Today’s Welsh word of the day is llyffant, pluralised as either llyffaint or llyffantod. It can mean toad or frog depending on whether you’re in South or North Wales, and its etymology is unclear.
You can also use it as an insult – like how we call someone a toad in English if we think they’re a bit creepy and unpleasant!
llyffant
toad / frog
llyffaint
toads / frogs
I grew up using the word llyffant to mean toad, and the alternative broga for a frog. But in many parts of North Wales, the two animals are actually treated linguistically as the same! So the word llyffant is used for both, although some people might say llyffant melyn (yellow toad / yellow frog) to distinguish a frog from a toad.
This does make sense, as it’s a common pattern in Welsh for similar animals to share the same word. Another good example is llygod (mice) and llygod fawr (rats, literally big mice).
This reflects Welsh’s history and identity as a language – the vocabulary and grammar are much more catered to everyday utility and colloquial speech than other languages like English or French.
The fact that llyffant is often used to mean frog is reflected in the fact that the Welsh say llam llyffant for the game leapfrog.
But for this article, I’ll focus mostly on the South Walian definition toad. Let us know if you’d like to read an article on brogaod (frogs), too!
Llyffant is a masculine noun. It is subject only to the soft mutation.
Soft mutation
lyffant
Nasal mutation
N/A
Aspirate mutation
N/A
Biologically speaking, llyffaint are actually just a specific type of broga, which suggests that North Wales might have the right idea here. In everyday language, people tend to distinguish llyffaint from brogaod by their size (maint), their croen sych (dry skin), and the fact that they’re less likely to live in dŵr (water).
In actuality, both are amffibiaid (amphibians), meaning they tend to live at least partly on tir (land) but reproduce in the dŵr (water). This is done through the production of grifft (spawn). And grifft llyffant (toad spawn) develops into penbyliaid (tadpoles) just like that of brogaod. Some people in the North call frogspawn and toad spawn jeli llyffant, literally toad jelly.
In European folklore, the humble llyffant is often used to represent drwg (evil), hyllter (ugliness) and dewiniaeth (witchcraft). But it’s not all bad for poor llyffaint – in Tsieina (China), they are a symbol of ffyniant (prosperity) instead.
Llyffaint don’t have dannedd (teeth) and can be recognised by being dafadennog (warty) and having coesau byr (short legs).
Llyffaint originated in De America (South America). They now live on every continent except Awstralia (Australia) and yr Antarctig (Antarctica).
There are two kinds of llyffaint in the United Kingdom, which are the llyffant du (common toad, literally black toad) and the llyffant y twyni (natterjack toad, literally hillock toad). The llyffant du can also be called in Welsh llyffant dafadennog (warty toad)!
Mae ofn llyffaint arna i. Maen nhw mor llysnafeddog!
I’m afraid of toads. They’re so slimy!
There are also a few other plant and animal species that take their Welsh name from the llyffant:
- blodyn y llyffant = scabious flowers
- bwyd llyffaint / caws llyffaint = toadstools / wild mushrooms
- llin y llyffant = toadflax
- llyffant gwair = common frog-hopper (also sbonciwr / sbonc llyffant)
- llyffant y môr = shorthorn sculpin
I hadn’t heard of llyffaint y môr before, so I Googled a picture, and they do look like the literal meaning of their name – sea toads!
Let’s finish up with a Welsh proverb about llyffaint. The saying goes, brenin pob llyffant ar ei domen ei hun. It means every frog is a king on his own mound. It’s used a bit like the way cock of the walk is in English, to criticise a conceited person who bosses others around. With their puffy chests, llyffaint do have the look of arrogance about them!
