gwddf

Welsh

Picture dictionary
penglog talcen ymennydd ael llygad gwefus trwyn ceg gên boch clust arlais gwddf or llwnc gwddf gwar
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Alternative forms

• gwddw, gwddwg

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *wodwos (“spoils”), whence also Old Irish fodb (“spoils”), from the practice of counting captives as "so many necks". *wudwos may be related to Proto-Celtic *wodwo- (“cutting”) (whence Old Irish fodb in the sense of "division"), with semantic shift "cutting" > "weapon" > "weapon-spoils" > "spoils" (though these shifts are not straightforward). If so, then the root ultimately goes back to Proto-Indo-European *wedʰH- (“strike”), whence gwasgu (“to press”), Lithuanian vedegà (“a kind of axe”), Sanskrit वध् (vadh, “to strike, slay”), Tocharian A wac (“struggle”).

The variant gwddwg is cognate with Old Breton guodoc (Middle Breton gouzouc, Breton gouzoug, goûg), but it is difficult to explain the alternation between -wg, -w, and -f. The oldest form of the word cited in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru is the Middle Welsh plural form gedueu (13th century; = modern gyddfau), while the soft mutation forms wðwc, wddf, and wddw are all attested in the 14th century, indicating that the alternation is very old.

Pronunciation

• (North Wales, standard) IPA^(key): /ɡʊðv/
  • (North Wales, colloquial) IPA^(key): /ˈɡʊðʊv/, /ˈɡʊðu/
• (South Wales, standard) IPA^(key): /ɡʊðv/
  • (South Wales, colloquial) IPA^(key): /ˈɡuːðʊv/, /ˈɡʊðʊv/, /ˈɡuːðu/, /ˈɡʊðu/
• Rhymes: -ʊðv

Noun

gwddf m (plural gyddfau)

1. neck

   Synonym: mwnwgl

2. (North Wales) throat

   Synonym: llwnc (South Wales)

Derived terms

• gyddfddu (“black-necked, black-throated”)
• gyddf-felyn (“yellow-necked, yellow-throated”)
• gyddfgoch (“red-necked, red-throated”)

Mutation

References