The Welsh word rhos has two meanings, both nature-related. The first is a heath or a moor. The second is that it’s an old-fashioned plural form of rhosyn, which is the Welsh for the blodyn (flower) that’s called a rose in English. As you might expect for a word with two meanings, it also has …
The word gwyn (white) crops up a lot in Welsh poetry, proverbs, and folklore. This is because, as well as being the simple word for a common lliw (colour), it carries religious and mythical undertones relating to blessings and sacredness. gwyn white Its etymology, on the other hand, is fairly mundane. It comes directly from …
Do you have a favourite kind of mwyar / aeron (berries)? I have to admit I find it pretty hard to choose, especially living in the UK where we have so many wonderful options right on our doorstep! One particularly delicious kind of mwyaren (berry) is the sweet and nutritious mafonen (raspberry). Mafon (raspberries) is …
Are you the kind of person who screams and jumps on a chair at the sight of a mouse? Or do you think they’re actually pretty cute? Either way, the Welsh word for this tiny rodent is the feminine noun llygoden. The plural, mice, is llygod, and this is our word of the day today. …
Have you ever noticed that the Welsh word calon (heart) is an anagram of the word canol (middle)? It’s a neat coincidence, given that we often symbolically see our calonnau (hearts) as being the centre of the corff (body) and hunaniaeth (identity). Let’s find out the Welsh vocabulary you’ll need to discuss every aspect of …
Growing up, owls were my best friend’s favourite animal, so I always tried to get them presents in the shape of a tylluan (owl). In honour of these marvellous birds (and my marvellous friend), today’s Welsh word of the day is tylluan (plural: tylluanod), which is a feminine noun meaning owl. These adar nosol (nocturnal …
Today’s Welsh Word of the Day is cwmwl (cloud). Along with glaw (rain), clouds are probably the most consistent feature of Welsh weather. Growing up, awyr las (a blue sky) was a rare sight, but it never bothered me; I remember going to the traeth (beach) on grey overcast days and having a great time …
In modern Welsh, the most commonly used word for witch is probably gwrach. Its plural is gwrachod. gwrach witch The etymology of gwrach is uncertain. It seems to come from the Celtic *urakka, but prior to that, the derivation is unclear. An interesting comparison is the word gwraig, which means wife or sometimes woman, and …
Today’s word of the day is sebon, meaning soap. It’s a masculine noun, and the plural form is sebonau, or sometimes, though much more rarely, sebons. You’re more likely to need the plural of bar sebon (a bar of soap), though – which is barrau sebon. sebon soap You might have noticed how similar sebon …
Few animals have had such a great impact on British civilisation as the humble ceffyl (horse). The domestication of horses began in Britain by the 25th century BC. Over the years, they have been used for warfare, agriculture and transportation. Today, horses are kept mostly for recreational purposes, but they remain a much-loved animal across …