl is literally 'bend' (the diminutive form, dolen refers to curved objects in modern Welsh - a link in a chain, or in
some parts of Wales the handle of a teacup).
Ynÿs is literally 'island' and so is a meadow less likely
to be completely inundated in times of floods
Other field words are
ton (grassland - very common in South-east Wales, but
found in other areas too. Literally 'surface'),
clun = meadow,
acer / erw / cyfair = acre, field;
gweirglodd = haymeadow,
coetgae = field within a hedge,
gwndwn = grassland
gwaun = upland grassland, moor
gwern = alder marsh
tir = land
and less usual elements such as
drÿll = piece of land (slao in South Wales 'gun', probably a
calque on English, since 'piece' was used in English at one tme for 'gun')
plwca = plot
sblot = plot
darn = piece
braenar = fallow land
clwt = patch of
land
llain = strip of land
The second element can
be
1) size
mawr = big, bach = small
2) shape
y delÿn = (of) the harp,
yr heter = (of) the smoothing iron,
main = narrow,
pica = pointed,
pengam = pointed
3) vegetation
drysiog = thorny
eithinog = gorse-covered
4) other characterisitics
garw = rough; uncultivated
5) buildings or geographical features
eglwÿs = church,
odÿn = lime kiln
pont = bridge
ysgubor = barn
6) with prepositions
to denote location
o war = above
o dan = under
7) owner
Cae Hywel = Hywel's field
8) animals
defaid = sheep
moch = pigs
What do these name mean?
1 Cae'r Delÿn, Cae Delÿn
2 Erw Gron
3 Cae Garw
4) Maes y Bont
5) Ton Gwynlais
The general rule, as we have seen, is to write the elements separately if it is
not a settlement name.
Ton yr Efail, y Ton Du. But if a field name becomes a settlement name, the
elements are run together.
Tonyrefail, y Ton-du.
41 house
names (See
also this other page in the website 1046 - Give Your House a Welsh Name)
Naming a house is a
tradition in
In the industrial valleys, the 'Gweithiau / Gweithe' (literally: the
works) of the south-east, many of the original house names survive from when
the house was built over a century ago, and they often refer to the place of
origin of the first occupants, and have names from the rural zones immediately
around the mining areas, or from the western and northern counties.
Examples are 'Aeron', (a river in the south-west), 'Tywi' (another river
in the south-west), 'Tregaron' (a town in Ceredigion), etc.
Spelling: If it is a recognised place name, usually the standard spelling wit
the elements run together.
If it is an invented name, usually as two separate elements
Tÿ Clÿd
Although some of these
categories overlap, they are typically found (in no particular order)-
1 houses
2 fields
3 trees and plants
4 hills and valleys
5 rivers and streams, the sea
6 contentment, freedom from exertion
7 seasons
8 weather
9 mythology
10 religion
11 old buildings
12 prepositons of place
13 views
14 adjectives - clour
15 adjectives - shape abd size
16 birds and animals
17 occupations
18 natinality
19 personal names
20 music
21 Wales; resistance against oppression
1) names with an element meaning 'house'. This might simply be 'tÿ', or it
could be more fanciful bod = house,
dwelling
llÿs = court
neuadd = hall
plas = mansion
lletÿ = dwelling, abode (also means lodging, accommodation)
bwthÿn = cottage
tyddÿn, tÿn = croft, smallholding
hendre = winter farm
hafod = summer house
tai = houses
lle = place
anedd = dweliing, abode
cilfach = nook, corner
Lletÿ Clÿd = cosy dwelling
2) field names (see chapter on field names)
3) trees and plants
Derwen-deg = fair oak
Berllan = (the) orchard
Briallu = primroses
4) hills and valleys
Brÿn = (the) hill
5) rivers and streams, sea
Aeron = river in the south-west
Brÿnhafren = hill
(overlooking) the river Hafren (
Craig-y-don = rock / cliff overlooking the sea
Glan-y-môr, Glan-môr = seaside
6) Home sweet home;
contentment, harmony, freedom from exertion, retirement, pleasant place
Bodlondeb = contentment
Gorffwÿsfa = resting place
Angorfa = anghorage
Tegfan = fair place
Trigfa = abode,
residence
Arhosfa / Arosfa = staying place; sheepwalk
Llecÿn = little place,
spot
Preswÿlfa = abode
Noddfa = place of
refuge
Gwynfa = heaven,
paradise
Tawelfan = quiet place
Tÿ Ni = our house
Croesawdÿ = house of
welcome
Paradwÿs = paradise
Afallon =
apple-bearing, Avalon
Tír na nÓg = (Irish) land
of the young people
Lle Hyfrÿd = pleasant
place
Brÿnhyfrÿd = pleasant
hill, mount pleasant
Hendre = old
farmstead, winter farm
Hafod = summer farm
Heulwen = sunshine
7) seasons
Maes-yr-haf = summer field
Gwanwÿn = spring
Awel-haf = summer breeze
8) weather
Brÿn-chwyth = windy hill
Brÿnawelon = hill of
breezes / winds
Brÿnawel = hill of
breeze / wind, breezy hill, windy hill
Brÿnheulog = sunny hill
Araul = sunny spot
9) mythology and the supernatural
-
10) religion
Pros Ceiron -
Y Mans = the manse
(home of a nonconformist minister)
Ficerdÿ = the vicarage
Rheithordÿ = the rectory
11) buildings
Yr Hen Felin = the old mill
The contraction Tÿn is sometimes understood to be Tÿ'n (tÿ + yn)
Tÿ'n y Berllan "House in the Orchard
12) prepositons of place
and other location markers
Geryrafon, Ger yr Afon = near the river
Dan-y-graig = under the
rock / crag / cliff
Gwar Cae = over the
field
Is y Coed = below the
wood / forest
Tu Hwnt i'r Afon = beyond the river
Uwch y Don = over
(overlooking) the wave (sea)
13) views
Erÿl = lookout place
Golwgymynÿdd = view of the
mountain
Trem = view
Gorwel = horizon
Disgwÿlfa = lookout
place
Gwelfan = viewing place (see + place)
14) adjectives -
colour
Erw-wen = white acre
(gwÿn / wen often used
in the sense of contentment - Gwynfa (literally
'white place' is one word for
Tÿ-glas = blue house
15) other adjectives -
size, shape, material, quality
Tÿ-mawr = big house
Tÿcerrig = stone house
Tÿ Hÿll = ugly house
16) birds and animals
Brÿn-y-gog = the hill of the cuckoo
Llwÿnyreos = the wood of
the nightingale
Cwrtycadno = the court of
the fox
17) occupations
Siop Crÿdd = the cobbler's workshop
18) nationality
Tÿ'r-sais = the house of the Englishman
19) personal names
Tÿ Gwÿnfor = the house of Gwÿnfor
20) music
Brÿn-y-gân = the hill of song
Telynfa = the harp
place
21) poets
Elfed = Howell Elvet Lewis (1860-1953)
Islwÿn = William
Thomas (1832-1878)
Ceiriog = John Ceiriog
Hughes (1832 -1887)
21) Wales; resistance
Cambria = Wales (Latin name)
Gwalia = Wales
(Latinised Welsh name, based on English 'Wales')
Cilmeri = place where
Llywelÿn ap Gruffudd was killed in 1282
Trywerÿn = valley with a
Welsh-speaking community which was compulsorily purchased by Liverpool
Corporation for a reservoir, an unnecessary project since the problem in
Liverpool was poor management of existing water supplies; however the local
authority was Labour-controlled and intent on gaining votes for Labour
candidates to the London parliament in a general election by means of this
high-profile scheme. In spite of widespread oppostion all over
Sycharth = home of Owain
Glÿn Dwr; fought the English occupiers of
More examples at our page on house names 0816
42 street
names
In the South, 'heol'
is the usual word for a street or a road. The usual pronunciation though is
"hewl" [heul]. (There are many streets with this name in the South.
English speakers generally know the word only from its written form and
pronounce it as the English word 'heel').
Sometimes, in village names at least, it is sometimes written 'hewl', as in
Pump-hewl in Llanelli. In the South-east, the 'h' disappeared in the
traditional Welsh of the area (rather as it has disappeared in Catalan and
Occitan and Italian and French and Castilian), and local pronunciations - even
if the area is one where traditional Welsh has disappeared - will often retain
the 'h'-less pronunciation.
In the north 'heol' has a different meaning.... (Rhewl, etc)
In the North too a distinction is made as in English berween a lane (in the
country or in a village or town), a street (in a village or town) and a road
(between villages and towns).
lôn = lane
strÿd = street
ffordd = road
Both 'lôn' and 'ffordd' are to be found in the south, but are less common. In
new names for streets - especially in translations from English - there is a
tendency to use 'strÿd' and 'ffordd' - this could be because the translator is
a Northerner, or because northern forms are felt to be more correct (there is a
general perception in the south that northern Welsh is 'more Welsh'), or to
bring diversity to the names of streets.
In Wrecsam a local form is used in street names - 'stryt', with a final 't',
pronounced in the same way as English 'street'.
High Street is generally 'Heol Fawr' in the south, and 'Strÿd Fawr' in the
north.
With the development of industry in the 1800s, the building of terraced houses
creared a new urban landscape in
Such rows of houses were given names which often became the street name.
Sometimes they were simply 'tai' (houses). Other names were
teras [te ras] = terrace,
rhes [hrees] = row,
rhesdai [hres dai] = row (rhes + soft mutation + tai)
and in the south-east, rhestr [hres ter] = row (and 'list' in the
standard language), often pronounced "restar" [res tar].
Usually though in the South the street had an official English name, and
'rhestr' was only in colloquial use, though there is an example of the name in
Rhestr-fawr in Ystradgynlais in Cwm Tawe.
However, whatever people might have called the streets among themselves, most
street names in
The late 1800s saw Commercial Streets and Victoria Roads and Albert Streets in
the coal-mining areas, and after 1917 when the English royal family adopted the
name
With the rash of suburban development in England in the twenties and
thirties, and continuing into the development of municipal housing estates in
the fifties and sixties, new kinds of names became fashionable for streets -
Crescent, View, Gardens, Avenue, Way, Grove, Place, Drive. Such names were
imitated in towns and cities - English names of the most unimaginative and
clichéd type were favoured by developers and local authorities.
Glen Views at one time were popular (though the nearest glens are hardly in
viewing distance from
The meaningless new names are at the expense of local Welsh-language names,
which lose currency are disappear.
Sometimes residents of a street, or even a local administration, try and
rectify the situation by translating the 'road' element of a name into Welsh -
Drive > rhodfa, gyrfa
lane > lôn
gardens > gerddi
close > clos, clas
place > maes, lle
square > sgwâr, maes
crescent > cilgant
avenue > coedlan
estate > ystâd, stad
grove > llwÿn
walk > rhodfa
parade > rhodfa
court > cwrt
yard > iard
There have been successes in giving Welsh names to Welsh streets. But the
obsession with using English name is well rooted.
Mid Glamorgan Herald 23 February 1924:
Welsh Street Names
Councillor knows of "prettier" English ones
Speaking as a "very pro-Welshman," Mr Protheroe at Swansea Council asked
that the Highways Committee should give translations of three streets named by
them - Heol Tir Du, Heol Gwernen, Maes Collen. There were too many Welshmen on
the Highways Committee, and he was sure their Englsh friends could have found
prettier names for the streets, especially as he had aspirations to living in
the neighbourhood. He moved the matter to be put back, and Mr Bassett seconded.
Alderman T.J. Roberts expressed astonishment at Mr Protheroe's statement, for
according to Welsh history the Protheroes were one of the oldest Welsh
families.
Mr Protheroe: I don't know them (Laughter)
Mr Richards insisted that the names were indeed bardic and beautiful
Alderman John Lewis warmly concurred, congratulating Alderman D.J. Davies on
his full taste: Heol Gwernen "Alder Tree", and Maes Collen
"Hazel Area" - those trees grew in the neighbourhood, and the names
were most appropriate.
What's in a Name -
Welsh Musings. Thomas Peter Ellis. Vol 16 Welsh Outlook 1929
T.P.Ellis of Wrecsam (1873-1936), a graduate in law at Oxford, and for many
years a judge in the Punjab, returned to Wales at the age of 48 and settled in
Dolgellau, was angry about the practice of using English names.
"We.. have been doing [it] for a long time past for ourselves, not
altogether under pressure from across the border, but of our own free volition,
defending ourselves by an appeal to Mammon. We are denationalizing ourselves in
so doing; and if this tendency is not an actual cause of the alleged decay of
the national spirit in
A writer to the Western Mail in 1988, a co-manager of a housing association,
gave an interesting example of the refusal of some local councils to use Welsh
names (Usually they were Labour-controlled councils which showed an appalling
hostility to the Welsh language, believing this intolerance to be some sort of
progressive attitude - burying to them what was the past, and moving on to a
glorious future - which seemed to be monoglot English! Many of the councillors
who supported this strange view of the world were in fact Welsh-peaking). The
association was building a housing estate in Rhydyfelin, Pont-y-pridd,
alongside an an existing estate with streets named incongruously after writers
from over the border - Wordsworth, Shakespeare, Tennyson, Masefield, Shelley
and Tennyson. The writer decided that the name of a local poet would be more
appropriate
"A visit to the nearby Glantaff {= Glan-taf} Farm established that a
poet had lived earlier in the century at a second farmhouse, within sight of
the development. His bardic name, said the friendly farmer, was 'Brynfab'... He
had won Chairs in local eisteddfodau, contributed to the development of the
Trades Union movement in the Valley, written a poetic commentary on local and
national politics for the Merthyr newspaper 'Tarian y Gweithiwr' for over
twenty years and had helped lay foundations for the beginnings of the Labour
Party... I recommended the name 'Maes Brynfab'. The association agreed, and a
paper was prepared and sent to the Taff-Ely Council making and explaining the
recommendation. The proposal was rejected. They affixed their own name which
still stands. The development was named by the Council as 'Poet's
Close'..."
(Western Mail 20 10 88)
43
restoring the correct orthography
Restoring the correct
orthography
Comparing a map of say 1950 with a modern map we see that certain places have
adopted the correct Welsh form rather than the English adaptation (either a
phonetic adaptation, or a faulty spelling)
Examples are (with the former name or spelling in brackets) - Llanelli (Llanelly),
Conwÿ (Conway), Llandeilo (Llandilo), Aberteifi
(Abertivy), Tywÿn (Towyn), Dolgellau (Dolgelley), Caernarfon
(Carnarvon), Porthmadog (Portmadoc) (though Portmadoc was in fact the
original name - a mock Italianate form. This is a good example of a foreign
form becoming Welsh)
There is still work to be done however - often the 'English' name is
only the Welsh form in a hideous spelling (although in certain cases it is a
spelling at one time used in Welsh, but now no longer valid)
Foreign forms becoming Welsh
Just as in England
there are names from British (Dover, etc) or French (Beaulieu) which have been
adapted into English, ther are names in Welsh from Irish, English and Norman
which have become Welsh in shape.
A couple of examples - the Llÿ^n peninsula is from an Irish word
equivalent to modern Irish Láighean -
In Bro Morgannwg in the south-east, and in Sir y Fflint in the north,
there are many examples of English names which have been adpoted into Welsh as
the Welsh gradually moved back into lands which had been taken over by the
English invaders. One example from the north-east is Prestatÿn - the priest's
'tuun' or farmstead. In the South-east the
44 British
names in the lost lands of the Britons
There are very few
words of British origin in English - the conquered, if they retain their language,
take words from the conquered - as happened with the British and the previous
invaders, the Romans, and as would happen in the case of English itself after
the Norman invasion, when the English language took in words from the Norman
language (or later, Parisian French).
However, elements of place names were retained all over the former lands of the
British, and even today they faintly visible on a map of England, in
English-language names, or in Southern Scotland, in Scots-language names and
Scottish(-Gaelic) names. Sometimes they have transformed themselves into
similar-sounding English words (the British word which is the basis of 'crug'
in Welsh is appears as 'church' in the Gloucestershire place name 'Churchdown'.
Some examples are (with the modern Welsh element followed by place names in
England or Scotland)
afon = river: :.Avening.: (near Nailsworth,
Gloucestershire), :.Avon.: (river flowing through Bath and Bristol) (river at
Stratford, Warwickshire) (river in Wiltshire and Dorset), :.Aveton Gifford.: (Devon)
argoed = wood: :.East Orchard.: (Dorset)
bar = peak: :.Barr.: (hamlet by Taunton)
barrog = peaked: :.Berkshire.:; :.East Barkwith / West Barkwith.:
(Lincolnshire)
blaen = top: :.Blencathra, Blencarn, Blencogo, Blencow, Blennerhasset,
Blindcrake.: (all in Cumbria), :.Blenkinsopp .:(Northumberland), :.Plenmellor.:
("blaen + moelfre") (by Haltwhistle, Northumberland)
braint = privilege, Celtic *brigant- = high, exalted: :.Brent Tor.: (conical hill near Tavistock,
Devon), :.Brent.:
(river in London; Brentford)
bre = hill: :.Brean.: (Somerset), :.Brill.: (Buckinghamshire; near
Thame)
brÿn = hill: :.Bryn.: (Northwich, Cheshire), :.Bryn.:
(Greater Manchester), :.Bryn.: (by Clun, Shropshire)
cadair = chair: :.Caterham.: (Surrey), :.Crewkerne.: (Yeovil,
Somerset), :.Chadderton.:
(Greater Manchester)
caer = Roman camp: :.Carlisle.: (Cumbria), :.Cardurnock.: (Cumbria)
camddwr = crooked stream: :.Conder.: (Lancaster, Lancashire). (There is
a Camddwr in Ceredigion, and another in Powÿs)
cant = periphery: :.Kent.:; :.?Pen-y-ghent.: (mountain in Yorkshire)
carn = pile of stones: :.Charnwood Forest.: (Leicestershire)
carreg = stone: :.Cark.: (near Cartmel, Cumbria), :.Castle
Carrock.: (Cumbria)
catreath = cateract: :.Catterick.: (Yorkshire)
cefn = back, hill: :.Chevening.: (near Sevenoaks, Kent), :.The Chevin.:
(steep ridge near Otley in North Yorkshire)
cemais = bend in a river; (sea) bay: :.Campsall.: (Doncaster, South
Yorkshire), :.Cambois.:
(locality in Northumberland)
cerdin = rowan trees: :.Cuerdin Green.: (Lancashire)
cil = recess: :.Culgaith.: ("cilgoed" = secluded wood ) (Cumbria)
coed = wood: :.Culcheth.: (Lancashire) and :.Culcheth.:
(Manchester) (= cil coed - wooded recess), :.Penge.: (district in the borough of Bromley,
London; (equivalent to
modern welsh Pen-coed (at) the (end/edge/top) (of) (the) wood, :.Chicklade.: (near Shaftesbury,
Wiltshire), :.Chetwode.:
(near Buckingham), :.Chicklade.: (Wiltshire)
coedlan = wood: :.Pencaitland.: (Scotland)
cors = swamp: :.Corse.: (near Gloucester), :.Corsley.:
(near Warminster, Wiltshire)
craig = rock, crag: :.Creaton.: (Northampton), :.Blindcrake.:
(Cumbria), :.Crake.:
(river flowing from Coniston Water, Cumbria), :.North Creake.: (Norfolk), :.Chute Forest.:
(Wiltshire)
crug = mound: :.Cricklade.: (near Swindon, Wiltshire), :.Cricklewood.:
(in the borough of Brent, London), :.Evercreech.: (near Shepton Mallet,
Somerset), :.Churchdown.:
(near Gloucester), :.Cruckmeole.: ("crug y moel" = mound of the bare hill) (near Shrewsbury, Shropshire),
:.Crook.:
(near Bishop Auckland, Durham), :.Creech.: (near Wareham, Dorset), :.Creech St
Michael.: (near Taunton, Somerset), :.Cricket St Thomas.:
(Somerset), :.Penkridge.:
("pen + crug") (Staffordshire)
crÿw = weir: :.Crewe.: (village in Cheshire on the border
with Wales); :.Crewe.:
(town in Cheshire)
cwm = valley: :.Cumdivock.: (Cumbria) (= Cwm Dyfog - the
valley of Dyfog)
Cymrÿ = 'people of the same bro': :.Cumberland / Cumbria.:
din = fort; :.Timble.: (near Blubberhouses, North
Yorkshire) (= Din-foel - fort on the hill)
du = black: :.Glendue.:
dwfr = water: :.Condover.: (near Shrewsbury), :.Andoversford.:
(near Cheltenham, Gloucestershire), :.Wendover.: ("gwÿn" = white, chalky + "dwfr" = water / stream) (in Chiltern Hills near Aylesbury), :.Micheldever.:
(Hampshire)
eglwÿs = church: :.Eccles.: (near Coldstream, Scotland), :.Eccles.:
(Greater Manchester), :.Eccles.: (Kent), :.Ecclesfield.: (South
Yorkshire), :.Eccleshill.:
(Bradford), :.Eccleston.:
(near Chester, Cheshire), :.Eccleston.: (near Chorley, Lancashire), :.Eccleston.:
(part of St Helens, Merseyside), :.Great Eccleston.: (Poulton-le-Fylde,
Lancashire), :.Eccles
Road.: (Norfolk)
Elfed : :.Elmet.: (Yorkshire) name of a former British
kingdom (the name occurs in the villages of :.Barwick in Elmet.: and :.Sherburn in Elmet.: east of
Leeds)
glÿn = valley: :.Glenridding.: ("glÿn + rhedÿn" = fern valley) (Northumberland)
gwern = alder trees, alder swamp: :.Werneth.:
("gwernÿdd" = alders) (Greater Manchester), :.Wearne.: (by Langport, Somerset)
gwÿn = white: :.Wendover.: ("gwÿn" = white, chalky + "dwfr" = water / stream) (in Chiltern Hills near Aylesbury)
heiddiog = barley field: :.Pendock.: (near Tewkesbury, Worcestershire);
:.Haydock.:
(Lancashire)
hesgin = sedge place: :.Heskin Green.: (by Chorley, Lancashire)
hÿnt = way: :.Hints.: (Staffordshire)
llan = church: :.Landican.: (Birkenhead), :.Lamplugh.:
('plwÿf' = parish) (Cumbria), :.Landkey.: ("Llandygái") (near
Barnstaple, Devon),
llannerch = clearing: :.Lanercost.: (Cumbria), :.Lanark.: (Scotland)
llwÿf = elms: :.Lemon.: (river on Dartmoor, Devon), :.Lympne.:
(Kent - site of Roman fort of Lemanis), :.Leam.: (river in Northamptonshire)
llwÿtgoed = grey wood: :.Lichfield.: (Staffordshire), :.Lychett
Minster.: (near Wareham, Dorset)
llydan = wide: :.Loddon.: (river in Hampshire), :.Leadon.:
(river by Ledbury in Gloucestershire)
llÿn = lake: :.King's Lynn.: (Norfolk), :.Lincoln.:,
llÿs = court: :.Liss.: (near Petersfield, Hampshire); :.Liscard.:
("llÿs-garreg" court by the stone) (part of Wallesey, Merseyside), :.Treales.:
("treflÿs" = court by the homestead) (near Kirkham, Lancashire)
maes = field: :.Maisemore.: ("maes mawr" = big field) (village near Gloucester)
magwÿr = wall: :.Ashton-in-Makerfield.: (Greater Manchester)
mam = woman's breast; hill: :.Mansfield.: (Nottinghamshire),
:.Manchester.:,
:.Mam Tor.:
(Castleton, Derbyshire), :.Mamhead.: (near Dawlish, Devon)
Meirion (mans's name - Marion): :.Marron.: (river in Cumbria)
moel = bare hill: :.Cruckmeole.: ("crug") (near Shrewsbury,
Shropshire), :.Molland.:
(Exmoor, Devon), :.North
Molton.: (Devon)
moelfre = bare hill (moel + bre): :.Mellor.: (Greater Manchester),
:.Plenmellor.:
("blaen + moelfre") (by Haltwhistle, Northumberland),
moelfrÿn = bare hill: :.Malvern.:
moelros = bare hill (moel + rhos): :.Melrose.: (Scotland)
mynÿdd (Minehead, Somerset), :.Mendip.: (Somerset), :.Minton.:
(near Church Stretton, Shropshire), :.Mindrum.: (mynÿdd + drum) (Northumberland), :.Myndtown.:
(near Bishop's Castle, Shropshire)
nant = valley: :.Nent.: (Cumbria)
nyfed = sacred grove: :.Bishop's Nympton.: (Devon), :.Nympsfield.:
(by Nailsworth, Gloucestershire), :.Nymet Rowland.: (Devon)
pant = hollow: :.Pauntley.: (near Newent, Gloucestershire); :.Pont.:
(river in Northumberland)
pebÿll = huts: :.Peebles.: (Scotland)
Pedrog (saint's name): :.Petrockstow.: (Devon)
pen = hill: :.Pendle Hill.: (Lancashire), :.Penselwood.:
(near Wincanton, Somerset), :.Penrith.: ("pen + rhÿd")
(Cumbria), :.Penruddock.:
(near Penrith, Cumbria), :.Penkridge.: ("pen + crug")
(Staffordshire), :.Pendlebury.:
(Manchester), :.Higher
Penwortham.: (Preston, Lancashire)
pennardd = spur: :.East Pennard.: and :.West Pennard.: (Somerset)
perth = bush: :.Perth.: (Scotland)
plwÿf = parish: :.Lamplugh.: ('llan' = church) (Cumbria)
pont = bridge: :.Penpont.: ('bridge end') (near Thornhill,
Scotland)
pren = tree: :.Pimperne.: (= "pum pren" five
trees) (near Blandford Forum, Dorset)
prÿs = grove: :.Prees.: (near Whitchurch, Shropshire), :.Preesall.:
(opposite Fleetwood, Lancashire), :.Dumfries .:(Scotland), :.Priston.: (Somerset)
pwll = pool: :.Pilling.: (Lancashire) "pyllÿn" = small pool
rhedÿn = ferns: :.Glenridding.: ("glÿn + rhedÿn" = fern valley) (Northumberland)
rhos = hill: :.Ross-on-Wye.: (Herefordshire)
rhÿd = ford: :.Penrith.: ("pen + rhÿd")
(Cumbria),
tâl = end; :.Tallentire.:, (Cockermouth, Cumbria) (=
Tâl-yn-tir - land's end - yn as in Old Welsh, the original form of the definite
article 'yr')
tref = homestead: :.Treales.: ("treflÿs" = court by the homestead) (near Kirkham, Lancashire)
twr = pile: :.Mam Tor.: (Castleton, Derbyshire)
twrch = wild boar: :.Pentrich.: (near Ripley, Derbyshire) (=
Pen-tÿrch near Caerdÿdd / Cardiff), :.Pentridge.: (near Sixpenny Handley, Dorset),
tyll- = perforated: :.Tollard Farnham.: ("tyllardd" = perforated rock) (village in Dorset)
ynÿs = island, meadow: :.Innsworth.: (suburb of Shropshire), :.Ince.:
(near Wigan, Lancashire), :.Ince.: (near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire)
Some river names found in Wales have equivalents in England and Scotland
since thay had the same British name:
Brefi: :.Breamish.: (river, Northumberland) (See
Llanddewi Brefi)
Ceint : :.Kenton.: (village near Dawlish, Devon)
Claear : :.Kingsclere.: (village in Hampshire)
Clown : :.Clowne.: (town near Bolsover, Derbyshire)
Crai : :.Cray.: (village, North Yorkshire), :.Cray.:
(river in London borough of Bromley; :.Crayford.: named after it)
Cynwÿd = river name: :.Cantlop.: (near Shrewsbury, Shropshire), :.Cound Brook.:
(Shropshire), :.Kennet.:
(river, Wiltshire), :.Coundon.: (Coventry), :.Countisbury.: (near Lynton,
Devon)
Dulais = black stream: :.Dawlish.: (Devon)
Ffraw : :.Frome.: (name of three rivers: Dorset,
Somerset, Gloucestershire) (See Aberffraw)
Gwili: :.Wylye.: (river in Wiltshire, at :.Wilton.:)
Gwÿ : :.Wye.: (river, Derbyshire), :.Wey.:
(river, Dorset; :.Weymouth.:)
Hawddnant : :.Hodnet.: (village by Market Drayton,
Shropshire)
Llafar = 'talking' : :.Laver.: (river by Pateley Bridge, North
Yorkshire)
Lliw = brilliant: :.Lew.: (two rivers in Devon), :.Lifton.:
(Devon, near the Cornish boder)
Llydan = wide; :.Leadon.: (river flowing past Ledbury,
Gloucestershire)
Llyfni : various rivers called :.Leven.: (Yorkshire, Cumbria;
Scotland)
Nedd: : :.Nidd.: (see Castell-nedd)
Taf (river name): :.Team.: (joins the Tyne at Gateshead), .:Tay, Tame.:
(North Yorkshire), :.Tame.: (Staffordshire), :.Tame.: (Manchester)
Tawe : :.Taw.: (Devon)
Wÿsg = river name: :.Esk.: (Cumbria; Yorkshire; Langholm,
Scotland; Musselburgh, Scotland) :.Exe.: (Devon), :.Axe.: (Dorset, and another in
Devon),
Such vestiges are scarce in the east of England which the Germanic invaders
settled first, but the further west one goes, the more numerous are the
surviving post-British (early Welsh or early Cornish) place names. They are
especially numerous in the south-west (
45 Modern
Welsh names for places in the island of Britain
Welsh names of English
and Scottish places
In modern standard Welsh there are names which refer to places outside
yr Alban ·· Scotland
Amwÿthig / Sir
Amwÿthig ·· Shrewsbury
/ Shropshire ··
Bryste ·· Bristol ·· from an older English form (=
bridge-stow) before the 'l' of the local Bristol dialect was added
Caer / Sir Gaer ·· Chester / Cheshire ··
Caeredin ·· Edinburgh ··
Caerefrog / Efrog ·· York ··
Caer-grawnt / Swÿdd
Caer-grawnt ·· Cambridge
··
Caerhirfrÿn / Swÿdd
Gaerhirfÿn ·· Lancaster /
Lancashire ··
Caerliwelÿdd ·· Carlisle ··
Caerloÿw / Swÿdd
Caerloÿw ·· Gloucester
/ Gloucestershire ··
Caer-lÿr / Swÿdd
Gaer-lÿr ·· Leicester
··
Caerwrangon / Swÿdd
Gaerwrangon ·· Worcester
··
Caerwrangon ·· Worcester ··
Caer-wÿsg ·· Exeter ··
Caint ·· Kent ·· Celtic 'kant-' = periphery, rim
Cilgwri / Penrhÿn
Cilgwri ·· the Wirral
/ the Wirral Peninsula ··
Croesoswallt ·· Oswestry ··
Dyfnaint ·· Devon ··
Gwald yr Haf ·· Somerset ·· 'land of summer'
Henffordd / Swÿdd
Henffordd ·· Hereford ··
Lerpwl ·· Liverpool ·· (from a Middle English form of the
name - Lerpool)
Llanllieni ·· Leominster ··
Lloegr ·· England ·· probably a British name for a part of
what is now midland England, applied to the whole of England
Llwÿdlo ·· Ludlow ··
Manceinion ·· Manchester ··
Môr Hafren ·· Bristol Channel ··
Môr Udd ·· the English Channel ··
Penbedw ·· Birkenhead ·· translation of English (Birkenhead =
'headland of the birches')
Rhÿdychen / Swÿdd
Rÿdychen ·· Oxford /
Oxfordshire ··
Some names are adaptations of the English name (such as Llundain / Llunden,
from Middle English 'Lunden')
others are names that have been used since the time that the British lived in
these towns and spoke British; still others are revivals of the old names, or
inventions (such as Caerfaddon 'Roman fort (of ) (the) bath' for Bath)
These are the names used in modern Welsh...
Tafwÿs ·· Thames ··
Ynÿs Wÿth ·· Isle of Wight ··
Ystrad Clud ·· Strathclyde ··
English counties are named by placing 'swÿdd' before the county town, whereas
Welsh counties are always known as 'sir'. 'Swÿdd' is from Latin 'sêdes', a
seat. 'Sir' is from Middle English 'shire' (Old English scîr 'shiir' = office,
aithority). Generally, though, Cheshire and Shropshire are referred to as if
they were Welsh counties, with 'sir'.
(A recent practice on Welsh-language radio which has been criticised has
been to say the name in Welsh followed by the English name because otherwise
'the listeners don't know what place we're talking about'. Whether
Welsh-speakers have suddenly forgotten what the traditional names are is
debatable, but the answer is probably not to have a radiophonic version of
bilingual road signs.)
Less well-known names. These would be used in literary contexts
Afon Trannon River
Trent
Y Dref-wen Whittington
(Shropshire)
Trefesgob Bishop's
Castle
Yr Heledd-wen Nantwich
Yr Heledd-ddu Northwich
Ceintun Kington
Fforest y Dddena Forest of
Dean
Ynÿswydrin Glastonbury
46 Welsh
names overseas (USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand)
There have been
attempts at various times to establish Welsh settlements abroad, especially in
the United States.
The first attempt was in the early 1600s by Sir William Vaughan in Llangydeÿrn
in Sir Gaerfyrddin / Carmarthenshire in the early sixteen hundreds. He was
widely-travelled, a scholar, and extremely religous, and believed that his
divine intervention had saved his life twice in order to allow him to carry out
his ideas to better the lot of his compatriots. He believed that the
establishment of a colony would help alleviate poverty and overpopulation in
Wales. He wrote 'their cornfields in most places are so bare of corn that a
stranger would think that the earth produced such corn naturally wild... I have
known in these last few years that a hundred people have yearly died in a
parish where the tithe amounted to not to four score pounds a year, the most
part for lack of food, fire and raiment.' He also deplored the lack of
initiative among his fellow countrymen - ' Our grievance is that instead of
plentiful droves of cattle which heretofore served us well for our sustenation
as to supply our own necesities abroad... our stock is decayed, and nowadays we
rear up two-legged asses which do nothing but wrangle in law, the one with the
otther. By this ungracious brood we become so impoverished that our neighbours
in Devonshire, notwithstanding our large circuit of the sea and our infinite
extent of land, go far beyond us in shipping and necessary trading." His
solution was a colony in Newfoundland, which he called 'Cambriol'. He obtained
a sub-grant of territory from adventurers who had been granted rights to colonise
Newfoundland by the English monarch James 1, and in 1617 he 'transported
thither certain colonies of men and women at his own charge.' But there were
problems with pirates, lawless fishermen, the cold, scurvy, and the quality of
his settlers - he sent out a governor with a second group of settlers a year
later, and the governor later wrote - "the plantation can never be made
beneficial by such idle persons as I found there in the year 1618, which people
had remained there a whole year before I came near, and had not applied
themselves to any commendable thing."
The colony didn't succeed and after 1630 it was abandoned.
As E. Roland Williams remarked in his account of the colony - 'John
Mason's map of Newfoundland, published between 1620 and 1625, leaves little
room for doubt as to the Welsh character of the little settlement. In Cambriol
there was a 'Cardiff', a 'Vaughan's Cove' and a 'Golden Grove', besides
'Glamorgan', 'Pembroke', 'Cardigan', 'Carmarthen' and 'Brecon'.
No traces of these names survive in Newfoundland today.
Other Welsh settlements were not schemes by the Anglicised gentry to
make industrious citizens out of the feckless and to increase their wealth, but
rather attempts to create an ideal Wales, free from the intolerance of the Anglican
church and where the Welsh language could have official status. One involved a
family in Dolobran, in Meifod (Powÿs), descendants of the poet
Dafÿdd ap Dafÿdd Llwÿd (b. 1549). His son took an English name, John Lloyd (b
1575), and one of his grandsons was Thomas Lloyd (b. 1640) who became a Quaker
at the age of 22, and along with his brother abandoned his studies at Jesus
College because of persecution of Quakers in the university and in the town. At
the age of 43 he left his home at Maes-mawr by Y Trallwng (Welshpool)
and went to Pennsylvania where he William Penn's Deputy Governor. William Penn
had promised land to the north-west of Philadelphia as a 'Welsh Tract' (Y
Rhandir Gymreig in Welsh) where the Quakers from Wales could have autonomy
with 'officers, magistrates, [and] juries of our own language.' The first
settlers had arrived a year before, in 1682. However, there was later
disagreement between the Welsh Quakers and William Penn who accused him of not
keeping his word, since the Welsh Tract was later split between two counties,
and other settlers were allowed in.
There are a number of Welsh place names which survive in this area. One
of the first settlers was Rowland Ellis of
(1) Bryn Mawr (Brÿn-mawr) by
Dolgellau. He called his new home in Pennsylvania by the same name, and the
college of Bryn Mawr takes its name from here.
Other names are
(2) Berwÿn and
(3) Tredyffrin.
This survives as a township name (Tredyffrÿn - an invented name rather than a
transferred name, since there is no place of this name in
There is also a unique Welsh name in the area from a later period,
(4) Bryn Athÿn
(hanes yr enw Bryn
Athyn - gair gwneud o eiriadur Willliam Owen Pughe yw athyn)
(TO BE ADDED)
(5) Nant-y-glo
In Blaenau Gwent there is a small town called Nant-y-glo [nant ø gloo]
(the) stream or valley (of) the coal. In the USA in ?? there is the curiously
spelt Nanty Glo, which is either a transferred name or a name devised to
describe this coal-mining valley.
There are sporadic examples of place names from Wales abroad - but usually they
are the English versions of such names (Aberdare, Cardiff, Swansea in the
Newcastle coalfield in ...).
But here and there there are more interesting names....
(Llanrheidol, Awstralia, etc) (TO BE ADDED)
A suburb of Canterbury, on New Zealand's South Island is Bryndwr
(Brÿn-dwr = (the) hill (of) (the) water / stream). The Welsh pronunciation is
[brin-duur] but in citizens of Canterbury call it [brin dwø]
46a Welsh names overseas; Y Wladfa - Wales in
Patagonia
In 1865 a group of emigrants left Liverpool in the Mimosa to found a Welsh
republic in which the Welsh language would be the official language and
Non-conformist religion freely practised.....
(heb ei wneud eto) (TO BE ADDED)
46b Miscellany
Hypercorrection
Welsh place names are generally spelt with literary Welsh forms, rather
than local pronunciaitons (thouh exceptions abound).
One phenomenon is mistaking a perfectly literay form for a
colloquialism, and 'restoring' it to a supposed correct form.
Between the rivers Rhymni and Taf in south-east Wales there are a
handful of names which incorporate the element 'bargod'. This is 'the eaves of a building' in modern Welsh, but it also has
an obsolete sense of 'boundary, borderland' which is the meaning in the place
names in question. Some of these names are misspelt with "Bargoed"
instead of "Bargod". In the south it is usual in spoken Welsh for a
final 'oe' diphthong to become simplifed as 'o'. For example, 'cyfoeth'
(riches) would become 'cyfoth'. Names with 'coed' as the last element would
undergo the same change: Glasgoed (green wood) > Glasgod,
Trawsgoed (across + wood) > Trawsgod,
Hirgoed (long wood) > Hirgod.
An example by Aber-dâr is Llwÿtgoed (grey wood) > Llwÿtgod (though in
fact there were further transformations in the local dialect and it became
Llycod).
It was assumed that the final syllable was a reduction of 'coed' = wood,
and so it was 'corrected' and respelt as Bargoed, and explained as "the wood on the summit, summit wood" (bar = summit) + soft mutation of a noun preceded by a qualifying
element + (coed = wood).
Another reduction especially in the south is 'wÿ' in a final syllable to
'w'
(Examples: ofnadwÿ (terrible) > ofandwÿ; and many river names with a
final -wÿ
Mynwÿ > Mynw
(Englished as 'Monnow', the river flowing through Trefynwÿ, 'Monmouth').
Arwÿ > Arw
(Englished as 'Arrow', a river in northern Powÿs)
Ebwÿdd (nowadays Ebwÿ) > Ebw (and seen in the English name
Ebbw Vale, which was used in English instead of the Welsh name Pen-y-cae. The
present Welsh name is Glýnebwÿ, in fact a translation into Welsh of Ebbw Vale).
East of Aber-carn in south-east Wales there is a place marked on the map
as Pegwÿn-y-bwlch. Since there is no word 'pegwÿn' in Welsh, but there is 'pegwn',
it must be 'Pegwn-y-bwlch' (the peak / beacon of the pass). The 'w' had been
wrongly assumed by the mapmakers to be a reduction of 'wÿ'
Enclosures:
In some words, the name for what encloses an area of land has come to mean
what's inside the enclosure.
cae The most
obvious one is 'cae', a field, but originally a hedge. It is related to the
word 'cau' to close. In Cornish 'ke' is hedge, or a low wall enclosing a field.
bangor 'Bangor' is
the name of a town in north-west Wales SH 5771 which was the site of an
important monastery; and there was another large monastery at Bangor Is-coed
(SJ 3845). In the South there is also a locality Bangor Teifi SN 3740.
The origin of the name is the verb 'côr' = plaiting, binding. Intertwining of
Irish has 'cor' to turn. Cornish 'kor' = a turn. In Welsh corwÿnt =
whirlwind, ban is top (and in south Wales means peak of a mountain, or
mountain).
Bannau Brycheiniog - the peaks of Brycheiniog ('Brecon Beacons')
Tautology
There are examples in anglicsing Welsh names where part of the name is
repeated in English.
Some examples - Y Wenallt (literally, white wood) in Tonna, Castell-nedd
ac Aberafan.
Marked on maps as 'Wenallt Wood'.
Tautology also occurs when, for example, a road is named using a Welsh
name and a neighbouring road with a traslation of the Welsh name.
In Mynachlog-nedd there is a road called Rhÿd-hir - (the) long ford.
Nearby are 'Longford Road' and 'Longford Lane',
English words in Welsh which are used in place names
Welsh and English have existed side by side in the island of Britain for
over one thousand six hundred years. A great number of English words have been
adopted into Welsh, and many of these are to seen in place names.
Some of the earlier borrowings, taken from Old English (before
approximately the year 1000) are:
bad = boat (used in
barclod = apron (from
'barmcloth', Old English = 'bosom' + cloth'). Found in the place name
Barclodiad y Gawres, 'the apronful of the giantess', one by Aberffraw in the
county of Môn, and another on the Eifl mountain by Trefor in Gwÿnedd, where a
profusion of stones is explained through the action of a mythological figure
bwrdd = table (English board),
ffald = sheepfold,
ffordd = road (= English ford),
hafn / hafan - fissure; harbour, port, haven,
hebog = hawk,
iarll = earl,
llidiard = gate,
sticil, sticill = stile.
Others are generally from Middle English forms (pre 1500)
acer = acre,
bac = back, hill,
bae = bay,
banc = bank, plateau
begwn = beacon,
beting = beating - place where turf is burnt ,
bwla = bull,
bwthÿn = cottage (from booth),
cei = quay,
clai = clay,
clos = close,
clwt = patch of land; same as modern English 'clout',
comins = common land,
copi = coppice,
cwar = quarry,
cwarel = quarry,
cwrt = court,
cwt = hut,
ffair = fair,
fferi = ferry,
fferm = farm,
fforest = forest,
ffroga = frog,
ffwlbart = polecat ,
ficer = vicar,
gardd = garden,
iet = gate,
lôn = lane,
nyrsri = nursery,
parc = park; field,
pentis = lean-to, shed; pentice / penthouse,
person = parson,
pia (South Wales) = magpie ,
pit = pit,
plas = place = mansion,
ponc = bank,
poplar = poplar,
poplÿs = poplars,
porthmon = cattledrover
rhaca = rake,
sgwâr = square,
sietin (used for hedgebank in mid-Wales) = sheeting,
Siôn = John,
siop = shop,
sir = county,
strÿd / strÿt = street,
swnd = sand,
top = top,
twr = tower,
tyrpeg = turnpike,
wtre = lane (from Shropshire dialect outrake),
ystad = estate.
In addition, there are a number of place names which are English in
origin, but adapted into Welsh.
There are concentrations of such names in areas which were conquered and
settled by the English but which became Welsh-speaking once again.
Two regions where this is evident are in north-east
Other later examples of English names becoming Welsh names are
(1) Y Fali (Ynÿs
Môn) < valley,
(2) Y Ffôr (Gwynedd) < Four Crosses (= the crossroads), an inn
name.
Tags replacing the full name
Sometimes a village name is shortened not by dropping the tag but by
dropping the first element - preseumably because the first element is
ambiguous, being used for other places - though this is not a convincing
explanation for some names of this type
Llangadwaladr Trefesgob > Trefesgob (Casnewydd, south-east
There are three other places called Llangadwaladr (church of
ºCadwaladr), all in the North.
Soft mutation where it shouldn't be
SOFT MUTATION WHERE IT SHOULDN'T BE
This is especially noticeable in names in
Examples are gors (cors = swamp), wern (gwern = swamp), waun (gwaun = moor),
foel (moel = bald hill), lan (glan = river bank, hillside), fron (bron = hill),
gored (cored = fish trap)
For example - Werntarw, a village
This is from gwern y tarw (the) swamp (of) the bull
So why is it mutated?
(1) Either: It's because the mutated form (wern) is used so often in speech -
more than the radical form (gwern) - that it has been accepted as a new radical
form (wern)
in a swamp - mewn gwern ; but to a swamp - i wern, to the
swamp - i'r wern, from a swamp - o wern, from the swamp - i'r
wern, and so on
(2) or: And there are plenty of place names where the 'wern' form is to be
expected, because it comes after the definite article
y wern ddu - the black swamp
(3) or both.
This has happened with a few words why now are standard 'ogof' =
cave, though in older Welsh it was 'gogof'
With other names in spoken Welsh there is mutation, though generally these
mutated forms don't become official. For example, it is so usual to use place
names in soft mutated forms (from, to) that even after yn people in some
dialects use the soft mutated form.
i Gaer-dÿdd = to Caer-dÿdd ("
yng Nghaer-dÿdd = yn Gaer-dÿdd = in Caer-dÿdd
And the soft-mutated form becomes generalised
Clydach > Glitach (village in the Nedd valley)
Treforus > Dreforus (place in Abertawe county; "Morriston")
Caer-dÿdd > Gaer-dÿdd ("
Pen-y-cae > Ben-cää (original name of Glÿnebwÿ, "Ebbw Vale")
_____________________
French names in Wales
There are some names of French origin in
Yr Wÿddgrug ('the burial mound') in north-west
Some French (or Norman) names were adapted as Welsh names
Y Grysmont [ø grøs-mont] (Sir Fynwÿ) is gros
Biwmaris [biu-ma-ris] (Ynÿs Môn) corresponds to modern French beau
marais = beautiful marshland. The English name is Beaumaris [bou-ma-ris]
or [biu-ma-ris]
Y Bewpÿr [ø beu-pir], a mansion in Bro Morgannwg, corresponds to
modern French beau pré = beautiful meadow. The English name is Bewper or
Beaupré)
Some French names are no longer in use - in Welsh there is a native
name, the English use an English name.
Y Gelligandrÿll (Powÿs) ('the shattered wood, the felled woodland);
The former French name corresponds to modern French la haie taillée - the cut down hedge, though it probably refers to a hunting estate
bounded by a hedge, with extensive clearings. The English name is Hay
(Hay-on-Wye) = the hunting estate
Y Fflint - 'the rock of quartz). It is in fact from English
flint, meaning quartz-like stone (but not necessarily flint). The English name
is
combination names
Some names are formed by putting two names or three together
Cwm-bach Llechrÿd - this is the name of a locality in Powÿs and comes from the
amalgamantion of two parishes, Cwm-bach and Llechrÿd, in 1887. The English call
it
Castell-nedd Aberafan; in fact the official Welsh name is Castell-nedd Port Talbot, a hybrid
half-Welsh half-English translation of the English name which is Neath Port
Talbot. But
47 mutations - summary page
48 Bibliography
49 list of place name elements (SAMPLE - TO BE ADDED AT A FUTURE DATE)
(Tree and plant names
in Welsh tend to be collective nouns. Strictly speaking this is the base form -
corresponding to an English plural - and the singular form is derived by adding
a suffix. 'Derw' = oaks, 'Derwen' = oak trees. But here we'll treat them as
ordinary singulars and plurals 'derwen' = oak tree, 'derw' = oak trees)
Casnewÿdd (ar Wÿsg) [kas-neu-idh (ar uisk)] 'the
castell [ka stelh] (m) castle (Welsh < British <
Latin)
Castell Coch [ka-stelh kookh] 'red castle'
Castell-nedd [ka stelh needh] '(the) castle (in) (the
commote of) Nedd'. English name: Neath
cath [kaath] (f) wildcat - (the wild European cat, Felis
silvestris, that resembles the domestic tabby but is larger and has a bushy
tail) (Welsh < British < Celtic)
Catwg [ka tug] (m) south-eastern form of the saint's
name Cadog, as in the name Ffynnoncatwg (Cadog's well), Pen-tÿrch; various
places called Llangatwg (church of Cadog)
cau, gau [ kai, gai] (adj) 1 hollow 2 enclosed (in South
Wales, 'cau' is often 'cou' koi)
cawl [kaul] (m) 1 soup 2 used to describe a messy place -
as in Heol y Cawl, probably 'muddy road' (Welsh < British < Latin caul- =
stem. The same as in English cauliflower, a word from Italian)
cawnen (plural: cawn) [kau nen, kaun] (f) reed
cawres [kau res] (f) giantess
cawr (plural: cewri, ceiri) [kaur, keu ri, kei
ri] (m) giant
caws [kaus] (m) cheese
cawsai, y cawsai / y
gawsai [kau se]
(mf) causeway
Taf [taav] (f) Name of two rivers in South Wales, from British *tam-. The
eastern Taf is called 'Taff' in English. A related name is 'Tefeidiad' in
mid-Wales (English: Teme). In fact, the name was in use for a number of rivers
in the British period. The river names 'Tame', 'Thame' and '
Rivers of the same name in rhe Midlands of England and in the North of
England are spelt simply 'Tame' - one rises by Walsall SK 1914 and flows into
the Trent (another British river name), one on the moors by Junction, Greater
Manchester SJ899, and there is yet another with its source by Guisborough in
north-east England which flows into the river Leven (another British name).
(There is no connection between the river name and the word Taff or
Taffy 'a slang word or nickname for a Welshman' (Collins Dictionary), first
found in English in the 16s. This is an inexact imitation of Dafi [da-vi],
a short form of the forename Dafÿdd = David)
-wÿ [ui] (suffix) Supposedly meaning 'water / river. In
the 1800's some Welsh writers made the startling discovery that words were made
up of primitive elements and that the etymology was discernible by splitting
the present form of the word into its constituent parts - rather like realising
that an English place name such as 'Brighton' is in fact is made up of 'bright'
and 'on', because 'the sunshine is bright on the sea'. This was really the
intrusion of folk etymology into the work of dictionary makers and although the
more prudent declared that this was nonsense, some people found these
explanations attractive, and their effect is in a couple of instances to be
found in place names
One such myth was that river names at one time ended in -wÿ, an element meaning
'water'. In fact some river names do end in –wÿ (Conwÿ, Mynwÿ, Ebwÿ, etc) but it is not necessarily a
suffix (Ebwÿ for example was origiannly Ebwÿdd, but the fina [dh] has been lost
– this loss of a final [dh] is not unusual in Welsh, and is a characteristic of
the Welsh of the county of Penfro at the current time)
Many names had the 'wÿ' restored (although they'd never had it in the
first place!)
Ewenni > Ewynwÿ
Llynfi > Llynfwÿ
Ogwr > Ogwÿ
Taf > Tafwÿ
Tywi > Towÿ
These forms are found in minor names - house names or sometimes street names
(there is a Heol Ogwÿ in the village of Cwmogwr, for example)
The river in Patagonia by which the Welsh settlement was founded in 1865 was
given the name 'Camwÿ' (crooked river)
Wÿddfa : Yr Wÿddfa [ør uidh va] (f) (
(There was an extensive vocabulary here, but it was in need of
serious editing, so we've taken it out. We're putting it back bit by bit at 0817) (03 07 2000)
© HAWLFRAINT IANTO
2000
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