When you get the chance to speak Welsh with someone after all that practice, do you llyncu (gulp) with anxiety and find yourself unable to speak? Or are you excited to face your fears and llyncu’ch balchder (swallow your pride) if something goes wrong?
Be it gulping or swallowing, the verb llyncu is what you need to describe the reaction – and it also happens to be today’s Welsh word of the day. Though the bird we call a swallow in English is the very different gwennol in Welsh!
llyncu
to swallow / to gulp
Llyncu has existed in Welsh in some form or other since the 1300s. It’s a native Celtic word and its form in the proto-Celtic language was probably something like *slunketi, meaning to swallow. It shares a common proto-Indo-European root with recognisable synonyms in other languages, like schlucken in German, and even the English swallow.
Most words in this semantic field are in some way based on llyncu:
- darlwncu = a variant of llyncu, especially in the South
- llwnc = a gulp, also used colloquially to mean throat in the South
- llynciad = a gulp
- llowc = a gulp
- traflyncu = to guzzle / to swallow up
- llowcio = to guzzle / to gulp
- llynclyn = literally swallow lake, an old-fashioned word for whirlpool!
One that deviates slightly from the theme is the North Walian cofftio meaning to gulp or to quaff.
As you can see, llyncu and its variants are used to describe all kinds of swallowing, gulping, and guzzling. The word is also utilised alongside sugno (to suck) as a translation of to absorb, particularly in less literal contexts.
Plus, it’s often used to describe someone yfed (drinking) something really quickly. If your friend finishes their diod (drink) in one llowc, you could describe that as yfed ar un llwnc (drinking on one gulp), llyncu ar un gwynt (swallowing on one breath) or even just llyncu. Some people get more specific and say llyncu’n llyfn, which literally means swallowing smoothly. It all just comes down to what part of the country you’re in.
Llyncais y ddiod ar un gwynt.
I swallowed the drink in one gulp.
But it’s not all about cwrw (beer, often used in a broad sense to mean alcohol generally). You can llyncu all sorts of things, both literal and metaphorical:
- llyncu dagrau = to swallow back tears
- llyncu balchder = to swallow pride
- llyncu’ch geiriau = to swallow one’s words
- llyncu poer = to swallow saliva, means to be nervous
- llyncu’n groes / llyncu o chwithig = to swallow the wrong way
- llyncu abwyd = to swallow bait
- llyncu corryn / pry = to swallow a spider / fly, euphemism for getting pregnant
You can even use the word on its own to describe someone swallowing a stori (story) or celwydd (lie), as you would in English.
Mae o mor wirion – byddai’n llyncu hynny’n hawdd.
He’s so gullible – he’ll easily swallow that.
Now, there’s one Welsh expression involving llyncu that easily tops all of the above. It’s traditionally a North Walian idiom, but is now used by speakers from all over the country as well as new learners… probably because it’s really quite silly.
This is llyncu mul, which you may be able to guess means swallowing a mule. The Southern equivalent historically was llyncu llidiart, literally swallowing a gate.
Obviously, no one actually needs to talk about swallowing a mule, and the real meaning of this saying is to sulk. There are alternative ways to translate this verb into Welsh – like pwdu, sorri, and even the clearly related mulo – but I’m sure you’ll agree that llyncu mul is by far the most vivid!
