From Latin vigilia (“wakefulness, watch”), from vigil (“awake”), from Proto-Indo-European *weǵ- (“to be strong”).
gŵyl m or f (plural gwyliau)
In the singular, this refers to a "festival" of some kind. In the plural, it can mean "festivals" or "vacation", i.e. to both the American and British senses of the word "holidays". Some speakers distinguish these meanings in pronunciation, for example in a south Wales accent, IPA(key): /ɡʊi̯ljai̯/ for "festivals", American "holidays" and IPA(key): /ɡwɪljai̯/ for "vacation", British "holiday(s)". For other speakers, both are pronounced the same.
From Middle Welsh gŵyl, from Proto-Celtic *wēlos.
gŵyl (feminine singular gŵyl, plural gwylion, equative gwyled, comparative gwylach, superlative gwylaf)
Welsh mutation | |||
---|---|---|---|
radical | soft | nasal | aspirate |
gŵyl | ŵyl | ngŵyl | unchanged |
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. |