# A Welsh Grammar, Historical and Comparative/Phonology

Phonology
Orthography and pronunciation
The Alphabet.
§ 7. i. Welsh, in all its periods, has been written in the Latin alphabet.
The ogam inscriptions are Irish. The letters of the ogam alphabet consist of scores and notches on the edge of the stone; one to five scores, cut at right angles to the edge on either side, or obliquely across it, form 15 consonants; one to five notches on the edge form 5 vowels.
The "alphabet of Nemnivus", contained in ox., dated 812, and reproduced by Ab Ithel in Dosp. Ed. 10, 11, is stated in the ms. to have been formed by Nemnivus "ex machinatione mentis suae" in answer to a Saxon's taunt that the Britons had no letters. Most of the signs are forms of Latin characters made to imitate runes; two (ᚾ n and ᚢ u) are runes, while others seem to be arbitrary inventions. There is no evidence of the use of this alphabet. The "winged alphabet" given by Ab Ithel ibid. 12 consists of two classifications of Scandinavian tree-runes, the top line representing the two schemes of classification. The reason given for supposing the scribe to be a Welshman is too ridiculous to need refutation.
Among the "traditions" invented by the Glamorgan bards in support of their claim to be the successors of the druids was the "wooden book"; though all the accounts of it are in Iolo Morgannwg's handwriting, contemporary evidence of its existence in the early 17th cent. is afforded by Rhys Cain's satirical englyn (Ab Iolo, Coel. y B. 50); but it cannot be traced further back. The 'bardic alphabet' called coelbren y beirdd was a conventional simplification of ordinary characters adapted for cutting on wood; its letters are derived from the handwriting of the period, as b, ∂, (= e), h, n, r, except where it was easier to adapt the Latin capitals, as A, G. With one or two exceptions, such as Ỻ, the "derived characters" denoting consonant mutations, so far from proving the coelbren's antiquity, are its very latest development, Pughe acknowledging himself to be the author of five of them (l.g.c. 260 footnote). Iolo's memoranda (Coel. y B. 27) refer to an old form given by Gwilym Tew in his grammar; but this work is preserved in G.T.'s own hand in p 51, which does not mention the coelbren. The famous transcriber of mss. John Jones ​of Gelli Lyfdy compiled two collections of the alphabets known to him p 307, Ỻ 144, but neither contains anything like the coelbren. No ms. is written in it, for the simple reason that it was easier to write ordinary characters than the coelbren caricature of them. The writing in p 54 pp. 359 ff., stated in the r. to be in "'bardic' characters, which are widely different from Roman characters", bears no resemblance to the coelbren, and is no more "widely different from Roman characters" than the coelbren itself is; it is the hand of an illiterate person; the letters are written separately, but all are clumsy copies of the script characters of the period, mostly formed with awkward curves, the antithesis of the coelbren angles. There is a somewhat similar scribble written upside down on the bottom margin of b.ch. = p 29, p. 19.—The wooden book consisted of squared inscribed sticks in a frame; it was called peithynen from its resemblance to a weaver's reed, and not the reverse, as Iolo asserted, for peithyn(en) comes regularly from Lat. acc. pectin-em 'comb, weaver's reed'. The absurdity of the supposition that such a device ever served any serious purpose of literature is manifest when one considers what a cartload of wooden books would be required to carry the contents of a small manuscript volume.
ii. The earliest Welsh alphabet given as such is that found in the r.g. col. 1117: a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, k, l, m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t, v, x, y, w, ỻ. It contains q, which is not used in Welsh, and omits all the digraphs except ll; they could not be included in the traditional number, 24.
Sir J. Price's alphabet in y.l.h. (1546) is as follows: a, b, c, d, ď, e, ff, f, g, h, i, k, l, lh, m, n, o, p, r, rh, s, t, v = u, v, y, w.
W. Salesbury gives the following alphabet in his Playne and Familiar Introductiõ, 1567 (written in 1550): A, b, c, ch, d, dd, e, f, ff, g, h, i, k, l, ll, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, th, v, u, w, y. He distinguishes between u and v, using the latter for Eng. v, Welsh f.
G.R., (1567), who uses ḍ, ḷ, ụ for dd, ll, w, gives the following alphabet: a, b, c, ch, d, ḍ, e, f, g, i, h, l, ḷ, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, th, u, ụ, y, omitting ng and ph (both of which he uses, the latter to the exclusion of ff), to make the number 24.
S.V., (1568), gives the following alphabet of 24 letters: a, b, d, dd, e, f, ff, g, i, k, l, ll, m, n, o, p, r, s, t, v, w, y, ch, th, adding that h is the sign of a breathing, j 9/3.
J.D.R., (1592), used h to form all his digraphs, thus bh = f, dh = dd, gh = ng. His alphabet is as follows: a, b, bh, c, ch, d, dh, e, g, gh, ghh, h, i, lh, l, m, mh, n, nh, o, p, ph, rh, r, s, t, th, u, , y, ỿ. It contains a character for each simple sound in the language, including the two sounds of y; but it was too cumbrous to win general adoption.
The alphabet of the present day is first met with in D. (1621), with the single difference that D. has two forms of the letter y; thus, a, b, c, ch, d, dd, e, f, ff, g, ng, h, i, l, ll, m, n, o, p, ph, r, s, t, th, u, w, y/ỿ. It omits mh, nh, ngh, rh. The names now given to the letters are, in the above order, in Welsh spelling (all vowels not marked long to be ​read short): ā, bī, ec, ech, dī, edd, ē, ef, eff, eg, eng, āets, ī, el, ell, em, en, ō, pī, yff or ffī, er, es, tī, eth, ū, wˉ, ȳ. The names ha, he, hi given to the letter h by some writers on Welsh grammar and orthography are figments. The name is āets, borrowed from Eng. or Fr. (Eng. aitch, Fr. ache, Span. atche):
    H. arall it sy—Harri
    Wyth yw 'r dyn a 'th eura di.—T.A., c. i 340.
'Thou hast another H.—Henry the Eighth is the man who will ennoble thee.' The first line is to be read Aets arall it sy Harri, as shown by the cynghanedd: t s r—t s r.
Lhuyd, (1707). used χ for ch, λ for ll, and ꝺ for dd. The last has survived in the form ẟ in ordinary handwriting, but manuscript ẟ is printed dd.
§ 8. The orthography of Mn. W. is almost purely phonetic: each letter of the alphabet has one standard sound, except y which has two. It will therefore be convenient to give the values of the letters in the modern alphabet, and then, rising the modern characters to represent the sounds of the language, to show in detail how each sound was written in earlier periods, noting any changes which have taken place in the sounds themselves.
The Vowels.
§ 9. The letters a, e, i, o, u, w, y represent vowel sounds. The following diagram shows the approximate relative positions of the vowels at the present day. ɥ and ỿ denote the two sounds of y. Vowels pronounced with rounded lips are enclosed in brackets. The more open the sound the less the rounding.
The vowel sounds i, e, a, o, w, except in certain diphthongal combinations, have probably undergone no material change from ​the O. W. period to the present day; the sounds a, e, o, have always been represented by the characters a, e, o, and the sound i always by i, with some exceptions in Early Ml. W., § 16 ii (2).
§ 10. The sound of a is that of the English a in father. It occurs long as in tad 'father', medium as in tá|dol 'fatherly', and short as in mam 'mother'.
The sound does not occur short in English, the a of Eng. man being a more forward sound, which may be denoted by æ. This sound æ is heard in Welsh in a narrow strip stretching from the English border to Harlech, and in Glamorganshire.
§ 11. The sound of e, when long or medium, is the middle e, as in the Eng. men, let; thus gwên 'smile', gwé|nu 'to smile'; when short it is generally more open, tending towards the Eng. e in there; thus gwenn 'white'. For its sound in diphthongs, see §§ 29, 79.
§ 12. The sound of i is the close i of the French fini, si, or the North Eng. i in king, machine. The Southern Eng. i is more open. It occurs long as in gwîn 'wine', medium as in gwí|noedd 'wines', short as in prin 'scarcely'.
§ 13. The sound of o, when long or medium, is the middle o, midway between the close o in Eng. note and the open o in not; thus tôn 'tune', tó|nau 'tunes'; when short it is more open, tending towards the o of not, as tonn 'wave', tŏˊnnau 'waves'.
§ 14. i. The sound of w is that of the French ou in sou, or the North Eng. oo in food, book. The Southern Eng. sound is more open. It occurs long as in gŵr 'man', medium as in gẃ|rol 'manly', short as in trwm 'heavy'.
ii. (1) The sound w was written u in O.W., and thus could not be distinguished (except by the context) from the sound u, § 15 i, which was also written u (though sometimes i, 15 ii).
(2) In Early Ml. W., the sound w, both vocalic and consonantal was written u (or v) and w, and as the former also represents the sound u, and both represent the sound f, the spelling is often ambiguous. In Late Ml. W. the uncertainty is partly removed by the restriction of w and the use of ỽ (a peculiar shape ​of v) to represent the w sounds. The characters w and ỽ represent both w and w̯ almost indifferently. Theoretically perhaps w stood for w̯, and the r.b. scribe wishing to distinguish between gw̯ŷr 'men' and gŵɥr 'knows' writes them gwyr, gỽyr respectively, r.g. 1118; there seems to be a slight predominance of the w̯ value for w, but no systematic distinction is made between the sounds, whole pages frequently occurring, e.g., in w.m., where ỽ is used exclusively for both.
☞ In this work Late Ml. W. ỽ is transcribed w, as nothing is gained by reproducing a distinction which would often be misleading if taken to have a phonetic significance.
(3) In Mn. W. the sound is represented by w.
G.R. uses ụ; and J.D.R. a peculiar character based on ɓ, a late script form of ỽ; § 7 ii.
§ 15. i. (1) In Late Mn. W. the sound of u, long, medium, and short, is the same as the clear sound of y, § 16 i; thus the words hûn 'sleep' and hŷn 'older' have now absolutely the same sound. But in O. and Ml. W. u had the sound of the French u, that is, an i pronounced with rounded lips. In accented syllables it retained this sound down to the end of the 16th cent., as is shown by the fact that J.D.R. (pp. 33, 34) describes both u and ɥ, and distinguishes between them with a phonetic truth which could only be derived from actual acquaintance with both as living sounds.
(2) In the final unaccented syllable the original u sound became ɥ as early as the 14th cent.; see ZfCP. iv 118. Hence we find u and y confused from the 14th century on. Kymry 'the Welsh, Wales' often appeared as Cymru; see y Cymru 'the Welsh', G.R. p. [v] ; M.Ỻ. (3 Ader.—Title). Later, the misspelling Cymru came to be used for 'Wales', the true form Cymry being retained as the pl. of Cymro. In the 3rd pl. of prepositions, arnunt 'on them', etc., in dywedud 'to say', anoddun 'deep', credadun 'believer', arofun 'intend', munud 'minute', y is in Late Mn. W. wrongly written for u; for testun 'text', ysgrythur 'scripture', see § 82 iii (3). The converse error was frequent in the 16th cent., Dr. M. writing fellu, i fynu, gorthrymmudd, etc.
The view that the distinction survived in monosyllables down to a late date is corroborated by the fact that out of about 140 monos. in use containing either u or ɥ only one, crud 'cradle' (crut Ỻ.A. 72, r.p. 1418), is now commonly misspelt; and even this misspelling is due to Pughe's bringing the word under the same head as cryd ​'quaking, fever' obviously on a false etymological theory. D.D. and Richards have crud 'cradle', cryd 'fever'.
ii. The O. and Ml. W. sound above described was written u. It was therefore not distinguished in writing in the O. and Early Ml. period from the sound w which was also written u. We may call O. W. u the front u, or ü, when it corresponds to Mn. W. u, and the back u when it represents Mn. W. w. It is certain that the two sounds were as distinct then as they were later, for in O.W. we find the ü sound written i, as in scipaur juv. 'barn', Mn. W. ysgubor. Still earlier evidence of ü is furnished by Bede's spelling Dinoot of a name which was later Dunawd.
§ 16. i. y has two sounds, the clear and the obscure.
The clear sound of y is a peculiar i-sound very difficult to acquire. It is a dull i produced further back than ordinary i. The sound is very similar to French u in its effect upon the ear, and has the same absolute pitch; but it is produced quite differently. The French u is an i pronounced with rounded lips, but the Welsh ɥ is an i pronounced further back, but with open lips; see the diagram, § 9. Ml. W. had both sounds, written u and y respectively; but gradually the rounded sound, which was written u, was replaced by the unrounded sound, though still continuing to be written u, the result being that Welsh has now the unrounded sound only, written u and y.
The sound ɥ is long as in dŷn 'man' or short as in brɥn 'hill'. It cannot be medium except when written as u, as in úno 'to unite', and in the word gɥda for gɥd a, § 82 ii (2).
In S. W. dialects both u and ɥ are sounded as i or nearly so.
The obscure sound of y is the sound of the Eng. o in ivory. It is medium or short in the penult, or short in an unaccented syllable. It is long in the penult before a vowel or h as cý-oedd, cý-hoedd, and in the name of the letter y.
☞ In this grammar the character y is used as in ordinary written Welsh to represent both the clear and the obscure sound; but when it is required to distinguish between them, the character ɥ is used to denote the clear, and ỿ to denote the obscure sound.—Note that y is the clear ɥ in the diphthong w͡y, and when circumflexed, ŷ.
A special character for the sound ỿ was used by some 16th century scribes, and is regularly employed by J.D.R. and Dr. Davies in their grammars. A distinctive character is also needed for the clear sound; and ɥ is convenient because it suggests u which has now the same sound.
Note. The idea that y has borrowed its clear sound from u, which, as we have seen, is the exact reverse of the truth, has led some writers to call ỿ the primary, and ɥ the secondary sound of y. The former is of course secondary, being the obscured form of ɥ and other sounds.
¶ On the use of the two sounds of y see § 82.
ii. (1) In O. W. the sounds of y are denoted by i, and are therefore not distinguished in writing from the sound i. That ɥ and i were then distinct requires no further proof than that they are different in origin, and if the difference had been lost it could not have been recovered.
(2) In Early Ml. W. mss., as in the b.b., y and i are used indifferently to express the i sound and the sounds of y. In b.ch. (= a.l. ms. a.) y is used in some parts almost to the exclusion of i, as brenyn, tyr for brenin 'king', tir 'land'; yx p. 9 for ix 'nine' (printed nau in a.l. i 18!) shows that the scribe treated y and i as identical. In some early mss. the sounds of y were represented by e; see the passage in ancient orthography in a.l. ii 36–8, where ỿ lle, ỿ dɥn appear as elle, eden 'the place', 'the man'.
(3) In Late Ml. mss., as in Mn. W., the sounds ɥ, ỿ are written y, and are not confused with i which is written i (except that y also represents i̯, § 25 iii).
In a few monosyllables of frequent occurrence, ɥ by constant repetition advanced to the easier front position of i towards the end of the Ml. period. These are y 'to', y 'his' or 'her', ny, nyt 'not'. The latter often appears as ni, nit in w.m., see 46, 48, showing the thinning of the vowel to be so early. That the sound was once ɥ is shown by the fact that ny̆d, written nɥdd (dd ≡ double d, not ẟ) by J.D.R. in 1592, may still be heard in Anglesey.
☞ In this grammar the Ml. W. y 'to' and y 'his' or 'her' are dotted thus, ẏ, to distinguish them from the article y ≡ ỿ. As the ẏ was probably sounded i some time before it came to be so written, it may be read i. [There can be no confusion with ẏ ≡ i̯, which never stands by itself, § 25 iii.]
iii. Though not indicated in writing, the difference between ɥ and ​ỿ goes back to the O. W. period. That O. W. i represented not only the clear ɥ but also the obscure ỿ is shown by such forms as cimadas (= cỿfaddas) m.c. Here cyf- comes from *kom‑; the ỿ results from the indistinct pronunciation of o, § 65 iv (2), and was never sounded ɥ; hence the written i must have meant ỿ. See also § 40 iii (2). In Ml. mss. generally, as in Mn. W., no distinction is made between ɥ and ỿ. But in some parts of b.ch., e stands for ỿ, and y for ɥ regularly; thus Ylety yu ety muyhaf ene tref akemeruedaf ac y kyd ac ef erey auenno or teylu, a.l. i 12 ≡ ɥ letɥ ɥw ỿ tɥ mwɥhaf ỿnỿ dref a chỿmherfeẟaf, ag ɥ gɥd ag ef ỿ r͑ei a vỿnno o'r teilu, 'His lodging is the largest and most central house in the town, and with him such as he may please of the household.' The scribe's observance of the rule is remarkable; and though there are many slips due to mechanical copying, his spelling in some cases helps to decide the sound in obsolete forms.
iv. (i) In Early Ml. W. ɥ and ỿ were probably nearer e than at present. If we assume the line a—ɥ more inclined towards the line a—i in the diagram p. 11 above, it will be seen at a glance not only why both were written e at that time, but why the b.ch. scribe uses y to represent both i and ɥ, and e to represent both e and ỿ.
(2) The sounds ɥ and ỿ in these forward positions were less stable, being not merely felt to be near enough to e to be represented by e in writing, but also liable to be confused with e in speech. Some examples of this confusion survived, and are met with in the later language: (α) Interchange of ỿ and e: Mỿrddin, Merddin D.G. 471; tỿmestl, temestl G. 153; ỿstɥn f. 24, estɥn; cỿbỿddiaeth, a chebỿẟẏaeth Ỻ.a. 144; ẏ bellỿnnic Ỻ.a. 126, 146, pellennig; ketỿmdeith, cỿdỿmaith; ỿnnill, ennill; cỿnfigen, cenfigen; Tâl-ỿ-boli̯on m.a. i 315a, explained as tâl ebolẏon w.m. 45; Pen-e´-goes for *Pen-ỿ´-goes, see § 46 ii (3).—(β) Interchange of ɥ and e: velle Ỻ.a. 148 for fellɥ; Late Mn. W. wele 'behold' for (a) welɥ 'dost thou see?' § 173 iii (3); Mercher for Merchɥr b.a. 17, b.b. 48, see § 69 v; hwdɥ c.m. 31, hwde r.m. 173; mɥwn, mewn; Llɥɥn, Lleɥn. Dial. edrech for edrych, ‑ech for ‑ɥch 2nd sg. pres. subj. § 176 iv.—(γ) In Ml. W. ɥ hun 'himself, herself' is written e hun, the e modification being preferred owing to the difficulty of sounding unrounded ɥ and rounded ü in consecutive syllables, cf. § 77 viii. Dissimilation also occurs in e Iwerẟon w.m. 59 for ɥ Iwerẟon. Similarly te|ɥrn for *tɥ|ɥrn § 103 ii (1); diell for di-hyll § 146 ii (2).
In Breton *y has generally become e; thus nevez = W. newydd; pemp = W. pɥmp; kevrann = W. kyvran; ened = W. ỿnɥd.
(3) ỿ before a nasal tended to be lowered towards a, and is sometimes written a in the b.ch., as cantaf a.l. i 84 for cỿntaf; kannal, do. 154 for kỿnnal; kafreiht do. 130 for kỿṽreith. Hence ỿ and a interchange before a nasal: Yngharad, Angharad; ymherawdr, amherawdr; ỿmddifad, amddifad; canhorthwy, cỿnhorthwy; mỿnach, manach, etc.
Unaccented a is sometimes weakened to ỿ in the dialects, but ​examples are rare in lit. W.: rhỿglỿddu ‘to merit’, for rhaglỿddu, see r͑aclỿẟei w.m. 428.
(4) In Mn. W. since ỿ has become quite neutral, it is apt in some cases to be coloured by neighbouring sounds: after w̯ or followed by w in the ultima, it becomes w, § 66 ii. When immediately followed by another vowel it is assimilated to it, § 82 ii (3).
v. (1) In Ml. W. an inorganic y is written between two consonants at the end of a word in the following groups: 1. cons. + r, l or n; 2. rm, rf, lm, lf; 3. ẟf; 4. rarely rch, lch; thus pobyl for pobl ‘people’, vy manryf w.m. 59 for fy marf ‘my beard’. In O. W. it appears as i, as in reatir juv., Mn. W. rhaeadr ‘cataract’, but is of rare occurrence, being usually omitted as in Mn. W., thus cruitr, discl juv. datl, scribl ox. It occurs medially as i in centhiliat juv. ‘singer’ for centhliat, as o in cenitolaidou ox., Mn. W. cenedlaethau ‘generations’. In Early Ml. W. it appears as i, y, and e, as perygil b.b. 31 ‘danger’, cathil do. 16 ‘song’, autyl do. 15 ‘ode’, coloven a.l. i 10 ‘column’. It occurs sometimes in initial groups: o gynaud b.b. 84 ‘of flesh’; keleuuet a.l. i 40 ≡ clỿwed ‘to hear’.
(2) The sound intended to be represented was the glide between the consonants, which was becoming perceptible as a dull sound resembling ỿ. It was naturally written i in O. W., e in b.ch., these being the signs for ỿ, see iii above. It was not written where no audible glide developed, as in nt, rth, rẟ, and was rare where the glide was voiceless, as before ch. It did not form a full syllable in Ml. W., at least in the standard pronunciation, for (α) it is occasionally written in groups where it is generally omitted, and which seem never to have been syllabic, as in meirych w.m. 41 ≡ meirch r.m. 28 ‘horses’; (β) it is sometimes found medially where it could not be syllabic, as in kenedyloeẟ Ỻ.a. 11 ≡ kenedloeẟ Ỻ.a. 169 ‘nations’, dadeleu a.l. i 20 ≡ dadleu ‘lawsuit’; (γ) it does not affect the accentuation ; thus in
    có|lofyn gweẟ ḗ|ofyn y gwe|ẟī́|eu,—r.p. 1239
‘Upholder in fearless manner of prayers’, the e of ḗofyn is accented to correspond to the i of gweẟī́eu; (δ) it does not count as a syllable in Ml. verse; the above is a line of nine syllables; in the following cywydd couplet the cynghanedd requires chalych to be read as an absolute monosyllable, as it is pronounced at the present day:
    Pwy a allei, pei pennsaer,
    peintẏaw a chalych pwynt vy chwaer?—I.G., r.p. 1408.
‘Who could, though he were a master, paint with chalk my sister’s mien?’
☞ In the quotations in the present work this non-syllabic y is represented thus, ɏ.
(3) In Mn. lit. W. the epenthetic ɏ is simply dropped; thus pobl, ffenestr, ofn. The non-syllabic pronunciation continued to be the only one admissible in cynghanedd, and so remained the standard literary form; and the mute y came to be dropped in writing to prevent ambiguity. [In one form of cynghanedd, however, exemplified by— ​
    Da osódiad hyd i sawdl.—D.N., g. 158,
‑l answers a syllable ‑iad in the cynghanedd, though it does not count as a syllable in the metre, an inconsistency which shows that such a word as this, treated as a monosyllable in verse generally, sounded like a disyllabic when it ended a sentence.]
In the spoken language, when the word was disyllabic the final liquid was lost, thus perig, ffenest for perigl ‘danger’, ffenestr ‘window’, or metathesized as in ewyrth for ewythr ‘uncle’. In monosyllables the glide was assimilated to the vowel of the syllable or the second element of its diphthong and became syllabic; thus pobol, cefen, llwɥbɥr, sowdwl, bara’ for pobl ‘people’, cefn ‘back’, llwybr ‘path’, sawdl ‘heel’, barf ‘beard’. Some examples of this assimilation already appear in Late Ml. W., as budur Ỻ.a. 18 ‘dirty’, kwbwl c.m. 87 ‘all’, vy maraf r.m. 42 ‘my beard’.—The colloquial syllabic pronunciation is the one generally implied in recent verse in the free metres; thus Anne Griffiths’s Llwybr cwbl groes i natur, though so printed in all hymn-books, is intended to be sung Llẃybyr | cẃbwl | gróes i | nátur. But in N. W. dialects the parasitic vowel did not arise in groups containing f; thus in the greater part of N. W. ofn, ‘fear’, cefn ‘back’, llyfr ‘book’, barf ‘beard’ are purely monosyllabic to this day. Forms like march, calch are everywhere monosyllabic.
The Consonants.
§ 17. The values of the letters representing consonants in the Mn. alphabet are as follows:
i. Voiceless explosives (tenues): p ≡ English p; t, normally more dental than Eng. t, but varying to Eng. t; c ≡ Eng. k, having two sounds, front c (k̑) before i, e, like k in Eng. king, back c (q) before a, o, w, u ỿ, like c in Eng. coal.
ii. Voiced explosives (mediae): b ≡ Eng. b; d corresponding to W. t as above; g front and back (g̑, ɡ], like Eng. give, go.
iii. Voiceless spirants: ff or ph ≡ Eng. f, labiodental; th ≡ Eng. th in thick (which may be denoted by þ); ch ≡ Scotch ch in loch, German ch in nach (χ), but not German ch in ich (χ̑). Even after e and i, as in llēch ‘slate’, gwīch ‘squeak’, the ch is the back sound χ.
i + back χ is an awkward combination, and becomes difficult in the short time available when the i is the second element of a diphthong; hence baich, braich are generally pronounced băɥχ, brăɥχ (with the short a of the original diphthong). This pronunciation is condemned by D., p. 10; but the spelling ay is common earlier, e.g. J.D.R. 271. But beichiau, breichiau are so sounded, with back χ (not χ̑).
​iv. Voiced spirants: f ≡ Eng. v, labiodental; dd ≡ Eng. th in this (ẟ). O.W. had also the guttural voiced spirant, which may be represented by ᵹ, corresponding to ch; see § 19 i.
v. Voiceless nasals: mh; nh; ngh. The nasals can only be made voiceless by a strong emission of breath, which causes a distinct aspirate to be heard as a glide after the consonant. Thus nh is somewhat similar to Eng. nh in inhale.
vi. Voiced nasals: m; n; ng. The last has two positions corresponding to those of g, namely front ŋ̑, back ŋ.
vii. Voiceless liquids: ll; rh. The former is a voiceless l pronounced on one side. It is produced by placing the tongue in the l position, raising it so as to close the passage on one side, and blowing between it and the teeth on the other. The common imitation thl conveys the effect of the “hiss” (voiceless spirant) in the th, and gives the side effect in the l. But ll is of course a simple sound, which may be described shortly as a “unilateral hiss”. The sound of rh is the Welsh trilled r made voiceless by a strong emission of breath, causing an audible aspirate glide after it. Briefly, it is r and h sounded together.
viii. Voiced liquids : l; r. The latter is trilled like the strong Scotch r, or the Italian r. The trilled r is a difficult sound to acquire; young children usually substitute l for it. A few never acquire it, but substitute for it a guttural r (≡ ᵹ). This is almost the only defect of speech to be found among speakers of Welsh; it is called tafod tew ‘thick tongue’.
ix. Sibilant: s. Welsh has no z; such a pronunciation as zêl ‘zeal’ is pure affectation; unsophisticated persons say sêl, selog. Before i̯ as in eisi̯au, s now tends to become Eng. sh, and in some S.W. dialects after i. But many old speakers cannot pronounce shibboleth at all. Standard Welsh s is the ss in hiss.
x. Aspirate: h. The aspirate is distinctly sounded, and is never misused except in Gwent and Glamorgan. It is really the voiceless form of the vowel which follows it, or the glide between a voiceless nasal or liquid and a vowel.
xi. Semi-vowels: i; w. As these letters also represent vowel sounds, they will be marked i̯, w̯ in this work where it is necessary to point out that they are consonantal. i̯ is the sound of the Eng. y in yard; w̯ is the Eng. w in will.
¶ Welsh w̯ is the same sound as that which is written u̯ in the hypothetic forms of Ar., Kelt., Brit., etc. Thus Mn. W. w̯ir ‘indeed’ is identical with the first syll. of Kelt. *u̯īr-os ‘true’ < Ar. *u̯ēr-os.
§ 18. i. The characters p, t, c had the values in O.W. of modern p, t, c. They also represented the mutated sounds b, d, g, see § 103 iii; as in scipaur juv. ≡ scubawr, Mn. W. ysgubor ‘barn’, creaticaul ox. ≡ creadigawl, Mn. W. creadigol ‘created’. When they have this value they are sometimes doubled; thus in m.c. we find catteiraul, Mn. W. cadeiriol ‘cathedral’ adj., carrecc, Mn. W. carreg ‘stone’, hepp, Ml. W. heb ‘says’. Possibly this is due to the influence of Irish spelling. [In Old Ir. original *nt > *d-d written t and sometimes tt.]
ii. In Ml. W. p, t, c no longer represent b, d, g medially, but finally after a vowel they continued to do so even down to the Mn. period. The facts are briefly as follows: In the b.b., late 12th cent., the final labial is written p, but often b (mab 27, 28, 29); the dental is always d, because t is used for the soft spirant ẟ; the guttural is always c. In the 14th cent. the labial very generally appears as b, though often as p; the dental is always t, the guttural always c. In the 15th cent. (e.g. Ỻ 28) we have b, d, c. In the 1620 Bible b, d, g, but c in many forms, unic, lluddedic, etc. The final c is still written in ac and nac, which should be ag, nag, § 222 i (1), ii (3). On the sound of the consonant in these cases see § 111 v (4).
Finally after a consonant p, t, c have always represented the voiceless sounds.
iii. In Ml. W. and Early Mn. W., initial c is generally written k. The chief exceptions are the combinations cl, cr. Medially we find c, k, cc, ck. Finally after a consonant, though we generally have c, we also find k (or even ck); as grafangk, oerdrangk r.p. 1321, diag̃k etc. do. 1314, digelk do. 1364, Iork r.b.b. 397, carbunck, Ỻ.a. 170. In these words the sound was, and is, voiceless. Note that after a vowel, where the sound is now g, it is never written k in Ml. W. Thus k, which represents the tenuis only, is clearly distinguished from c, which also finally represents the media.
Note. In O. W. and the earliest Ml. W., as in l.l. (about 1150), c alone is used; k appears in b.b. and was general in Ml. and Early ​Mn. W. G.R. discarded k on the principle of “one sound one letter”, p. 20. But the decisive factor in its banishment from the Welsh alphabet was its replacement by c in Salesbury’s N.T., published the same year (1567). This being one of the many innovations “quarrelled withall” in his orthography, Salesbury, in the Prayer Book of 1586 gave his reason for the substitution: “C for K, because the printers haue not so many as the Welsh requireth,” Llyfryddiaeth 34. It is curious to note that a letter which was thus superseded because of its greater prevalence in Welsh than in English was classed 160 years later among “intruders and strangers to the Welsh language”, Gormesiaid a dieithriaid i’r Iaith Gymraeg, S.R. (1728) p. 1.
§ 19. i. The characters b, d, g, in O.W. represented initially the modern sounds b, d, g; but medially and finally they stood for the mutated sounds f, ẟ, ᵹ, as in gilbin juv., Mn. W. gylfin ‘beak’, guirdglas m.c. ≡ gw̯ỿrẟᵹlas, Mn. W. gwyrddlas ‘greenish blue’. Medially and finally f was also represented by m, though in this case the spirant was doubtless nasalized then, as it is still normally in Breton; thus nimer ox. ≡ niṽer, Mn. W. nifer ‘number’, heitham ox., Mn. W. eithaf ‘extreme’.
ii. (1) In Ml. W., b represented the sound b, but no longer the sound f.
(2) The sound f was written in Early Ml. W. u or v, w and f; thus in b.b., niuer 7 ≡ nifer; vaur 21 ≡ fawr ‘great’; sew 45 ≡ sef ‘that is’; dihafal 20 ≡ dihafal ‘unequalled’. We also find ff, as affv 21 ≡ a fu ‘who has been’, bariffvin 53 ≡ barfwyn ‘white-bearded,’ tiff 50 ≡ tyf ‘grows’.
As u and v also represented the vowel ü, and as u, v, and w represented w as well, the orthography of this period is most confusing.
(3) In Late Ml. W. the sound f was written medially u or v and fu; finally it was represented by f regularly (the few exceptions which occur, e.g. in w.m., being due to mechanical copying). Thus, Ỻ.a., vy 2 ≡ fy ‘my’; llauur 3 ≡ llafur ‘labour’; kyfuoethawc 55, Mn. W. cyfoethog ‘rich’; gyntaf 3 ‘first’, dywedaf 3 ‘I say’, ef 3 ‘he’, etc. u and v continued to be used medially for f during the Early Mn. period; but G.R. has f everywhere, and was followed by Dr. M. in the 1588 Bible, which fixed the Late Mn. orthography.
As u and v also represented the vowel ü, the word fu may be found written vv, vu, uv, uu. But there is much less confusion than in the ​earlier period, for (1) w is distinguished from ü; (2) finally u and f are distinguished; thus nev means neu ‘or’, not nef ‘heaven’.
The distinction between the characters u and v is a modern one; double v (i.e. w) is still called “double u” in English.
☞ In the quotations in this grammar the letter u or v (for it was one letter with two forms) is transcribed u when it stands for the vowel, and v when it represents the consonant f, irrespective of the form in the MS., which depended chiefly on the scribe’s fancy at the moment.
(4) The sound which is now the labiodental f (≡ Eng. v) was in O. W. and probably also in Ml. W. a bilabial ƀ, like the South German w. It was the soft mutation of b or m, and resulted from these bilabial sounds being pronounced loosely so that the breath was allowed to escape, instead of being stopped, at the lips. It was sometimes confused with w̯, § 26 v; and was so soft that it might, like w̯, be passed over in cynghanedd, e.g. pwynt vy chwaer p. 17 above; see Tr. Cym. 1908–9, p. 34.
iii. (i) The letter d in Ml. W. stands for both d and dd (ẟ).
(2) In some Early Ml. mss., of which the most important is the b.b., the sound ẟ when it is an initial mutation is generally represented by d, but medially and finally is represented rather illogically by t; thus b.b., dy divet 19 ≡ dy ẟiweẟ ‘thy end’; imtuin 32 ≡ ymẟwyn ‘to behave’; guirt 33 ≡ gw̯yrẟ ‘green’; betev 63 ≡ beẟeu ‘graves’. Medially, however, we also have d, as adaw 41 ≡ Aẟaf ‘Adam’; and occasionally, by a slip, finally, as oed 1 ≡ oeẟ ‘was’ (conversely, by a rare slip, final t ≡ d, as imbit 70 ≡ ym myd ‘in the world’). In b.ch. usage is still looser.
(3) In the Late Ml. period the sound ẟ is represented by d, rarely by dd, see Ỻ.a. p. xxii. Initially and medially d and ẟ cannot be distinguished at this period, but finally they can, since final d is written t, § 18 ii, so that final d must mean the sound ẟ. But it often happens that ‑d for ‑d and ‑t for ‑ẟ are copied from an earlier ms.
While w. is distinctly Late Ml. W. in the representation of w, i, y, it has ‑d for ‑d and medial and final t for ẟ; also occasionally dd, as ar dderchet 120a ≡ arẟercheẟ.
(4) dd came generally into use in the 15th cent. In the 16th Sir J. Price, 1546, used d̛; G.R., 1567, used ḍ; Salesbury, 1567, ​used dd and d̛; Dr. M. in the Bible, 1588, used dd, which in spite of J.D.R.’s dh, 1592, has prevailed.
☞ In this grammar Ml. W. d when it stands for dd (ẟ) is transcribed ẟ.
iv. (1) In Ml. W. the letter g stands initially and medially for the sound g. The voiced spirant ᵹ had then disappeared.
(2) But g is also used as well as ng for the sound ng (ŋ) (as in Eng. song). When final, g must mean the nasal, for the explosive is written c, § 18 ii; thus llog b.b. 90, w.m. 180, r.m. 87 must be read llong ‘ship’.
☞ In this work Ml. g when it represents the nasal ng (ŋ) is transcribed g̃.
(3) Medially ng sometimes stands for n|g (pronounced ŋg like the ng in the Eng. finger); thus Bangor, pronounced Baŋgor. The simple sound represents original ŋg as in angel (≡ aŋŋel § 54 i (2)) < Lat. angelus (≡ aŋgelus); the composite sound occurs where the nasal and explosive came together later, and the g is the soft mutation of c, as in Ban-gor, radical cor; un-glust ‘one-eared’, clust ‘ear’. In O. W. the composite sound appears as nc, as uncenetticion m.c. ≡ un-genedigion, gloss on ‘solicanae’. Cf. Bede’s Bancor, doubtless the Early W. spelling.
§ 20. i. (i) The sound ff is represented in O.W. by f, as finn, fionou m.c. = ffɥnn ‘sticks’, ffionou ‘roses’; sometimes medially by ph as in ciphillion m.c. ‘sprouts’, grephiou m.c. ‘pencils’, Griphiud a.c. 814, § 36 ii, and p or pp as Gripiud b.s.ch. 1, Grippi(ud) gen. xxx.
(2) In Ml. W. the sound ff is represented initially by f, both when it is radical and when it is a mutation of p, though in the latter case ph is perhaps more usual; rarely we have ff; thus ban foher b.b. 5 ‘when they are put to flight’, fort do. 33 ≡ fforẟ ‘way’, ny forthint do. 34 ‘they did not cherish’, ny phercheiste do. 21 ‘thou hast not respected’; A fa le e maynt a.l. i 160, ms. a., a phy … ms. d., ‘and where they are’; heb ẟant yn ẏ fenn w.m. 453 … yn ẏ phenn r.m. 101 ‘without a tooth in her head’; ffoes b.b. 44 ‘fled’. Medially and finally it is generally ff, as diffuis b.b. 35 ≡ diffwys ‘steep’, proffuid do. 85 ‘prophet’, grofft r.m. 52 ‘croft’, anffurvaw do. 29 ‘to disfigure’, gorffen do. 5 ‘to finish’, sarff do. 186 ‘serpent’, hoff w.m. 72 ‘desirable’. It also appears as ph, as corph b.b. 20 ‘body’, (g)orphen do. 76 ‘end’; and often as f, as deu gorf r.m. 5 ‘two bodies’, anfurɏf do. ​29 (≡ anffurf) ‘disfigurement’, yn braf w.m. 53 (≡ yn braff) ‘strong’, groft do. 73 ‘croft’.
(3) In Mn. W. ff and ph are used, the latter generally as a mutation of p only; but G.R. and J.D.R. use ph exclusively.
Many modern writers use ph in all positions where they perceive that it is derived from p, as in corph < Lat. corpus, writing ff where it does not appear to them to be so derived, as in cyff ‘stem, trunk’, ffon ‘stick’. It is mostly a distinction without a difference: cyff comes from Lat. cippus, and ffon is from Pr. Kelt. *spond‑, § 96 iv (1). The attempted differentiation is a useless one; and as the etymology of too many words is still uncertain, it cannot be carried out. It is better, therefore, to write ff always where the sound is immutable, and ph only as a conscious mutation of initial p; thus corff, cyff, ffon; chwe phunt, chwephunt ‘£6’, gwragedd a phlant ‘women and children’, blith draphlith ‘higgledy-piggledy’.
ii. (1) The sound th (þ) is represented in O. W. by th, as brith juv. ‘variegated’; by d, as papedpinnac m.c. ≡ pa beth bynnag ‘whatsoever’; by t after r, as gurt ox. ≡ gwrth, Mn. W. wrth ‘against’; and by þ, as papeþ juv. ≡ pa beth ‘what’.
(2) In Ml. W. the sound is generally written th, though in some early mss., as b.ch., sometimes t (after r) as kemyrt a.l. i 4 ≡ kỿmɥrth ‘took’. In Mn. W. it is always written th.
Such a form as perffeidẏaw Ỻ.a. 19 is no exception to the rule. The th had been voiced to dd, and the word was perffeiddi̯aw. It is so written in Early Mn. W., and the Late Mn. W. perffeithio is a re-formation. See § 108 iv (2).
iii. (1) The sound ch (χ) is written ch in O. W., as bichan ox. ≡ bỿchan ‘little’. Once we have gch, in iurgchell m.c. ‘fawn’, Mn. W. i̯ỿrchell.
(2) The sound is written ch consistently in Ml. and Mn. W., and there seem to be no variations to note.
§ 21. i. The sounds mh, nh, and ngh were written mp, nt, and nc in O. W.; and mp, nt and nc, ngk, or gk in Ml. W. These combinations continued to be written throughout the Ml. period, though the modern signs appear as early as w.m. or earlier; see § 107.
​In Early Ml. W. we also find m for mh, n for nh, and g for ngh; see § 24 i.
ii. The letters m, n, ng have always represented the sounds m, n, ŋ; but m also represented ṽ in O. W., § 19 i; ng may represent ŋg in Ml. and Mn. W.; and ŋ was also written g in Ml. W.; § 19 iv.
iii. Initial n has sometimes a prosthetic ỿ‑; as yrwng e yniver ef ac yniver y llys … yr yniveroeẟ w.m. 40 ‘between his host and the host of the court … the hosts’. It is also written a as anadreẟ c.m. 21 ‘snakes’, anniver w.m. 65.
§ 22. i. In O. W. the sound ll was written l initially, and ll medially and finally; as leill ox. ‘others’, lenn m.c. ‘cloak’ guollung juv. ≡ gw̯ollwng ‘release’. In dluithruim juv., if rightly analysed into llwyth ‘weight’ and rhwyf ‘oar’, we have dl- for þl‑, the usual imitation of the ll sound, § 17 vii, proving the sound to be as old as the 9th cent., though then usually written l- initially. The imitation thl is common in the earliest Norman records, but has not been used by Welsh writers.
ii. In Ml. W. the ll sound is represented by ll; in some mss., e.g. the r.b., it is ligatured thus ỻ, enabling it to be distinguished from double l as in callon r.m. 106 ‘heart’, Iollo r.p. 1369, 1407, kollyn r.b. 1073 ‘pivot’, which we now write calon, Iolo, colyn, § 54 ii. The ligatured capital Ỻ has been used from the Ml. period to the present day in lettering done by hand.
iii. In Mn. W. ll is used.
Several attempts have been made from time to time to find substitutes: G.R. used ḷ, Sir J. Price and J.D.R. used lh; Ed. Lhuyd used lh and λ; but ll has held the field.
iv. The sound rh was written r in O. and Ml. W. The scribes use r for rh even when the h has a different origin, and sometimes even when it belongs to another word, as in y gwanwyn araf r.b.b. 194 for y gwanwyn a’r haf ‘the spring and summer’.
☞ Ml. W. r for rh is transcribed r͑ in our quotations.
v. In the late 15th and early 16th cent. the sound rh was represented by rr and R; it was not until the middle of the 16th cent. that the present digraph rh, which seems to us so obvious and natural a representation of the sound, came into general use.
​vi. The sounds l and r have always been represented by the letters l and r.
§ 23. i. The sound s has always been written s. In O. W. it is sometimes doubled as in drissi juv. ≡ drỿssi ‘thorns’, iss m.c., Ml. W. ys ‘is’. In Ml. W. it is usually doubled medially between vowels, as in Iessu b.b. 25, 50, Ỻ.a. 1, 19, etc., Saesson b.b. 48, messur b.b. 3 ‘measure’, etc., but sometimes written single as in Saeson b.b. 60. Initial ss also occurs, as ssillit b.b. 99 ≡ syllyẟ, Mn. W. sylli ‘thou gazest’. z for s is rare: tryzor Ỻ.a. 17 ‘treasure’.
ii. Initial s followed by a consonant has developed a prosthetic ỿ- (written y, e, i, etc. § 16), as in ỿsgol ‘school’.
It is not derived from the late Lat. prosthetic i- as in iscola, since Corn., Bret., Ir. scol do not show it, and it appears in native words in W., as ystrad. It arose in W. for the same reason as in late Lat., a syllabic pronunciation of s- after a consonant. The earliest recorded examples are Istrat, Estrat, beside Strat in l.l. see its index s.v. Istrat. In the spoken language it is not heard except in words in which it is accented, as ỿ́sgol, ỿ́strad, ỿ́sbrɥd, etc., and sometimes in derivatives of these, as ỿsgóli̯on; but sgúbor, stródur, sgrífen, strɥ̄́d. In O. W. it is not written: scipaur juv., strotur m.c., scribenn m.c. In Early Ml. W. we have gwastavel a.l. i 4 ≡ gwas-stavell for the later gwas ystavell w.m. 183, r.m. 85. In the oldest verse it does not count as a syllable:
Stavell Gynẟylan ys tywyll heno (10 syll.) r.p. 1045.
‘The hall of Cynddylan is dark to-night.’ In later verse it usually counts after a consonant and not after a vowel:
Mi Iscolan yscolheic (≡ Mi ’Scolan ỿscolhe|ïc, 7 syll.) b.b. 81.
‘I am Yscolan the clerk.’ But in b.b. 91 we seem to have scolheic after wyd, see § 41 iii (2).
Mae sgrifen uwchben y bedd.—L.G.C. 20.
‘There is a legend above the tomb.’
Damasg a roed am i sgrîn.—T.A., a 31101/115.
‘Damask was spread over his coffin.’
Ac ysgrîn i geisio gras.—D.G. 60.
‘And a coffin to seek grace.’
The ỿ- was general in late Ml. mss., but it is possible that when unaccented the actual spoken sound consisted of a gradual beginning of the s, which like a vowel preserved the r of the article, etc. G.R., 1567, says that yr is used before st, sc, sp, as yr stalwyn, though some ​write yr ystalwyn, p. 68. He himself also writes ag scrifennu, p. 69, etc. In the 1620 Bible we find sceler, sclyfaeth, scrifennedic, but yscubor, yspeilio, yscrifen, each word generally written in the same way whether it follows a vowel or a consonant. The r of the article is retained before forms without ỿ‑, as yr scrifenyddion Barn. v 14, Matt. vii 29. The ỿ- is introduced more freely in the 1690 edition; but its insertion everywhere is late, and of course artificial, since it never became general in natural speech.
§ 24. i. The letter h has always been employed to denote the aspirate; but it was not used to represent the aspirate glide after r͑ until the modern period, § 22 iv; and in some Early Ml. mss. mh, nh and ngh were written m, n and g, as emen (≡ymhen) a.l. i 84, eurenynes (≡ y vrenhines) do. 4; vy g̃erenhyt w. 3a (≡ vy ngherennhyẟ); yg̃ g̃adellig̃ do. 9a (≡ yng Nghadelling).
ii. In O. and Ml. W. h seems also to have been used to denote a voiced breathing ; see § 112.
§ 25. i. Consonantal i̯ is represented in O. W. by i, as iar juv. ≡ i̯âr ‘hen’, hestoriou ox., pl. of hestawr, cloriou ox., Mn. W. clori̯au ‘boards’, mellhionou m.c., Mn. W. meilli̯on ‘clover’. Before ‑oü it is also found as u (once iu), as enmeituou ox., Mn. W. amneidiau ‘beckonings’, damcirchinnuou juv. ‘circuits’; dificiuou juv. ‘defects’; here it was probably rounded into ü in anticipation of the final ü; cf. § 76 iii (3). Where it is the soft mutation of front g̑ it appears as g in O. W., as in Urbgen in Nennius ≡ Urfi̯en, Mn. W. Uri̯en; Morgen gen. xxv ≡ Mori̯en. Here the i̯ was doubtless heard with more friction of the breath being the spirant ᵹ̑ corresponding to front g̑; see § 110 ii.
ii. In Early Ml. W. i̯ is represented by i, except in mss. where y is used for i, § 16 ii (2); thus tirion b.b. 26, pl. of tir ‘land’, dinion do. 45 (≡ dỿni̯on) ‘men’.
iii. In late Ml. W. it is represented initially by i, rarely by y; as Iessu, b.b. 25, 50, Ỻ.a. 1, 19, etc., Ieuan Ỻ.a. 78, iarll, iarlles w.m. 136 ‘earl, countess’, iawn r.m. 16 ‘right’, ẏawnhaf do. 24 ‘most proper’, Yessu, Yiessu, Ỻ.a. 100. Medially it is written y, as dynnẏon w.m. 32 ‘men’, bedyẟẏaw do. 32 ‘to baptize’, meẟylẏaw do. 34 ‘to think’, etc., etc., rarely as i, as ymbilio r.m. 3 ‘he may entreat.’
☞ When y represents i̯ it will be dotted as above in the quotations in this book.
​iv. In Mn. W. i̯ is written i; but often j in the 18th cent., see e.g. Llyfryddiaeth 1713, 4; 1748, 4, 8; 1749, 2.
v. Voiceless i̯ occurs where the word or syllable preceding i̯ causes aspiration, and is written hi (also hy in Ml. W.), as ẏ hiarllaeth R.M. 178 ‘her earldom’, kennhẏadu Ỻ.A. 79 ‘to consent’.
If pronounced tensely hi̯ becomes the palatal spirant χ̑ as in the German ich, but this does not occur in Welsh: hi̯ remains a voiceless semi-vowel. Cf. § 17 iii.
§ 26. i. Consonantal w̯ is written gu in O. W. as in petguar ox. ≡ pedw̯ar ‘four’. See § 112 ii (1).
ii. In Early Ml. W. w̯ is represented by u, v, and w; in Late Ml. W. by w and ỽ. Its representation is the same as that of the vowel w; see § 14 ii (2). In Mn. W. it is written w.
The letter w sometimes appears in the form uu, as in keleuuet a.l. i 40 (≡ cɏlỿwed) ‘to hear’.
iii. Initial w̯- had become gw̯- in the Early Welsh period; see § 112 ii (1); but it is w̯- under the soft mutation, thus gw̯allt ‘hair,’ dỿ wallt ‘thy hair’.
Initial gw̯ may come before l, r or n, as in gw̯lad ‘country’, gw̯raig ‘wife’, gw̯nâf ‘I do’, each one syllable. The initial combinations are practically gl, gr or gn pronounced with rounded lips, the rounding taking place simultaneously with the formation of the g, so that the off-glide of the g is heard as w̯. When the g is mutated away the initial is l, r or n with w̯ as an on-glide; thus dỿ w̯lad ‘thy country’ sounds like dỿw̯ lā́d, except that the syllabic division is dỿ | w̯lā́d.
iv. In Ml. and Early Mn. W. final w after a consonant was consonantal; see § 42. Now the w is made syllabic.
The exceptions to the rule were forms in which ‑w represents earlier ‑w͡y, as hwnnw; Mn. W. acw, Early Ml. W. raccw, Ml. W. racko; assw, gwrw, banw § 78 i (2). It may have been made consonantal in the last three by analogy, coming after s, r, single n.
v. Medial w̯ is liable to interchange with f; thus cawod, cafod ‘shower’; cyfoeth, cywaeth § 34 iv; diawl ‘devil’ for *diafl. The old verbal noun from lliw ‘colour’ is llifo ‘to dye’, a newer formation is lliwio ‘to colour’. The reason for the interchange is that f was once a bilabial, ƀ, § 19 ii (4), and so, very similar to w̯, being in effect w̯ with friction of the breath at the lips instead of at the back.
vi. (1) Voiceless w̯, by being pronounced tensely, has become ​a rounded ch, written chw. It is the result of pronouncing voiceless w̯ with the mouth-passage narrowed at the back so as to produce audible friction, which is heard as ch (χ) accompanying the w̯. In S.W. dialects the loose voiceless w̯ (written wh or hw) prevails initially. In O.W., in juv. and m.c., chw̯i ‘you’ appears as hui; later this word was everywhere chw̯i, the ch being still heard even in S.W. (though now unrounded in this word, thus chi). Initial chw prevails in Ml. W. and later, as chuerv b.b. 83, 84 ≡ chw̯erw̯ ‘bitter’, chuec do. 84 ‘sweet’, chuant do. 34 ‘lust’; chwythu w.m. 47 ‘to blow’, chwaer do. 41 ‘sister’, chwedɏl do. 42, r.m. 29 ‘tale’, chwythat Ỻ.A. 9 ‘breath’, chwant do. 11 ‘lust’, and so generally in Mn. W.; but wh frequently occurs in Ml. mss. and sometimes in Early Mn. poets, as whechet Ỻ.A. 147 ‘sixth’, whennychu do. 149 ‘to desire’, whaer r.m. 28, whedl g. 147.
(2) Initial rounded ch is heard with w̯ as an off-glide, as in chw̯aer; final rounded ch has w̯ as an on-glide, as in iwch ‘to you’, ewch ‘go ye’. In the latter case the sound is ch in all the dialects, not h.
(3) Initial chw sometimes interchanges with gw̯; as Gware dy chware r.m. 154 ‘play thy game’, chwith, gwith do. 301 ‘sinister’; this is due to the variability of original initial s‑, § 101 ii (1); *su̯- > chw̯‑; *u̯- > gw‑. ŋghw̯ for chw̯ is due to a preceding n (nhw̯ > ŋhw̯), as chw̯aneg, anghw̯aneg ‘more’; yn chwaethach r.m. 7 yg̃hwaethach do. 85, 108 ‘rather’.
(4) Initial chw̯ has often a prosthetic ỿ‑, as ỿchwaneg ‘more’, ychwanegu w.m. 44 ‘to add’.
(5) Final rounded ‑ch, of whatever origin, becomes unrounded if the syllable is unaccented; thus welewch w.m. 50 ‘ye saw’ is welech. But ‑ɥw̯ch gave ‑wch, as in cerwch ‘ye love’ for *cerɥw̯ch, see § 173 viii; so peswch for *pesɥwch: pas, § 201 iii (2). The form ydych is due to the analogy of ydym; so Late Mn. W. gennych after the 1st pl. for Ml. and Early Mn. gennwch.
Note.
Transcription.—By means of the devices mentioned in the above sections (the use of ẟ, g̃, r͑, etc.) the forms of Late Ml. W. can generally be transcribed so as to indicate the approximate sound while preserving the exact spelling of the ms. But, as we have seen, the orthography of O. and Early Ml. W. is so irregular that no such plan is possible. Accordingly, for these periods, the form in the ms. is given, followed, where necessary, by a transcription introduced by the sign ≡, giving the probable sound in modern characters.
The works of Early Mn. poets are often found in late mss. and ​printed books containing not only dialectal forms inconsistent with the forms implied by the rhymes of the bards, but also late inventions, such as ei, eich, etc. In these cases the spelling has been standardized in the quotations in this work. The spelling of the ms. is here of no importance, as the cynghanedd, rhyme or metre is in every case relied on as showing the exact form used by the author.
All quotations are given with modern punctuation, including the insertion of the apostrophe, and the use of capital letters.
Sounds in Combination.
Syllabic Division.
§ 27. i. In Welsh a single consonant between two vowels belongs normally to the second syllable; thus ca|nu ‘to sing’, gw̯e|le|dig ‘visible’; when there are two or more consonants the first belongs to the first syllable, as can|tor ‘singer’, can|i̯ad ‘song’, tan|w̯ɥdd ‘fire-wood’, can|tref ‘hundred (district)’. A double consonant belongs to both; thus in can|nu ‘to whiten’, the first syllable ends after the stoppage of the mouth-passage for the formation of the n, and the second begins before the opening of the passage which completes the formation of the consonant. Thus a double consonant implies not two independent consonants, but a consonant in which the closing of the passage takes place in one syllable and the opening in the next, and both count. This is seen most clearly in a word like drỿcin ‘storm’, where the c closes as a velar q and opens as a palatal k̑ (drỿ́q|k̑in), and yet is not two complete consonants. The consonants p, t, c, m, s, ng, ll, are double after accented vowels, though written single; thus ateb, canasant ≡ at|teb, ca|nas|sant. See § 54.
ii. A consonant which is etymologically double is simplified after an unaccented syllable; as cy|né|fin r.m. 183 ‘familiar’ (cyn-nef-in < *kon-dom-īno‑: Lat. domus); whe|ný|chu r.b.b. 89 (from chwant) ‘to desire’; ym|gy|núll|aw, do. 49 (from cynnull) ‘to gather together’. But this phonetic rule is not regularly observed in writing, except in the final unaccented syllable, cắlonn ‘heart’ (pl. calónnau), Cálann (from vulg. Lat. Kaland‑) etc., being generally written calon, Calan, etc.
iii. In modern writing the division of syllables where required, as at the end of a line, is made to follow the etymology rather than the ​sound; thus it is usual to divide can-u ‘to sing’ so, can being the stem and u the ending, instead of ca-nu, which is the true syllabic division. In the case of more than one written consonant the division is usually made to follow the sound; thus, can-nu ‘to whiten’, plen-tyn ‘a child’, the etymological division being cann-u, plent-yn. Ml. scribes divided a word anywhere, even in the middle of a digraph.
In this grammar syllabic division is indicated when required by | as above; and the hyphen is used to mark off the formative elements of words, which do not necessarily form separate syllables.
Diphthongs.
§ 28. A diphthong consists of the combination in the same syllable of a sonantal with a consonantal vowel. When the sonantal element comes first the combination is a falling diphthong. When the consonantal element comes first it is a rising diphthong. “Diphthong” without modification will be understood to mean falling diphthong.
Falling Diphthongs.
§ 29. i. In O. W. falling diphthongs had for their second element either i, front u, or back u. The O. W. diphthongs with their Ml. and Mn. developments are as follows:
| | O. W. | Ml. W. | Mn. W. |
| i $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | ai | aɥ, ae | (aɥ), ae |
| i $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | oi | oɥ, oe | (oɥ), oe |
| i $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | ui | wɥ | w͡y |
| i $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | ei | ei | ei, ai |
| Front ü | ou (au) | eu | eu, au |
| Back u $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ |
| Back u $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | au | aw | aw |
| Back u $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | eu | ew | ew |
| Back u $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | iu | iw | iw |
| Back u $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | iu | ɥw, ỿw | ɥw, ỿw |
| Back u $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | ou | ỿw, ew | ỿw, ew |
ii. (1) As i in O. W. represented both i and ɥ the exact value of the second element in O. W. ai, oi, ui cannot be fixed; but it was probably receding in the direction of ɥ. In w͡y it has remained ɥ. The former diphthongs are generally written ae and oe; but the spellings ay, oy are commonly met with in Early Ml. W., and sometimes in mss. of the Mn. period; as guayt ‘blood’, coyt ‘timber’, mays ‘field’ l.l. 120; croyn ‘skin’ a.l. i. 24, mays do. 144; Yspayn ‘Spain’, teyrnassoyẟ ‘kingdoms’ p 9 r. In r.m. 118 ​we have haearn, in 119 hayarn ‘iron’. Though now always written ae, oe, the sound in N. W. is still distinctly aɥ, oɥ; thus maes, coed are read mā́ɥs, cṓɥd. In Mid and S. Wales the sound approaches the spelling ae, oe. In parts of S. W. the diphthongs are simplified into ā, ō in the dialects: mā́s, cṓd. In Pembrokeshire oe becomes w̄́-ë and even w̯ḗ.
(2) Ml. W. ae and oe are derived not only from O. W. ai and oi, but also from O. W. disyllabic a|e and o|e; thus saeth < sa|eth < Lat. sagitta; maes < ma|es (rhyming with gormes, b.t. 25) < *maᵹes; troed pl. traed (rhyming with vrithret / bryssẏet r.p. 1042) from *troget‑, *traget‑, § 65 ii (1). They may also represent a contraction of a|ɥ, o|ɥ as in dā́ed § 212 iv, trṓent, § 185 i (1).
iii. Ml. W. ei had an open and a close e according to position; these developed into Mn. W. ai and ei; see § 79 i. The present sound of the form ei is əi̯, where ə is an obscure vowel which is hardly, if at all, distinct from ỿ.
iv. O. W. ou (≡ oü) occurs once as au, in anutonau juv. ‘perjuria’, which in ox. is anutonou. The o was unrounded in Ml. W., becoming an indistinct vowel, open and close, written e; the two forms became Mn. W. au and eu; see § 79 ii.
v. O. W. au and eu (back u) have remained the same phonetically, the back u being written w in the later language. O. W. iu represented three distinct diphthongs according as i represented i or either sound of y. The diphthongs ɥw and ỿw are even now of course both represented by a single group yw in ordinary writing. The rules for distinguishing between them are those that apply to ɥ and ỿ generally; § 82 ii (4).
vi. O. W. ou (back u) represents the diphthong ỿw, written yw and also ow at a later period, § 33 iii (2). Thus diguolouichetic ox.; Ml. W. llỿwỿchedic r.m. 84 ‘shining’, llỿwɥch r.p. 1153, which appear beside llewɥch r.p. 1154, Mn. W. llewɥch corr. into llewɥrch ‘light’; § 76 vi, viii.
§ 30. The diphthongs ae or aɥ and oe or oɥ followed by w̯ form the falling triphthongs aew, oew or aɥw, oɥw, in gw̯aɥw ‘spear’, gloɥw ‘bright’, hoɥw ‘sprightly’, croɥw ‘clear’, which remain strictly monosyllabic in the cynghanedd of the Early Mn. bards. In late pronunciation the w is made syllabic, except when a syllable is added, as in the pl. gloɥw̯on which is still disyllabic. In dāɥwch, contracted from dā ɥw̯ch, the āɥw has now been simplified into ā́w; see § 212 iv.
§ 31. i. Unaccented ae in the final syllable was often reduced to e in the Ml. period, especially in verbal forms and proper names; as in adwen for adwaen ‘I know’, chware for chwarae ‘to play’, Ithel for Ithael, O. W. Iudhail (≡ i̯üẟ-hail).
​Pan aeth pawb allan ẏ chware r.m. 116 ‘When everybody went out to play’; see also r.m. 15, 38, 84, 87, 153, etc.
    Lloches adar i chwarae,
    Llwyn mwyn, llyna’r llun y mae.—D.G. 37.
‘A retreat for birds to play, a pleasant grove, that is the manner [of place] it is.’ See also D.G. 40, 58, 465 (misprinted ‑au in 169).
    Nid gŵr heb newid gware:
    Nid llong heb fyned o’i lle.—G.Gl. c. i 197.
‘He is not a man, who does not change his pastime; it is not a ship, that does not move from its place.”
For examples of adwen, see § 191 ii (2).
ii. (1) The simplification of final unaccented ai and au to e are dialectal and late. Such forms as llefen for llefain, gwele for gwelai are avoided by the Early Mn. bards in their rhymes, but they begin to appear in mss. in the late 15th cent., and were common in the 16th and 17th cent. But the literary forms never fell out of use, and ultimately supplanted the dialectal forms in the written language, though some of the latter have crept in, as cyfer for cyfair, Ml. W. kyveir § 215 iii (9), ystyried for ystyriaid § 203 iii (2).
(2) The levelling in the dialects of the sounds mentioned gave rise to uncertainty as to the correct forms of some words. The word bore ‘morning’ began to be wrongly written boreu or borau in the 15th cent.; see g. 190. The forms camrau, godreu, tylau are later blunders for the literary forms camre ‘journey’, godre ‘bottom edge’, pl. godreon, r.m. 147, and tyle ‘hill; couch’. The new ychain for ychen ‘oxen’ § 121 iii is due to the idea that ‑en is dialectal. In Gwynedd ỿchain is heard, but is a dialectal perversion like merchaid for merched.
    Tesog fore gwna’r lle ’n llon,
    Ac annerch y tai gwynion.—D.G. 524.
‘On a warm morning make the place merry, and greet the white houses.’ See bore b.b. 31, 55, 82, 92, 108, w.m. 56, 73, etc.
    Ni adewais lednaia le
    Ynghymry ar fy nghamre.—I.G. 201.
‘I left no noble place in Wales on my journey.’ See kamre, r.p. 1269.
    Lluwch ar fre a godre gallt,
    A brig yn dwyn barúg-wallt.—D.G. 508.
‘Snowdrift on hill and foot of slope, and branch bearing hair of hoar-frost.’ See also r.p. 1036.
A phan edrychwyt y dyle r.m. 146 ‘And when the couch was examined.’
§ 32. The diphthong ai is wrongly written ae by most recent writers (under the influence of Pughe) in the words afi̯aith ​‘delight’, araith ‘speech’, cyffaith ‘confection’, disglair ‘bright’, goddaith ‘conflagration’, gweniaith (or gweiniaith) ‘flattery’, rhyddiaith ‘prose’, talaith ‘crown; realm’. See § 202 iv (1). The word diffaith, Ml. W. diffeith, ‘waste, wild, evil’ (from Lat. defect-us) is generally written so in the good periods (e.g. diffeith b.b. 106, r.m. 183); but some early examples occur of a new formation from ffaeth ‘cultivated’ (from Lat. factus), r.p. 1047, l. 2.
    Yn y nef mae ’n un afiaith
    Yn sôn archangylion saith.—Gr.H. g. 101.
‘In heaven in pure rapture there speak archangels seven.’ See D.G. 358, where afiaith is printed afiaeth in spite of its rhyming with gobaith. See also g. 122.
    Ef a gâr awdl ac araith,
    Ef a ŵyr synnwyr y saith.—H.D. p 99/469.
‘He loves song and speech, he knows the meaning of the seven [sciences].’ See g. 118; areith b.b. 9, 15.
    Disgleir ẟiweir Veir vorwyn.—Ca., r.p. 1247.
‘Bright chaste virgin Mary.’
    Coed osglog, caeau disglair,
    Wyth ryw ɥ̄́d, a thri o wair.—D.G. 524.
‘Branching trees, bright fields, eight kinds of corn and three of hay.’ See D.G. 54, 120, 209, 404. See b.cw. 8, early editions of Bible, etc.
    Fal goddaith yn ymdaith nos.—D.G. 13.
‘Like a bonfire on a night’s march.’ See goẟeith r.p. 1042, b.b. 73.
    Gwenwyn ydiw eu gweiniaith,
    Gwynt i gyd gennyt eu gwaith.—I.F. m 148/721.
‘Their flattery is poison, to thee their work is all wind.’
    Twysog yw, enwog i waith,
    Teilwng i wisgo talaith.—E.U.
‘He is a prince whose work is famous, worthy to wear a crown.’
    Troes dilyw tros y dalaith,
    Torri ar rif tyrau’r iaith.—Gu.O. a 14967/62.
‘A deluge has overflowed the realm, thinning the number of the nation’s towers.’ See g. 80, 87, 199, 218, 257.
    Tro ’n d’ôl at yr hen dalaith;
    Digon yw digon o daith.—E.P. Ỻ 124/283 r.
‘Turn back to the old country; enough is enough of travel.’
§ 33. Late Contractions. i. (1) We have seen that a-e and o-e were contracted early into ae and oe; § 29 ii (2). This contraction also took place later, as in Cymrā́eg ‘Welsh’, Groeg ​‘Greek’, and in verbal forms such as aed ‘let him go’, rhoed ‘let him give’, rhoes ‘he gave’; see § 185.
In r.p. 1189 Gro-ec is a disyllable rhyming with chwec, ostec, Cym|ra|ec, tec; in the r.g. 1119 it is stated to be a monosyllable; D.G. uses it as a monosyllable, 53, as well as rhoes 6 ‘gave’, troes 68 ‘turned’, gwnaed 149 ‘let her do’, doed 145, 228 ‘let him come’, ffoes 191 ‘fled’, but ffó|es 61. He uses Cym|rá|eg as a trisyllable rhyming with teg, 2, 179; so G.Gr., d.g. 243. This form persisted in the 15th cent.; as
    Cymro da i Gym|rā́|eg,
    Cymered air Cymru deg.—G.Gl., m 146/281.
‘A Welshman of good Welsh, let him take the praise of fair Wales.’
In the 15th cent., however, we meet with the contracted form; see T.A. g. 251. Later, this was usual:
    Da i̯ Gym|rā́eg, di-gymar ṓedd,
    Di-dláwd ym mhob dadl ỿ́doedd.—W.Ỻ. 120 (m.S.B.).
‘Good [in] his Welsh, incomparable was he, resourceful in all debate.’
(2) The contraction of the accented penult with the ultima results in an accented ultima § 41 iii. But in newly-formed compounds, contracted forms such as maes, troed are treated like other monosyllables, and the accent falls on the penult; thus glỿ́n-faes D.G. 135 ‘vale’, méin-droed do. 262 ‘slender foot’, déu-droed ‘two feet’.
ii. The r.g., 1119, states that ey is always a disyllable. This is not necessarily the case in the penult, for in such forms as keɥrɥẟ, § 122 ii (3), pl. of kaer ‘fort’, treɥthɥch r.p. 1153 from traethaf ‘I treat’, etc., it is an old affection of ae. In other cases, however, the diphthong is late, and the disyllabic form is used in poetry down to the 16th cent. Thus:
    Lloer yvi a dawn llawer dŷn,
    Lleuad rhïanedd Llë|ɥn.—G.Gl., m 148/191.
‘She is the moon and the grace of many women, the moon of the ladies of Lleyn.’ See also I.G. 388, 405.
    Salbri ieuanc sêl brë|ɥr
    Sydd i gael swyddau a gw̯ŷr.—Gu.O. a 14967/94.
‘Young Salesbury of the stamp of a chieftain [is he] who is to have offices and men.’
    Nid âi na chawr na dyn chw̯ɥrn,
    Heb haint Dmv, a’n pen të|ɥrn.—T.A. c. ii 81.
‘Neither a giant nor a violent man, without the scourge of God, could take our liege lord.’ See g. 176, f. 14, 33. See hë|ɥrn / të|ɥrn / kedɥrn r.p. 1226.
The contracted form sometimes occurs; as
    Penfar heɥrn pan fo’r hirnos.—D.G. 267.
‘A head-dress of iron spikes when the night is long.’—To the holly.
The name Lleyn is now pronounced Llɥ̄́n, and regarded as an exception to the rule that Welsh is written phonetically. Llŷn, as the name should be spelt, is a contraction of Llyyn, which also occurs, r.b.b. 307, 342; and has been written in the contracted form from the 16th cent. The contraction is as old as the 14th, for we find llyyn in r.p. 1360, where the metre proves the sound to be llɥ̄́n.
    O Lŷn i Dywyn, yn dau,
    O Dywyn i dir Deau.—W.Ỻ., g. 297.
‘From Llŷn to Towyn, we two, from Towyn to the kind of the south.’
iii. (1) The Mn. W. diphthongs oi, ou and ow are always late contractions; as in rhoi for rho|ï from rhoddi ‘to give’; ymarhóus c.c. 330 for ymarho|us ‘dilatory’; rhowch for rho|wch ‘give ye’; rhoist for rho|eist ‘thou gavest’; rhôi for rho|ei ‘he gave’.
These contractions occur in common words in the 14th cent.; see roi r.p. 1206, 1210, rhoi D.G. 206, 521, 524, rhois do. 206, rhoist do. 2, r.p. 1211; rout (printed roit) D.G. 206, rôi, rown do. 243. But uncontracted forms occur even later; tró|ais D.G. 307, tró|ï I.G., cyffró|ï L.G.C., d. 16.
(2) The diphthong ow is pronounced with the o unrounded, thus əw, where the ə is closer than the first element in the Eng. ow, and is scarcely distinguishable from the obscure ỿ; in fact the ỿw in cỿwydd and the ow in rhowch are identical. Hence in the 15th, 16th and 17th cent. the old diphthong ỿw was often written ow; as in cowydd or kowydd for cỿwɥdd, see Mostyn r. pp. 2, 3, etc., 26, 27, etc. etc.
iv. A late contraction may take the form of one of the old diphthongs, or even of a simple vowel; as gla|nháu for gla|nhá|u ‘to clean’; plau r.p. 1222 for plá|eu ‘plagues’; di|léu for di|lé|u ‘to delete’; aw̯n for á|wn ‘we go’; gla|nhā́d for gla|nhá|ad ‘cleansing’; (g)wnai w.m. 54, 250 for gwna|ei ‘did’, cf. b.b. 64; cỿ|tûn for cỿ|tú|un ‘united’; bûm for bú|um ‘I have been’; gwy|bū́m for gwy|bú|um ‘I knew’; cau for cáe|u ‘to shut’. These forms occur uncontracted in Ml. W.: gunaun b.b. 81 (≡ gw̯na|wn rhyming with wn) ‘I would do’; yn gyttuun r.b.b. 238; cayu Ỻ.A. 167 (≡ cáy|u), kaeu w.m. 24 (≡ káe|u). Uncontracted forms are met with as late as the 16th cent.
    Dy garu a wybū́|um;
    Darllain dy bylgain y bûm.—H.S. 5. ​‘I have known [what it is] to love thee; I have been reading thy vigil.’ See D.G. 38.
v. A late contraction usually takes place when a word ending in a vowel is followed by i ‘his’ or ‘her’, Ml. y, and often when it is followed by the preposition i ‘to’, Ml. y. Ac, ag lose their final consonant and form a diphthong with the former, as a’i̯ Ml. W. ae, ay ‘and his, with his’, but not with the latter: ac i ‘and to’.
    Ancr wyf fi’n cyweirio i̯ fedd.—7 syll. § 44 vi.
    Da i̯ Gymraeg, di-gymar oedd.—7 syll., i above.
    Nos da i̯ walch onest y Waun.—7 syll. g. 177.
‘Good night to the honest fellow of Chirk.’
Rising Diphthongs.
§ 34. i. The rising diphthongs in the Mn. language are as follows:—
| i̯a as in cani̯ad, i̯âr; | w̯a as in anw̯ar; |
| i̯e as in i̯echɥd; | w̯e as in adw̯en; |
| i̯o as in rhodi̯o, i̯ôr; | w̯i as in cedw̯ir; |
| i̯w as in i̯wrch, rhodi̯wn; | w̯o as in gwatw̯or; |
| i̯ỿ as in i̯ỿrchell; | w̯u as in galw̯ut; |
| | w̯ɥ as in edw̯ɥn; |
| | w̯ỿ as in penw̯ỿnni. |
In Ml. W. i̯ is generally written y, § 17. The combinations i̯i, i̯ɥ, i̯u, w̯w do not occur in Mn. W. They occur in verbal forms in Ml. W. but are generally simplified; see § 36 i, ii.
ii. When i̯ or w̯ comes before a falling diphthong the combination becomes a mixed triphthong; as i̯ai in i̯aith ‘language’; i̯au in teithi̯au ‘journeys’; w̯aw in gw̯awd ‘song, mockery’; iw͡y in meddyli̯w͡yd ‘it was thought’, neithi̯w͡yr, D.G. 424 (now generally neithi̯wr § 78 i (2)) ‘last night’. We have a tetraphthong in the old pronunciation of gw̯aɥw (or gw̯aew) § 30.
iii. When an unaccented i comes before any other vowel the two are frequently contracted into a rising diphthong; thus di|ó|ddef ‘to suffer’ becomes a disyllable di̯ó|ddef D.G. 137. Some early examples occur, as er|i̯ṓed ‘ever’ for *er | i | ṓed ‘since his time’. di̯ṓer ‘by heaven’ § 224 iv (2) is a monosyllable, as the metre shows in r.p. 1206, D.G. 46, 51. di̯awl ‘devil’ must have been contracted into a monosyllable in O. W. ​when the accent fell regularly on the ultima; otherwise it would have become *dī́|awl.
iv. The rising diphthongs w̯a and w̯o are frequently interchanged; as gw̯atw̯ar w.m. 185, gw̯atw̯or D.G. 136 ‘to mock’; marw̯ar Ỻ.A. 39, marw̯or ‘embers’ (cf. maroryn § 36 iii); caw̯ad, caw̯od ‘shower’; pedw̯ar, pedw̯or ‘four’.
    Pedw̯or trysor tir Iesu.—H.R., c 7/114.
‘The four treasures of the land of Jesus.’
The change takes place both ways; w̯a becomes w̯o in caw̯ad r.m. 180, r.p. 1223, D.G. 57 (rhyming with brad) and caw̯odydd or cafodydd D.G. 305 (penult rhyming with bod); w̯o becomes w̯a in cỿnaw̯an c.m. 21 for cỿnaw̯on pl. of ceneu § 125 iii; dyw̯ad for dyw̯od from dyfod § 193 ix (3).
v. (1) The rising diphthongs w̯ɥ and w̯ỿ are of course not distinguished in ordinary writing, both being represented by wy; see § 82 ii (5). Note then that wy represents three distinct diphthongs, the falling w͡y as in mŵyn ‘gentle’, sw͡yno ‘to charm’; the rising w̯ɥ, short in gw̯ɥnn ‘white’, long in gw̯ŷr ‘men’; the rising w̯ỿ as in tỿw̯ỿnnu ‘to shine’. See § 38.
(2) In ordinary writing the falling iw̯ and the rising i̯w are also not distinguished. See § 37.
§35. i. Many stems end in i̯, which appears before all inflexional endings beginning with a vowel (with the exceptions mentioned in § 36), but is dropped when the stem has no ending; thus mỿfỿri̯af ‘I meditate’, mỿfỿri̯ant ‘they meditate’, mỿfỿri̯o ‘to meditate’, mỿfỿri̯ol ‘meditating’, but mỿfɥr ‘meditation’.
In words borrowed from Lat. the i̯ can be traced to its source in short ĭ; thus mỿfɥr < memoria; sɥnn, sỿni̯af < sentio; ỿstɥr, ỿstỿri̯af < historia. In native words it represents original i̯, as in dŷn ‘man’ pl. dỿni̯on from Kelt. *doni̯os: Ir. duine § 100 iv; cf. also § 201 iii (6). In a few new formations the i̯ is ignored as in di-ỿstỿru ‘to ignore’, dỿnol ‘human’ a new formation which has replaced Ml. W. dỿnẏawl Ỻ.A. 12, 24, 38, etc.
ii. (1) In Mn. lit. W. i̯ generally appears after syllables having ei, as in ysbeili̯af ‘I rob’ (ysbail ‘spoil’ < Lat. spolium); teithi̯af ‘I journey’ (taith ‘journey’), geiri̯au ‘words’ (gair ‘word’), neithi̯w(y)r ‘last night’, Ml. W. neithwyr § 98 i (3). In these cases the i̯ is omitted in S. W. dialects and most Ml. mss., as ​keinhauc b.b. 54 ≡ keinhawc b.t. 28; but the oldest Ml. prose mss. (the early mss. of the laws) and Mn. lit. W. follow the practice of the N. W. dialects and insert the i̯, as keynẏauc a.l. i 24 ms. a., cf. 22 mss. b., d., Mn. W. ceini̯og ‘penny’.
(2) There are, however, several exceptions to this rule besides those mentioned or implied in § 36. The i̯ is omitted before the substantival terminations ‑en, ‑es, ‑edd; as deilen (M.Ỻ. i 155 has the unusual deili̯en) ‘leaf’, bugeiles ‘shepherdess’, cyfeilles (printed cyfeillies in d.g. 75) ‘amie’, meithedd ‘lengthiness’; before endings of comparison, as meithed, meithach, meithaf (maith ‘long’), meined, meinach, meinaf (main ‘slender’), except rheit-i̯ed, ‑i̯ach, ‑i̯af § 149 i, stems in ‑eidd- as manweiẟẏach Ỻ.A. 8 ‘finer’, pereiddi̯af ‘sweetest’, and some stems in ‑eith- as perffeithi̯af ‘most perfect’; before the pl. endings ‑edd, ‑oedd, as ieithoedd ‘languages’; in a few isolated words as teilo ‘to manure’ (but teẏlẏaw in b.ch. 102), adeilad ‘building’ (but adeilẏat in r.p. 1220), cymdeithas ‘society’, eiddo ‘property’.
(3) Medial ei before a consonant originally simple must be due to affection by i̯ after the consonant; and the i̯ in ysbeili̯af etc. is the affecting i̯ preserved. ‑eith- generally represents *‑ekt- a verbal noun and adj. formation, as in perffeith ‘perfect’, and the i̯ in perffeithi̯o is probably analogical, § 201 iii (6). From these the i̯ has tended to spread. But there is necessarily no original reason for it when ei comes from ‑ek- or ‑eg‑; hence the exceptions meithach, cymdeithas, teilo (tail < *tegl- § 104 ii (1)), etc.
iii. i̯ is also added to many stems having i or u; as cil ‘back’, pl. cili̯au cili̯af ‘I retreat’; tir ‘land’, old poetic pl. tiri̯on b.b. 26, r.p. 1144, tiri̯o ‘to land’, tiri̯og ‘landed’ (but pl. tiredd, tiroedd); grudd ‘cheek’, pl. gruddi̯au; llun ‘form’, pl. lluni̯au, lluni̯o ‘to form’, lluni̯aidd ‘shapely’; ystudẏaw, llavurẏaw Ỻ.A. 11 ‘to study’, ‘to labour’. In some of these cases also the i̯ is lost in S. W. dialects.
iv. Many stems end in w̯ which forms rising diphthongs with the vowels of all endings, except with w § 36 i; thus galw̯ ‘to call’, galw̯af ‘I call’, gelw̯aist ‘thou calledst’, gelw̯ynt ‘they called’, etc.
§ 36. i. w̯ drops before w, and i̯ drops before i. The semivowel is sometimes written (as w or y) in Ml. W., but is often ​omitted. Thus while b.m. 51 has mi a gadwwn, mi ae kadwwn, the older w.m. 71 has in the same passage mi a gadwn, mi ay cadwn. Similarly we have vedyẟẏit in Ỻ.A. 48 but bedyẟir earlier, p. 42.
The syllable closed by the w̯ or i̯ remains closed after its loss; thus cad|w̯wn, be|dydd|i̯ir became căd|wn, be|dy̆dd|ir (not cá|dwn, be|dý|ddir). By re-formation the w̯ is sometimes restored in the spoken lang. in forms like ber|w̯wch ‘boil ye’ impve., on account of the strength of the analogy of ber|w̯i, ber|w̯af, ber|w̯oẟ, etc. But the lit. and ordinary form is bĕr|wch, and the absence of w̯w in the traditional pronunciation accounts for the well-known W. pronunciation of E. wood as ’ood, etc.
ii. i̯ drops before ɥ and u in monosyllables and final syllables; as ɥrch a.l. i 20, Ỻ.A. 67 for *i̯ɥrch pl. of i̯wrch ‘roebuck’; udd ‘lord’ < O. W. I̯ud- (‘*warrior’); peidɥnt r.m. 90 (from peidẏaw ‘to cease’, cf. peidẏw͡ys r.m. 98); Mareduẟ r.p. 1194 for *Maredi̯uẟ, O. W. Morgetiud gen. xiii (≡ Morᵹeti̯üẟ), Gruffudd < O. W. Griphiud (≡ Griffi̯üẟ). It is often found written in Ml. W., as ystyrẏych r.p. 1153 ‘thou mayst consider’, hilẏynt Ỻ.A. 11 ‘they would breed’, llafvurẏus do. 28 ‘laborious’, meẟylẏut w.m. 103 ‘thou wouldst think’; but the spelling is perhaps theoretical; see below.
Initial i̯u in polysyllables has given i, as in Iddew ‘Jew’ for *i̯uẟew; Ithel < *i̯uẟ-hael, O. W. Iudhail.
See Iẟew p 14/1 r. (13th cent.); itewon (t ≡ ẟ) b.b. 102; so in Ỻ.A. see its index, and in r.b., see r.b.b. index. Salesbury wrote Iuddew, which he inferred from the derivation. The Bible (1588 and 1620) has Iddew; but late editors have adopted Salesbury’s unphonetic spelling. D. includes i̯u among rising diphthongs; but his only example is the artificial Iuddew.
It is seen that i̯u became u in the syllables which were accented in O. W., and i in syllables unaccented at that period, § 40. The simplification must therefore have taken place before the shifting of the accent; and Ml. W. forms with ẏu (≡ i̯u) are analogical formations, and perhaps artificial.
iii. w̯ sometimes drops before o; as in the prefixes go‑, gor- for gw̯o‑, gw̯or‑; thus Ml. and Mn. W. goleuni ‘light’, O. W. guolleuni juv. But analogy has tended to restore it; thus while we find athraon m.a. i 256, ii 319 for athrawon Ỻ.A. 112, r.m. 19, r.p. 1234 ‘teachers’, canaon b.a. 38, m.a. i 261, 315 for kanawon r.b.b. 147 ‘whelps’, lleot h.m. ii 234, 235 for llewot Ỻ.A. 10 ​‘lions’, maroryn Ỻ.A. 25 for marworyn D.G. 363 ‘ember’, it generally remained in these words. Late examples of its loss: Ml. W. etwo (varying with etwa by § 34 iv) gives etto r.p. 1357, Mn. W. eto (≡ etto) ‘again’. So penwag became *penwog whence pennog ‘herring’, the pl. retaining the w̯: penw̯aig L.G.C. 158, Ml. W. penw̯eic a.l. i 66.
*gwolchi ‘to wash’ gave golchi, whence gylch ‘washes’; but in Ml. W. the latter was gwylch, as y dwfvyr a wylch pob peth Ỻ.A. 18 ‘water washes everything.’
    Môr a wylch mwyn amgylch Môn.—Ca., r.p. 1244.
‘The sea washes the sweet coast of Môn.’
iv. i̯ drops before w̯ owing to the extreme difficulty of pronouncing the combination, but it remains before vocalic w; thus gweithi̯wr ‘worker’, gweithi̯w͡yd ‘was worked’, but gweithw̯ɥr ‘workers’ (not *gweithi̯w̯ɥr).—Of course vocalic i remains in all cases: ysbī́-wr ‘spy’, pl. ysbī́-w̯ɥr.
v. i̯ drops after w̯ following a consonant, or following a diphthong; thus ceidw̯ad for *ceidw̯i̯ad ‘keeper, saviour’, geirw̯on for *geirw̯i̯on, pl. of garw̯ ‘rough’, hoyw̯on for *hoyw̯i̯on, pl. of hoyw̯ ‘sprightly’. But when w̯ follows a simple vowel the i̯ remains, as in glew̯i̯on, pl. of glew ‘bold’, glaw̯i̯o ‘to rain’.
It is kept in gw̯i̯alen when contracted (as in D.G. 60) for gw̯i|á|len, § 75 vi (2).
vi. i̯ drops after u, as in duon for *dui̯on, pl. of du ‘black’, goreuon for *goreui̯on pl. of goreu ‘best’.
vii. i̯ drops after r or l following a consonant, as meidrol for meidri̯ol ‘finite’ (veidrẏawl r.p. 1233, veidrawl do. 1234), budron for *budri̯on, pl. of budr ‘dirty’, crwydrad for crwydri̯ad ‘wanderer’, meistraid for meistri̯aid ‘masters’, teimlo for *teimli̯o ‘to feel’, treiglo for treigli̯o ‘to roll’.
This rule is not always observed. In some late Bibles crwydrad has been altered into crwydriad. We also find meistriaid in Mn. W.; dinistri̯o always retains i̯, and mentri̯o occurs for mentro.
Ambiguous Groups.
§ 37. i. As above noted iw in ordinary writing represents both the rising diphthong i̯w and the falling diphthong iw̯.
​ii. iw in the ultima followed by a consonant is i̯w, as i̯wrch ‘stag’, rhodi̯wch ‘walk ye’, cofi̯wn ‘we remember’, wỿrddi̯wn ‘a myriad’. The only exceptions are the Mn. forms iw̯ch for Ml. ɥw̯ch ‘to you’, and niw̯l for Ml. nɥwl § 77 v, § 90.
The Demetian disyllabic ni|wl (D.D. s.v., D.G. 150 nī́-wl / nā́-wyr) is < *niw̯wl < *niw̯ɏl < nɥwl with irregular epenthetic vowel § 16 v (3) (ỿ > w after w̯ § 66 ii (2)). Nifwl existed beside *niw̯wl. But the standard form appears to be a monosyllable (D.G. 70 níw̯l / nṓs); and all the derivatives are from niw̯l‑, as niwliog or niwlog ‘misty’, niwlen ‘a veil of mist’.
Initial i̯ŵ became *ü̯ŵ and then üw̯ in uwd ‘porridge’ < Ml. W. iwt (≡ i̯ŵd) r.b. 1061, Bret. iot; but i̯wrch remained because it is easier so than if another consonant were added to the group at the end of the syllable.
iii. In all other cases iw is iw̯; thus (1) finally, as in i’w̯, Ml. yw̯ ‘to his’, rhiw̯ ‘hill’, briw̯ ‘wound’, edliw̯ ‘to reproach’, heddiw̯ ‘to-day’.
There is no exception to the rule in lit. W. In the Powys dialect heddiw is sounded heddi̯w, and in Gwynedd heiddi̯w; but the Demetian heddi’ implies heddiw̯. The bards always rhymed it as heddiw̯, till it came to be written heddyw in the 15th cent. (one example in r.p. 1286), an artificial restoration, see § 77 v.
    Nid oes fyd na rhyd na rhiw̯
    Na lle rhydd na llawr heddiw̯.—D.G. (to the snow), 408.
‘There is no world or ford or hill or any free place or ground to-day.’ See also D.G. 16, 26, 82, 86, 126, 153, 194, etc.
    Ni fu hawdd nofio heddiw̯
    I un a ffrwd yn i ffriw̯.—T.A., f. 22.
‘It has not been easy to swim to-day for one with the stream in his face.’
(2) In the penult or ante-penult, as diw̯edd ‘end’, ni|w̯eidio ‘to harm’, ciw̯dod ‘race, people’. Exceptions are the borrowed words si̯wrnai ‘journey’, si̯ŵr ‘sure’, and di̯wrnod ‘day’ when contracted, as in Gr.O. 88, for di|ẃrnod for Ml. W. diw̯ỿrnawd, w. 1a (generally in Ml. W. diw̯arnawt, a S. W. form).
iv. iw is disyllabic when it is formed by adding a syllable beginning with w to a syllable ending in i; thus gweddi ‘prayer’, gweddī́-wn ‘let us pray’, gweddī́-wr ‘suppliant’. In such words the i is generally written in Mn. W. with a diaeresis—gweddïwr.
v. The combination iwy has four sounds: (1) the mixed triphthong i̯w͡y, as in neithi̯w͡yr, § 34 ii. It occurs in verbal forms when the terminations ‑w͡yf, ‑w͡yd, ‑w͡ys are added to stems in i̯, § 35; as rhodi̯w͡yf ‘I may walk’, tybi̯w͡yd ‘it was thought’.
(2) ī́w͡y disyllabic. It occurs when the above endings are added to stems in vocalic i, as gweddī́w͡yf (3 syll., see example in § 201 ii (2)); and in compounds of di- with stems having w͡y, as in di-w͡yr ‘not bent’ (gŵyr ‘bent’).
(3) iw̯ɥ or (4) iw̯ỿ according to position, as in lliw̯ɥdd g. 164 ‘painter’, pl. lliw̯ỿddi̯on; diw̯ɥd ‘diligent’ spv. diw̯ỿtaf. These sounds may occur either when iw̯ is followed by ɥ or ỿ or when i is followed by w̯ɥ or w̯ỿ in word-formation.
§ 38. i. The distinction between the falling diphthong w͡y and the rising diphthong w̯ɥ, both written wy, is an important one. The difference between them is seen most clearly in monosyllables such as gŵɥr ‘he knows’, gw̯ɥ̂r ‘men’. In other positions they are liable to be confused in the dialects, and in a few cases we find confusion even in lit. W.
In ordinary written W. the falling diphthong when long is denoted by ŵy (only used initially and after g, ch), but when short or unaccented there is no method in ordinary use by which it can be distinguished; in that case it is printed w͡y, where necessary, in this book. The rising diphthong is indicated by marking the w̯ a consonant.
ii. In monosyllables wy represents the falling diphthong except when preceded by g or ch; thus dŵɥn ‘to bring’, brŵɥn ‘rushes’, cŵɥn ‘complaint’, clŵɥd ‘hurdle’, llw͡ybr ‘path’, hŵɥnt ‘they, them’, cw͡ymp ‘fall’. Words beginning with g or ch have usually the rising diphthong, as gw̯ɥn ‘white’, gw̯ɥrdd ‘green’, gw̯ŷdd ‘trees’, chw̯ɥrn ‘roaring’, chw̯ŷth ‘blows’; the exceptions are Gŵɥ ‘the Wye’, gŵɥdd ‘goose’, gŵɥdd ‘presence’, gŵɥl ‘vigil, holiday’, gŵɥl ‘modest’, gŵɥll ‘goblin’, gŵɥr ‘knows’, ''gŵɥr ‘a bend’, gw͡ystl ‘pledge’, gŵɥth ‘anger’, chŵɥdd ‘swelling’.
Note the following words which conform to the rule, though spelt like some of the above-mentioned exceptions: gw̯ŷdd ‘trees’, gw̯ŷl ‘sees’ § 173 iv (1), gw̯ɥll ‘darkness’.
iii. When a word has the falling diphthong ŵɥ in its simple form, the diphthong remains so in all derivatives; thus mŵɥn ​‘gentle’, mw͡ynach ‘gentler’, mw͡ynhau ‘to enjoy’; cŵɥn ‘complaint’, pl. cw͡yni̯on, v.n. cw͡yno ‘to complain’. Similarly the rising diphthong remains rising, the ɥ becoming ỿ according to rule, § 82 ii (5); thus gw̯ɥn ‘white’, gw̯ỿnnach ‘whiter’, gw̯ỿnnu ‘to whiten’.
In N. W. dialects w͡y has come to be sounded w̯ɥ in the penult after c, g or ch, as cw̯ɥno for cw͡yno ‘to complain’; gw̯ɥddau for gw͡yddau ‘geese’; chw̯ɥddo for chw͡yddo ‘to swell’. But original w̯ɥ, which in the penult is properly w̯ỿ, has become w in all dialects, as chwthu for chw̯ythu ‘to blow’, chwrnu for chw̯ỿrnu ‘to roar’, gwnnu for gwỿnnu ‘to whiten’; see § 66 ii.
iv. When a word in its radical form begins with wy the diphthong is the falling one; thus ŵɥ ‘egg’, ŵɥth ‘eight’, w͡ythnos ‘week’, w͡ybr ‘sky’, w͡ylo ‘to weep’, ŵɥl ‘weeps’, w͡yneb ‘face’.
w͡ybr, w͡ylo and w͡yneb are frequently mispronounced; and in N. W. dialects the w of w͡yneb having been made consonantal a g has been prefixed to it giving gw̯ɥneb. This vulgarism hardly occurs before the 19th cent.
    Rhaid im ddŵɥn pridd ar f’w͡yneb
    Rhag bod i’m adnabod neb.—D.G. 307.
‘I must bear earth upon my face, so that no one shall know me.’ See wrth f’w͡yneb D.G. 23, yn f’w͡yneb do. 442.
    Amlwg fydd trŵɥn a’r w͡yneb;
    Afraid i ni nodi neb.—E.P. 212.
‘Plain is the nose on a face; we need mention no one.’
    A’r anadl oll a’r w͡yneb
    Fal aroglau si̯opau Si̯êb.—D.G., 330.
‘And all the breath and face like the perfume of the shops of Cheapside.’ See also g. 49.
    Os w͡yneb i̯arll sy ’n y bedd,
    I̯arll a aned erllynedd.—D.N., c. i 161.
‘If an earl’s face is in the grave, an earl was born last year.’
So always in the Bible; see fy w͡yneb Gen. xliii 3, Ex. xxxiii 20, Lev. xvii 10, etc.; eu hw͡ynebau, Gen. xlii 6, etc. An early indication of the mispronunciation is found in y wynebeu, b.cw. (1703), p. 7, which should be yr w͡ynebeu, but has not yet become y gw̯ynebeu.
v. Final wy is always the falling diphthong; as pwɥ ‘who?’ Conw͡y, Myfanw͡y, arlw͡y ‘a spread’, dirw͡y ‘fine’, llỿw͡y ‘beautiful’, ​Taw͡y; also medial wy followed by a vowel, as mw͡yar ‘blackberries’, gw͡yar ‘gore’.
    Tlawd a ŵyr talu dirw͡y:
    Ni thelir math Lowri mŵy.—T.A., a 14879/20.
‘The poor are accustomed to pay forfeit; they will never more forfeit such a one as Lowri.’
But in the Ml. 2nd sg. pres. ind. of verbs with w̯ stems, as in gelw̯ɥ ‘thou callest’, kedw̯ɥ ‘thou keepest’ § 173 iii (1), Mn. W. gelw̯i, cedw̯i, the diphthong is of course the rising one.
vi. When a word has wy in the last syllable and a in the penult, the wy is the falling diphthong; thus arw͡ydd ‘sign’, arglw͡ydd ‘lord’, annw͡yd ‘cold’, addw͡yn D.G. 355 ‘gentle’, cannw͡yll ‘candle’, gwanw͡yn ‘spring’, cadw͡yn ‘chain’, annw͡yl ‘dear’; aw͡yr ‘air’, aw͡ydd ‘desire’, see x below. Except in compounds, such as tanw̯ɥdd ‘firewood’, etc.; see § 83 iii.
    Rhaid i’r gwan ddal y gannw͡yll
    I’r dewr i wneuthur i dŵɥll.—E.P. 235.
‘The weak must hold the candle for the bold to do his deceit.’
    Oer gennych eira gwanw͡yn:
    Oerach yw ’myd er ỿch mŵɥn.—T.A., c. i 342.
‘Cold you deem the snow of spring: colder is my plight because of you.’ See D.G. 321, 408, 525.
    Aur a gâd yn ddwɥ gadw͡yn,
    A’i roddi’n faich i’r ddyn fŵɥn.—D.G. 64.
‘Gold was brought in two chains, and laid as a burden on the gentle maiden.’ See also g. 250.
    Dyfynnodd i’w dai f’ annw͡yl—
    Da o le mae ’n dala i ŵɥl.—H.D., p 99/430
‘He has summoned to His mansions my dear one—it is a good place where he is keeping his holiday.’ See § 54 i (3).
vii. wy is the falling diphthong when it is derived from Kelt. ei corresponding to Irish īa or ē, as pŵɥll ‘thought’, Ir. cīall, gŵɥdd ‘goose’, Ir. gēd, gw͡ystl ‘pledge’, Ir. gīall, etc.; or when it is derived from Latin ē, ig or ī, as in rhŵɥd ‘net’ from rēte, cŵɥr ‘wax’ from cēra, eglw͡ys ‘church’ from ecclēsia, egw͡yddor ‘alphabet’ from ābēcēdārium, gwenw͡yn ‘poison’ from venēnum, dŵɥs ‘intense’ from dēnsus, sŵɥn ‘charm’ from signum; sỿ́nnw͡yr ‘sense’ from sentīre. Rule vi may be verified in many words ​by applying the test of derivation; e. g. cannw͡yll from candēla, cadw͡yn from catēna, parádw͡ys from paradīsus.
    Geiriau da a gwŷr i’w dŵɥn
    A ddinistr y ddau wenw͡yn.—D.I.D., f. 11.
‘Good words and men to bring them will destroy the two poisons.’
    Y doeth ni ddywaid a ŵɥr;
    Nid o sôn’ y daw synnw͡yr.—G.I.H., g. 144.
‘The wise does not say what he knows; it is not from talk that sense comes.’ See also g. 111, 175, 234, 296.
viii. wy is the falling diphthong in the substantival terminations ‑rw͡ydd ‘‑ness’, ‑w͡ys ‘‑ians’, and in the verbal terminations ‑w͡yf, ‑w͡ys, ‑w͡yd, but is the rising one in ‑w̯ɥr pl. of ‑wr ‘‑er’.
The ending ‑w͡ys ‘‑ians’ added to names of places is probably derived from the Latin ‑ēnses.
    Hyd Iork y bu hydref dŵɥs,
    A’r gwanwɥn ar y Gwennw͡ys.—L.G.C. 421.
‘As far as York it has been a very autumn, while it was spring to the men of Gwent.’
ix. The following words may be mentioned as those most commonly mispronounced: wy is the falling diphthong in cerw͡yn ‘vat’, disgw͡yl ‘look, expect’, Gw͡ynedd ‘Venedotia’, Gw͡yndɥd, id., morw͡yn ‘maiden’, terw͡yn ‘fervent’; it is the rising diphthong in oherw̯ɥdd ‘because of’, cychw̯ɥn ‘rise, start’, erchw̯ɥn ‘protector, [bed]-side’, dedw̯ɥdd ‘happy’. See terw͡yn / gŵyn / brŵyn r.p. 1206; cerw͡yn / coll-lw͡yn D.G. 347.
    Y ferch addfw͡yn o W͡ynedd,
    Sy ymysg osai a medd.—D.G. 314.
‘The gentle maid of Gwynedd, who lives in the midst of wine and mead.’ See also L.G.C. 219.
    Mi a euraf bob morw͡yn
    O eiriau maiol er i mŵɥn.—D.G. 281.
‘I will gild every maiden with words of praise for her sake.’ See also D.G. 126, 236, 297, 298, 356, and g. 119, 229, 243.
    Ar i farch yr âi f’ erchw̯ɥn
    Yn y llu ddoe’n llew o ddŷn.—T.A. g. 234.
​‘On his steed went my protector in the host yesterday, a man like a lion.’ See also L.G.C. 143, D.G. 510.
The word kyfrw̯ɥs ‘shrewd’ (rhyming with henwerɥs and ynɥs in b.t. 78, and with prisc ≡ prys and chuis ≡ chw̯ŷs in b.b. 57) is now sounded kyfrw͡ys on account of the difficulty of the consonantal group frw̯. The word celw̯ɥdd has undoubtedly the rising diphthong; see kelw̯ɥẟ / kynnɥẟ r.p. 1223, cf. 1251, and D.G. 338; probably gŵɥdd / gelwydd, D.G. 256, is a misreading, but this form occurs in the 16th cent., see f. 36.
x. w͡y after a vowel has generally been changed to w̯ɥ, except in verbal terminations. Thus aw͡yr / hŵɥr / llŵɥr r.p. 1029, and generally so rhymed, see D.G. 395, 416, is now pronounced aw̯ɥr, and the rhyme with ɥr occurs already in the 13th cent.: aw̯ɥr / sɥr b.t. 23, G.Y.C. r.p. 1418. Similarly aw͡yẟ / rŵɥẟ / arw͡yẟ r.p. 1180 is later a-w̯ɥdd. Pow͡ys L.G.C. 381 is pronounced Pow̯ɥs § 192 ii (2); tyw͡yll as in tywill / canvill b.b. 30, tyw͡yll / gannw͡yll / pw͡yll r.p. 1045, tyw͡yll / amw͡yll D.G. 267, tŵɥll / tyw͡yll do. 117, 283 is now tỿw̯ɥll, and already in D.G. rhymes with hyll 71, 285, 421, and with cyll 173, 185; ew͡yn r.p. 1036, later ew̯ɥn ‘foam’. On the other hand glanhā́-w͡yd ‘was cleansed’ and all similar inflected forms are still so pronounced.
Lat. ăvĭdus would have given *ew̯ydd in Welsh; aw̯ɥdd cannot be derived from it, see § 76 iii, iv.
Accentuation.
§ 39. i. In a polysyllabic word, one syllable is always pronounced with more emphasis than the others; this is called the syllable bearing the principal accent, or, simply, the accented syllable. In Welsh the accent is a stress accent.
A syllable may be emphasized either by raising the tone of voice or by a more forcible utterance. The two things may go together; but speakers of various languages unconsciously adopt one or the other as their principle of accentuation. The first produces musical or pitch accent, the second produces expiratory or stress accent. In Pr. Aryan the accent before the dispersion is believed to have been predominantly pitch, though vowel gradation, § 63, points to the working of a strong stress accent. In Keltic, as in Italic and Germanic, the accent became predominantly stress, and has remained so, though its position has varied greatly.
☞ The syllable bearing the principal accent is denoted by an acute accent ´ placed above its vowel.
ii. The remaining syllables of the word are also pronounced with varying emphasis, but this may generally be disregarded, and they may all be considered as unaccented syllables. In ​some cases, however, one of them may attain a decided prominence in comparison with the others; such a syllable may be said to bear a secondary accent.
☞ The vowel of the syllable bearing the secondary accent is denoted where necessary by the grave accent `.
iii. Most monosyllables are stressed, but many frequently-recurring monosyllables bear no stress, but are pronounced in conjunction with another word. These are proclitics, which precede the accented word, and enclitics, which follow it.
The Welsh proclitics are the article y, yr, the prefixed pronouns fy, dy, etc., which are always unstressed. Usually also the relatives a, yẟ, yr, y, the negative, interrogative and affirmative particles, most conjunctions as the a in bara a chaws ‘bread and cheese’, and often prepositions as the rhag in rhag ofn ‘for fear’.
The Welsh enclitics are the auxiliary pronouns i, di, etc. They are often written in mss. where they do not count in the metre, as in Arduireaue tri b.b. 36 (Arẟwyrëaf-i drf) for Arddwyreaf dri (5 syll.) ‘I will exalt Three’. These may however be accented for emphasis.
§ 40. i. In Mn. W. all polysyllables, with a few exceptions named in § 41, are accented on the penult; as cá|naf ‘I sing., cán|i̯ad ‘a song’, can|i̯á|dau ‘songs’.
ii. The position of the accent was certainly the same in the Late Ml. period. This is proved by the fact that in the 14th cent. the cynghanedd was fully developed in its modern form in which the penultimate accent plays an important part, ZfCP. iv 123 ff.
iii. (1) But certain vowel values point to a period when the accent fell generally on the ultima. The evidence seems to show that this was the case in O. W., and that the transition took place in the Early Ml. W. period.
(2) The clear sound ɥ occurs in the ultima only; the obscure sound ỿ, which must have been the sound when unaccented, occurs in all other syllables. Hence the ultima must at one time have borne the accent. In monosyllables which have always been unaccented such as the article yr, y, the sound is ỿ; but in those which have always been accented, such as dyẟ ‘day’, it is ɥ. There has been no shifting of the accent in ỿ dɥ̄́ẟ ‘the day’, which therefore preserves the accentuation that resulted in the vowel sequence ỿ…​ɥ. Hence a word like mỿ́nɥẟ, which contains this sequence, must once have been accented *mỿnɥ̄́ẟ.
Similarly Brit. ŭ remains (written w) in the ultima; but appears as ỿ in other syllables, § 66 i;—ȩi remained and became ai in the ult., but became ẹi giving ei (≡ əi) in the penult, § 79;—Brit. ā is aw in the ult., o in the penult, § 71 i;—uw in the ult. is u in the penult, § 77 x; from i̯ü we find ü in the ult. and monosyllables, the easier i in the penult, § 36 ii.
(3) In one or two words the vowel of the old penult has dropped since the separation of W. and Bret.; thus W. crȳ́ẟ ‘shoemaker’ < *cerȳ́ẟ < Brit. *kar(p)íi̯ō: Bret. kere, § 86 i (5);—W. ysbryd < *spryd < *spyrýd < Lat. spiritus: Bret. spered.
On the other hand in some words an intrusive vowel developed before the accented syllable; Ml. W. dyly ‘deserves, owes’ comes through *dylý < *dlyᵹ, § 199 ii (2); the ỿ spread from this to other forms of the verb.—Ml. W. taraw ‘to strike’, tereu ‘strikes’ < *taráw, *tereu < *traw, *treu. The vowel did not spread from these to trawaf; the late Mn. tarawaf is an artificial lit. form, § 202 i (3).
(4) The accent in ýsgol, ýstrad, etc., now falls on a syllable that at one time had no existence. It is obvious that the shifting took place after the introduction of the prosthetic vowel. There is no evidence of that vowel in O. W. In the earliest Ml. W. we find Istrat and Strat, § 23 ii. The latter may be an archaic spelling, but it seems to show that the accent was on the a. We may therefore infer that the transition took place in the Early Ml. period. In some words the prosthetic vowel was never firmly established; and the accent remains in its original position in these, § 41 i.
iv. In Brit. the accent was apparently free as in Pr. Ar. As unaccented ā was shortened, it is seen that in *brā́teres (> broder) the accent was on the ante-penult; as ā which remained accented gives aw, the accent to give o must have shifted to the er in O. W., according to the general rule at that period. By the second shifting it went back to its original position, the new penult. Two shiftings must be assumed to explain such a form as ýsbryd, which involves a shifting from *(y)sprýd, which in turn implies a shifting from spírit-us.—It will be seen in the following pages that British cannot have shared the fixed initial accentuation of Goidelic.
§ 41. In some words in Mn. W. the accent falls on the ultima. These are
i. A few disyllables in which the first syllable is (1) ỿs- or (2) ỿm‑; as (1) ysgrī́n ‘shrine, coffin’, § 23 ii, ystrŷd ‘street’, ysgrḗch ‘screech’, ystṓr ‘store’; (2) ymwḗl ‘do thou visit’, ymā́d ‘do thou leave’. But most words with these initial syllables are accented regularly, as ýsgol ‘school’, ýsbryd ‘spirit’, ýsgwyd ‘to shake’, ýmdaith ‘journey’, ýmgudd D.G. 374 ‘hides’. In some cases we have both accentuations, see ýmwel below; ​occasionally with different meanings, as ýmladd ‘to fight’, ymlā́dd ‘to tire one’s self’; ýmddwyn ‘to behave’, ymddŵyn ‘to bear’.
    Y dydd a’r awr, ni’m dawr, dod;
    ýmwel â mi dan ámod.—G.I.H., tr. 91.
‘Fix the day and hour, I care not [when]; visit me under [that] condition.’
    Arthur o’i ddolur oedd wan,
    Ac o ýmladd cad Gámlan.—L.G.C. 450.
‘Arthur was weak from his wound, and from fighting the battle of Camlan.’ See also T.A., c. ii 78.
    Y ferch wéddw̯ ddifrychéuddeddf
    Wedi’r ymlā́dd a’r drem léddf.—D.E., p 112/840.
‘The widowed woman of spotless life after the prostration and disconsolate aspect.’
ii. The reduplicated pronouns mỿfī́, tydī́, etc. Rarely these are accented regularly; see § 159 ii (2).
iii. (1) Words in which the last syllable has a late contraction, § 33, such as pa|ra|tói for Ml. W. pa|ra|tṓ|i ‘to prepare’, cy|tū́n for Ml. W. cy|tū́|un ‘united’, Gwr|théɥrn for Gwr|thḗ|ɥrn, Cỿm|rā́eg for Cỿm|rā́|eg, pa|rhā́d for pa|rhā́|ad ‘continuance’. It is seen that in these words the accent in Ml. W. was regular, and kept its position after the ultima was merged in the penult.
(2) In the word ysgolhái̯g, Ml. W. yscolheic ‘scholar’, the contraction in the last syllable seems to have taken place early in the Ml. period, as Nid vid iscolheic nid vid eleic unben b.b. 91 (10 syll.; read scol|heic, § 23 ii), but it was necessarily subsequent to the fixing of the present accentuation; in b.b. 81 the uncontracted form occurs, rh. with guledic. A similar form is pen-áig ‘chief’. The word ffelaig seems to have been accented regularly; thus in r.p. 1221 we have ffeleic/ffilij, the latter being the Lat. filii.
    Tudur waed Tewdwr ydoedd,
    A phenáig cyff Ieuan oedd.—Gu.O., g. 196.
‘He was Tudor of the blood of Tudor, and chief of the stock of Ieuan.’
iv. A few words recently borrowed from English; as apêl, ‘appeal’.
v. Disyllables in which h stands between two vowels are accented regularly; thus cýhyd as in Cýhyd a rhai og háearn D.G. 386 ‘[spikes] as long as those of an iron harrow’; and hyd gýhyd c.c. 312 ‘full length’; cỿ́hoedd ‘public’, as in gýhoedd/gáeat, r.p. 1283; gwéheirdd D.G. 20 ‘forbids’. Contraction has taken place in some of these, thus cỿ́hoedd > *cóhoedd > coedd, D.G. 524; so gwáhan > gwân, which gave rise to gwahân. This appears to be the reason for gwahân, cyhŷd, gwahárdd, etc. in recent W.
§ 42. In Ml. and early Mn. W. final w after d, ẟ, n, l, r, s was consonantal, § 26 iv; thus meddw̯ ‘drunk’, marw̯ ‘dead’, delw̯ ‘image’, were monosyllables, sounded almost like meddf, marf, delf. Hence when a syllable is added the w is non-syllabic for the purposes of accentuation; thus méddw̯on ‘drunkards’, márw̯ol ‘mortal’, márw̯nad ‘elegy’, delw̯au ‘images’, árddelw̯ ‘to represent, to claim’. The w̯ is usually elided between two consonants, as médd-dod ‘drunkenness’, for méddw̯dod. In b.b. 84 we have uetudaud (≡ feẟw̯dawd), but in Ml. W. generally such words were written without the w̯, as meẟdawt, r.p. 1217, 1245, 1250, 1269, Ỻ.A. 147; gweẟdawt b.t. 31, r.p. 1261 ‘widowhood’. The w inserted in these words in recent orthography is artificial, and is commonly misread as syllabic w, thus medd|w|dod, the accent being thrown on the ante-penult, a position which it never occupies in Welsh. The correct form médd-dod is still the form used in natural speech. When final, in polysyllables, the w̯ is now dropped, and is not written in late W., so there is not even an apparent exception to the rule of accentuation; thus árddelw̯ ‘to claim’, sýberw̯ ‘proud’ are written árddel, sýber. In gwárchadw̯ ‘to guard’, ymóralw̯ ‘to attend (to)’, metathesis took place about the end of the Ml. period, giving gwárchawd, ymórawl, which became gwárchod, ymórol in Mn. W.
In all standard cynghanedd the w̯ in these words is purely nonsyllabic:
    Da arẟelw̯ kýnnelw̯ Kýnẟelw̯ kéinẟawn.—r.p. 1229 (9 syll.)
‘A good representation of the exemplar of Cynddelw exquisitely gifted.’ The accentuation of Kýnẟelw̯ corresponds to that of kéinẟawn. Cf. kývarch / kýfenw̯, 1230.
    I llórf a’m pair yn llẃyrfarw̯
    O hud gwir ac o hoed garw̯.—D.G. 208.
‘Its [the harp’s] body makes me faint away from real enchantment and sore grief.’
    Dyn marw̯ a allai f’árw̯ain
    Weithian drwy eithin a drain.—D.I.D., g. 182.
‘A dead man might lead me now through furze and thorns.’
    F’enaid hoen geirw̯ afonydd,
    Fy nghaniad dy 'fárw̯nad fɥ̄́dd.—Ỻ.G., f.n. 30.
‘My beloved of the hue of the foam of rivers, my song thy dirge shall be.’ Cf. i fárw̯nad efṓ D.I.D., g. 184.
    Marw̯nad ym yw awr yn d’ôl.—T.A., a 14894/35.
‘It is a lament to me [to live] an hour after thee.’
    Pwy a’th eilw̯ pe â’th wayw onn?—T.A., a 14975/102.
‘Who will challenge thee if with thy ashen spear?’
The last example shows that eilw̯ could still be a pure monosyllable at the end of the 15th cent., for the present disyllabic pronunciation mars the cynghanedd. Even stronger evidence is afforded by the accentuation déu-darw̯ / dódi B.Ph.B., Stowe 959/98b. Although final w̯ was non-syllabic, yn or yr following it was generally reduced to ’n or ’r, being combined with the w̯ to form w̯n or w̯r, § 26 iii.
    A’ch gwaed, rhyw ywch gadw̯’r hëol.—T.A., a 14965/46.
‘With your blood it is natural to you to guard the road.’
    Murnio da, marw̯’n y diwedd.—D.Ỻ., f. 31.
‘Stowing away wealth, [and] dying in the end.’
In a compound like marw̯nad the w̯ was not difficult, for w̯n (rounded n) is common in Welsh, § 26 iii. But the colloquial pronunciation is now maw̯rnad, with metathesis of w̯. In 16th and 17th cent. mss. we also find marnad and barnad. The combination is more difficult in such compounds as dérw̯goed ‘oak-trees’, márw̯ddwr ‘stagnant water’, chw̯érw̯-der ‘bitterness’; and though the etymological spelling persisted in these, the pronunciation dér-goed, már-ddwr, chw̯ér-der is doubtless old.
    Lle dírgel gerllaw dérw̯goed.—D.G. 321.
‘A secret place near oak-trees.’ Cf. dérw̯gist, T.A., g. 232.
    Tro fy chwer’der yn felysdra.—Wms. 657.
‘Turn my bitterness into sweetness.’
    Gyr chwérw̯der o garchárdai;
    Newyn y lleidr a wna’n llai.—D.W. 112.
‘[Charity] drives bitterness from prisons; it makes less the hunger of the thief.’
Note 1. The rule that such words as marw, delw are monosyllabic was handed down by the teachers of cynghanedd, but the bards of the 19th cent. hardly knew what to make of it. Thus R.G.D. 97 uses marw and delw, and E.F. 185 uses enw and garw as monosyllables, while at the same time rhyming them. They no more rhyme as ​monosyllables than if they were marf, delf, or enf, garf. In standard cynghanedd, marw̯ rhymes with garw̯, tarw̯ only, and delw̯ with elw̯, gwelw̯ only; see below. The disyllabic pronunciation may be traced as far back as the 15th cent. In a couplet attributed to D.G. (see d.g. 322) bw rhymes with galw, a rhyme condemned by S.V. because galw̯ is a monosyllable whose vowel is a, P.Ỻ. xcii.
Some old rhymes are syberw̯/hirerw̯/derw̯/chw̯erw̯, b.b. 69; agerw̯/chw̯erw̯/syberw̯/gochw̯erw̯, b.a. 19; helw̯/delw̯, ib.; dyveinw̯/dyleinw̯, b.t. 21; divanw̯/llanw̯, m.a. i 475; ymordlw̯/salw̯, do. 466; cadw̯/achadw̯/bradw̯, I.G. 422; enw̯/senw̯, do. 407; geirw̯/teirw̯, D.G. 500; syberw̯/ferw̯, E.P. 203.
Note 2. In hwnnw, acw (earlier raccw) the w was vocalic; also probably in other forms in which it is a reduction of ‑w͡y, see § 78 i (2).
§ 43. i. No Welsh word or word fully naturalized in Welsh is accented on the ante-penult. Such forms as Sáesoneg, Sáesones are misspellings of Sáesneg, Sáesnes.
A’r gyfreith honno a droes Alvryt vrenhin o Gymraec yn Saesnec r.b.b. 79 ‘And that law did king Alfred turn from Welsh into English.’ See ib. 64, 95, 96, etc.
The following words for different reasons are now sometimes wrongly accented: cathólig, oméga, penígamp ‘masterly’, períglor ‘parson’, lladmérydd ‘interpreter’, ysgelérder ‘atrocity’, oléw̯ydd ‘olives’.
    A thálu’r ffin gathólig.—S.C.
‘And to pay the catholic fine.’ Cf. c.c. 25; I.G. 491; L.M., d.t. 196.
    Cyngor períglor églwys.—M.R., f. 12.
‘The counsel of a church parson’.
    Penáig y glod, penígamp—
    Pennod i chompod a’i champ.—M.B. (m. D.G.), A 14967/183.
‘Master of the [song of] praise, supreme the height of its compass and achievement.’
    Alpha ac Oméga máwr.—A.R. (1818), e.g. p. xiii.
‘Great Alpha and Omega.’ Cf. Ỻ.M. 2. See Wms. 259, 426, 869.
ii. A few words recently borrowed from English are accented on the ante-penult, as mélodi, philósophi; but derivative forms of even these are accented regularly, e.g. melódaidd, philosóphydd.
​§ 44. i. In a regularly accented word of three syllables the first syllable is the least stressed; thus in can|i̯a|dau the stress on can is lighter than that on dau, both being unaccented as compared with i̯a. Hence the vowel of the first syllable is liable to drop when the resulting combination of consonants is easy to pronounce initially; as in Mn. W. pladur ‘scythe’, for Ml. W. paladur, c.m. 95 (paladurwyr w.m. 425, 426); Mn. W. gw̯rando ‘to listen’, for Ml. W. gw̯arandaw, r.m. 16, c.m. 29; Mn. W. Clynnog for Ml. W. Kelynnawc, Ỻ.A. 124.
Some shortened forms are found, though rarely, in Ml. prose and verse: gw̯randaw, c.m. 27; kweirẏwyt for kyweirẏwyt ‘was equipped’, r.p. 1276 (the y was written, and then deleted as the metre requires); pinẏwn r.p. 1225 from E. opinion; grennyẟ do. 1055 for garennyẟ.
For dywedud ‘to say’ we generally have dwedud in Early Mn. poetry (written doedyd in the 16th cent.); so twysog, E.U. § 32, b.cw. 71, for tywysog ‘prince’; cledion c.c. 334, 390, pl. of caled ‘hard’; clonnau for calonnau ‘hearts’, in Tyrd, Ysbryd Glân, i’n clonnau ni, R.V.
ii. In words of four or more syllables, when pronounced deliberately, the first syllable has a secondary accent, as bèn|di|gé|dig ‘blessed’, pl. bèn|di|ge|díg|ion. This also applies to trisyllables with the accent on the ultima, as cỳf|i̯aw|nhā́d ‘justification’. The least stressed syllable is the second; and this is often elided, in which case the secondary accent disappears; as in Mn. W. gorchfýgu for gòrchyfýgu Ỻ.A. 15, and in Mn. W. verse tragẃyddol for trà|gy|ẃy|ddol ‘eternal’, partói for pà|ra|tói ‘to prepare’, llythrénnau for llỳthyrénnau ‘letters’, perthnásau ‘relations’ for pèrthynásau, etc.
    Gwaeddwn, feirdd, yn dragẃyddol;
    Gwae ni nad gwiw yn i ôl.—Gu.O., a 14967/120.
‘Bards, let us cry for ever; woe to us that it is useless [to live] after him.’ See g. 160, 255.
    Yn ddyfal beunydd i bartói.—Wms. 259.
‘Assiduously every day to prepare.’
iii. When a vowel is elided, as in i, ii, or v, the same vowel disappears in the derivatives of the word; thus pladurwyr ‘mowers’; twysoges b.cw. 11 ‘princess’ from twysog, for tywysog; tragwyddoldeb ‘eternity’, ymbartói ‘to prepare one’s self’, ’wyllysgar ‘willing’ (ewyllys, ’wyllys ‘will’).
    Wedi ’mrawd yma’r ydwyf;
    Ato, Dduw, ymbartói ’dd wyf.—L.Mor. (m. I.F.).
‘After my brother I tarry here; to him, Oh God, I am preparing [to go].’ (The metre proves the elision, but not its position.)
In tragwyddoldeb the lost syllable is the second, so that there is no departure from the general principle laid down in ii; but in pladurwyr the first is lost because the word is formed from the reduced pladur. If paladurwyr had been reduced directly it would have given *paldurwyr; similarly twysoges, etc.
iv. Occasionally in Mn. W. haplology takes place, that is, a consonant, if repeated in the following syllable, is lost with the unaccented vowel; as erledigaeth for erlidedigaeth ‘persecution’, crediniol for credaduniol, § 132 (8), ‘believing’. (Cf. Eng. singly for single-ly, Bister for Bicester, Lat. stipendium for stipipendium, etc.)
v. An unaccented initial vowel sometimes disappears, as in Late Ml. W. pinẏwn r.p. 1225 ‘opinion’, borrowed from Eng.; ’wyllys for ewyllys in verse; and in Late Mn. W. machlud ‘to set’ (of the sun) for Ml. and Early Mn. W. ym-achludd, D.G. 121, § 111 vii (3). As a rule, however, this elision only takes place after a vowel:
    Tebig yw ’r galennig lân
    I ’dafedd o wlad Ifan.—I.D., tr. 142.
‘The fair new year’s gift is like threads from the land of [Prester] John.’ Another reading is I edafedd gwlad Ifan, I.D. 22.
    Ac ef gyda’i ogyfoed
    Yw gŵr y wraig oreu ’rioed.—L.G.C. 318.
‘And he with his mate is the husband of the best wife [that] ever [was].’
In the dialects it is very common: morol ‘attend (to)’ for ymorol, molchi for ymolchi ‘to wash’, deryn for aderyn ‘bird’, menyn for ymenyn ‘butter’, mennyẟ for ymennyẟ ‘brain’, etc.
vi. In a few disyllables the vowel of the final unaccented syllable is sometimes elided; thus ónid ‘but’ appears generally as ond in Mn. W. Other examples met with in Mn. (rarely in Late Ml.) verse are mɥnd for mỿ́ned ‘to go’, tɥrd for tỿ́red ‘come!’ gweld for gwéled ‘to see’, llond for llónaid ‘full (capacity)’, cans for cánys ‘because’, namn for námyn ‘but’, all except the last two in common use in the dialects. Similarly ér ỿs becomes ers, § 214 vii.
    Ancr wyf fi’n cyweirio i fedd,
    Ond aroa mɥnd i orwedd.—D.G. 295.
‘I am an anchorite making ready his grave, only waiting to go to rest.’
    Cans ar ddiwedd pob gweddi,
    Cof cywir, yr henwir hi.—D.G. 235.
‘For at the end of every prayer, unforgotten she is named.’
    Maẟeu, kanys ti yw’r meẟic.—r.p. 1298 (7 syll.).
‘Forgive, for Thou art the Healer.’ The length of the line shows that kanys is to be read kans. It occurs written cans in w.m. 487.
    Ni edrychodd Duw ’r achwyn;
    Ni mynnodd aur, namn i ddwyn.—G.Gl., m 148/256.
‘God did not regard the lamentation; He desired not [to have] gold, but to take him away.’ See also I.G. 380.
See examples of tyrd, dyrd in § 193 viii (2).
vii. The vowel of a proclitic is often elided
(1) After a final vowel, ỿ is elided in the article ỿr, § 114; the pronouns ỿn ‘our’, ỿch ‘your’ (now written ein, eich), § 160 ii (1); the oblique relative ỿ or ỿr, § 82 ii (1), § 162 ii (2); the preposition ỿn, § 210 iv.
(2) Before an initial vowel, ỿ is elided in fỿ ‘my’, dỿ ‘thy’, § 160 i (1).
(3) The relative a tends to disappear even between consonants, § 162 i.
(4) The vowel of pa or pỿ ‘what?’ sometimes disappears even before a consonant, as in p’le ‘where?’ § 163 ii (2).
(5) After pa, rɥw tends to become rỿ and r’, § 163 ii (6).
§ 45. i. (1) Compound nouns and adjectives are accented regularly; thus gwī́n-llan ‘vineyard’, cadéir-fardd ‘chaired bard’, gwág-law or lláw-w̯ag ‘empty-handed’.
    Gw̯áwd-lais mwyalch ar góed-lwyn,
    Ac ëos ar lïos lwyn.—D.G. 503.
‘The musical voice of a thrush in a grove, and a nightingale in many a bush.’
    Yn i dydd ni adai wan
    Acw ’n llaw-w̯ag, Gwenllian.—L.G.C. 232.
‘In her day she, Gwenllian, left not the weak empty-handed there.’
(2) Even a compound of an adjective and a proper name may be so accented; as
    Dágrau am urddedíg-Rys
    Yw’r môr hallt, os gwir marw̯ Rhys.—G.Gl., m 146/171.
‘The salt sea is tears for noble Rhys, if it is true that Rhys is dead.’
See Uchél-Grist, D.G. 259. The name Bendigéid-fran ‘Bran the Blessed’, was so accented, and the f was lost, § 110 iii (3), giving Bendigéidran (corrupted into Benegridran in Emerson’s English Traits, xi).
    Bondo gw̯ýdr Bendigéidran.—T.A., a 14976/166; c. ii 83.
‘The glass eaves of Bendigeidran.’
(3) When the first element has one of the mutable sounds ai, au, w, ɥ it is mutated in the compound, becoming ei, eu, ỿ, ỿ respectively, because it is no longer ultimate when the compound is treated as a single word; thus gwéith-dy ‘workshop’ (gwaith ‘work’), héul-des ‘heat of the sun’ (haul ‘sun’), drỿ́g-waith ‘evil deed’ (drwg ‘evil’), melỿ́n-wallt ‘yellow hair’ (melɥn ‘yellow’). In old compounds aw also is mutated, as in llófrudd, § 110 iii (1).
☞ A compound accented as above may be called a strict compound.
ii. (1) But the two elements of a compound may be separately accented; thus cṓel gréfydd ‘false religion’, gáu bróffwyd ‘false prophet’, hḗn w̄́r ‘old man’ (sometimes accented regularly, hénwr, b.cw. 64).
(2) The difference between a secondary accent and a separate accent should be noted. A secondary accent is always subordinate to the principal accent; but when the first element of a compound has a separate accent it is independent of the accent of the second element and may even be stronger if the emphasis requires it. Again, the first element when separately accented has the unmutated ai, au, w, or ɥ in its final syllable; thus in cỿ̀d-nabỿ́ddiaeth ‘acquaintance’ there may be a secondary accent on cỿ̆d (short ỿ) but in cɥ̄́d gỿnúlli̯ad there is an independent accent on cɥ̄d (long ɥ). In fact, when there is a separate accent, the first element is treated as an independent word for all purposes of pronunciation (accentuation, vowel quantity, and vowel mutation).
☞ A compound accented as above may be called a loose compound.
(3) Sometimes the elements of a loose compound are now hyphened, thus coel-grefydd; but as any positive adjective put before a noun forms with it a loose compound, in the vast majority of such compounds the elements are written as separate words. See § 155 iii.
iii. An adjective or noun compounded with a verb or verbal ​noun forms a loose compound, as cỿ́nffon lónni ‘to wag the tail’, prýsur rédant ‘they swiftly run’.
    Fel y niwl o afael nant
    Y díson ymadáwsant.—R.G.D. 149.
‘Like the mist from the grasp of the valley have they silently passed away.’
iv. (1) Prefixes form strict compounds with nouns, adjectives, and verbs; as áthrist ‘very sad’ (trist ‘sad’), ám-gylch ‘circumference’, cýn-nal ‘to hold’, etc., etc.
(2) But compounds with the prefixes an‑, di‑, cyd‑, go‑, gor‑, gwrth‑, rhy‑, tra- may be either strict or loose; as án-awdd or án háwdd ‘difficult’, § 148 i (6); án-aml/ýnys g. 103, án áml, § 164 i (1); dí-wair, dí wáir ‘chaste’; rhý-wyr ‘high time’ and rhɥ̄́ hw̄́yr ‘too late’; trá-mawr Gr.O. 51, trā́ máwr ‘very great’; trá-doeth do. 52, trā́ dṓeth ‘very wise’.
    Dí-dad, amddifad ýdwyf,
    A dī́ fráwd wedi i farw̯ ẃyf.—L.Mor. (m. I.F.).
‘Fatherless, destitute, am I, and without a brother after his death.’
    Y mae’r ddẃyais mor ddíw̯air.—D.G. 148.
‘The bosom is so chaste.’
    Fwyn a dī́ wáir—f’enaid yw.—D.G. 321.
‘Gentle and chaste—she is my soul.’ Cf. D.G. 306.
    Trā́ dā́ im y trȳ́ déu-air.—I.F., c 18/11.
‘Very good for me will two words turn out.’
In late Mn. W. new compounds are freely formed with these elements separately accented; thus tra, go and rhy are placed before any adjectives, and treated as separate words; § 220 viii (1).
When both elements are accented, the second has generally the stronger accent, unless the prefix is emphatic; in gor-úw̯ch ‘above’, gor-ī́s ‘below’, the first element has lost its accent, though these are also found as strict compounds, thus góruwch, O.G., g. 257, Gr.O. 34.
§ 46. i. Expressions consisting of two words in syntactical relation, such as a noun and a qualifying adjective or a noun and a dependent genitive, are in some cases accented as single words. ☞ These may be called improper compounds. Mutable vowels are mutated (ɥ > ỿ, etc.) as in single words.
They differ from proper compounds in two respects: (1) the initial of the second element is not softened except where the ordinary rules ​of mutation require it; (2) the words are arranged in the usual syntactic order, the subordinate word coming last, except in the case of numerals, ii (5) below.
Cf. in Latin the improper compounds pater-familias, juris-dictio, in which the first element is an intact word, by the side of the proper compounds patri-cida juri-dicus in which the first element contains the stem only.
ii. Improper compounds accented on the penult consist of—
(1) Some nouns qualified by da, as gẃr-da ‘goodman’, gw̯réig-dda ‘good wife’, hín-dda ‘fair weather’, géir-da ‘good report’. Names of relatives with maeth, as tád-maeth ‘foster father’, mámaeth (for mám-faeth, § 110 iii (1)) ‘foster mother’, máb-maeth, bráwd-maeth, chw̯áer-faeth. A few other combinations, such as héul-wen ‘bright sun’ (haul fem., § 142 iii), cóel-certh ‘bonfire’ (lit. ‘certain sign’). See also (3) below.
    A bryno tir â braint da
    Yn i árdal â’n ẃr-da.—L.G.C. 249.
‘He who buys land with good title in his neighbourhood will become a goodman.’
(2) Nouns with dependent genitives: tréf-tad ‘heritage’, dỿ́dd-brawd or dỿ́dd-barn (also dɥ̄́dd bráwd, dɥ̄́dd bárn) ‘judgement day’, pén-tref ‘village’, pén-cerdd ‘chief of song’, pén-tan ‘hob’. See also (3) and (4) below.
(3) Nouns with adjectives or genitives forming names of places; as Tré-for or Tré-fawr, Brỿ́n-gwyn, Mỿnỿ́dd-mawr, Abér-maw, Mín-ffordd, Pén-tir, Pén-mon, Pén-mon Máwr.
Even when the article comes before the genitive, the whole name is sometimes thus treated, the accent falling upon the article; as Pen-ỿ́-berth near Pwllheli, Tal-ỿ́-bryn in Llannefydd, Clust-ỿ́-blaiẟ near Cerrig y Drudion, Moel-ỿ́-ci (pron. Moɥ|lỿ́c|i), a hill near Bangor, Llan-é-cil near y Bala, Pen-é-goes near Machynlleth, Pen-é-berth near Aberystwyth (e for ỿ, § 16 iv (2)). Cf. (7) below.
    Mi af i ganu i’m oes
    I benáig o Ben-é-goes.—L.G.C. 429.
‘I will go to sing while I live to a chieftain of Penégoes.’
(4) The word duw (or dɥw) followed by the name of the day in the genitive; as Dúw-sul as well as Dúw Sū́l or Dȳ́dd Sū́l ‘Sunday’; so Dúw-llun ‘Monday’, Dúw-mawrth ‘Tuesday’, and Díf-i̯au for Dúw I̯áu ‘Thursday’. Similarly dú(w)-gwyl ‘the day of the feast (of)’.
    Echrỿ́s-haint, och, wir Iesu!
    Ddyfod i Iâl Ddíf-i̯au du.—T.A., g. 235.
‘A dreadful plague, Oh true Jesus! that black Thursday should have visited Yale.’ See § 214 vii, ex. 2.
Both accentuations are exemplified in—
    Bûm i’r gog swyddog Dduw Sū́l;
    Wy’ ddí-swydd, a hyn Ddúw-sul.—T.A., a 14976/108.
‘I was an officer of the cuckoo on Sunday; I am without office, and this on Sunday.’ (Gwas y gog ‘the cuckoo’s servant’ is the hedge-sparrow.)
(5) A numeral and its noun, as déu-bwys ‘2 lbs.’, dẃy-bunt ‘£2’, cán-punt ‘£100’, etc. Cf. E. twopence, etc. Though the order is the same here as in proper compounds, and the mutation is no criterion, it is certain that most of these are improper compounds. In the case of un, proper and improper compounds can be distinguished: ún-ben ‘monarch’ is a proper compound, the second element having the soft initial, but ún-peth is precisely the combination ū́n pḗth ‘one thing’ under a single accent.
(6) The demonstrative adjective after nouns of time. See § 164 iii.
(7) Very rarely the article with its noun, as in È-fenéchtyd for ỿ Fenechtyd ‘the monastery’, in which the article, taken as part of the word, acquired a secondary accent.
iii. Improper compounds accented on the ultima consist of—
(1) A few combinations of two monosyllabic nouns, of which the second is a dependent genitive and the first has lost its accent; as pen-rháith ‘autocrat’, pen-llā́d ‘summum bonum’, prỿ-nháwn for pryt nawn.
    Yr eog, rhýwi̯og ben-rháith,
    At Wén dos eto ún-w̯aith.—D.G. 148.
‘Thou salmon, gentle master, go to Gwen once more.’
    A’m cérydd mawr i’m cári̯ad,
    Ac na’th gawn yn lláwn ben-llā́d.—D.G. 513.
‘And my great punishment for my love, and that I might not have thee as my whole delight.’
(2) A number of place-names of similar formation, as Pen-tɥ́rch.
Note.—(1) From this and the preceding section it is seen that accentuation does not always accord with the formation of words. A loose compound is etymologically a compound, but its elements are accented as separate words. An improper compound is etymologically a combination of separate words accented as one word. The accentuation of improper compounds is to be accounted for thus: in O. W. we may assume that gwr da, Aber Maw, Pen ỿ berth were originally accented as they would be if they were formed now, with the main ​stress in each case on the last word. When each combination came to be regarded as a unit, the main stress became the only accent; thus, *gwr-dā́, *Aber-máw, *Pen-ỿ-bérth. This was at that time the accentuation of ordinary words, such as *pechadū́r, § 40 iii. When the accent shifted, and *pechadū́r became pechádur, *gwr-dā́ became gẃr-da, *Aber-máw became Abér-maw and *Pen-ỿ-bérth became Pen-ỿ́-berth. In most cases of a combination like the last, each noun retained its individuality, and the original accentuation remained; hence Pèn-ỿ-bérth, which is a common place-name, is usually so accented, and the accentuation Pen-ỿ́-berth is exceptional. In such a phrase as prỿ́t náwn ‘time of noon’, each noun retained its meaning to the Ml. W. period; then, when the combination came to be regarded as a unit, the first element became unstressed, resulting in prỿt-náwn, whence prỿ-nháwn, § 111 v (5).
(2) Improper compounds having thus become units could be treated as units for all purposes; thus some of them have derivatives, such as gwr-dā́-aeth, ‘nobility’, tref-tád-aeth ‘heritage’, di-dref-tád-u s.g. 306 ‘to disinherit’, prỿnháwn-ol ‘evening’ adj.
(3) On the other hand, in some proper compounds each element was doubtless felt to preserve its significance; and the persistence of this feeling into the Ml. period resulted in loose compounds.
§ 47. i. In compound prepositions the elements may be accented separately, as óddi ár. But the second element has usually the stronger accent; and in some cases the first element becomes unaccented, as in Ml. W. y gánn, which became gan ‘by’ in Late Ml. and Mn. W. by the loss of the unaccented syllable.
On the analogy of y gánn, y ẃrth, etc., derivative and other old prepositional and adverbial formations retained the O. W. accentuation, as odán, yr͑ẃng, yrháwg.
The separate accent often persists in Mn. W., as in óddi ẃrth (Ml. W. y wrth), and in adverbial phrases like óddi ýno (in the dialects ṓdd ýno as in Ml. W.). In the latter the first element may become predominant, thus ṓdd yno ‘from there’ in the spoken language (often contracted to ṓẟno and even ṓno).
ii. In prepositional and adverbial expressions formed of a preposition and a noun (whether written separately or not), the last element only is accented; thus uwch-bén ‘above’, dra-chéfn ‘again’, ger-brón ‘before’, uwch-láw ‘above’, ymlā́en ‘forward’, ynghȳ́d ‘together’, i gȳ́d ‘together’, eri̯ṓed ‘ever’.
These expressions thus form improper compounds accented on the ultima. The adverb achlā́n (achlân) ‘wholly’ is similarly accented.
    Hḗais fal orohī́an
    I chlṓd yng Ngwynedd achlā́n.—D.G. 235.
‘I have sown her praises like a paean through the whole of Gwynedd.’
iii. Many adverbial expressions of three syllables, consisting of a monosyllabic noun repeated after a preposition, form improper compounds accented on the penult; as ol-ỿ́n-ol ‘track in track’, i.e. ‘in succession’, ben-drá-phen ‘head over head’, law-ỿ́n-llaw ‘hand in hand’, etc. The first noun may have a secondary or separate accent, as blìth drá-phlith ‘helter-skelter’. The first noun being in an adverbial case has a soft initial.
    A daufrawd ieuaf ar ôl
    Eli énw̯og ol-ỿ́n-ol.—G.Gl., c. i 201.
‘And two younger brothers in succession after the famous Eli.’
    Oes hwy no thri, Siôn, y’th roer,
    Law-ỿ́n-llaw â’th law̯én-lloer.—T.A., a 14866/74b.
‘For a life longer than three, Siôn, mayst thou be spared, hand in hand with thy bright moon.’ See also E.P. 240.
    Ael-ỿ́n-ael â’i elỿ́ni̯on.—D.N., c. i 160.
‘Brow to brow with his enemies.’
    Dal-ỿ́n-nal rhwng dwy lánnerch.—D.N., m 136/147.
‘Face to face between two glades’; ýnnal for ýn-nhal, § 48 ii.
    Daw o déidi̯au dad-í-dad,
    Gollwyn hen,—nid gwell un had.—W.Ỻ.
‘He comes from forebears, father to father, like an ancient hazel-grove—there is no better seed.’
    Arglwyddi lī́n ó-lin ynt.—L.G.C. 460.
‘They are lords from line to line.’
See wers dragwers Ỻ.a. 164 ‘reciprocally’, gylch ogylch do. 166 ‘round about’, ddẃrn trá-dwrn, láw drá-llaw, L.G.C. 18. In many cases the first noun also is preceded by a preposition, as
    Marchog o lī́n ó-lin oedd. L.Mor., i.mss. 292.
‘He was a knight from line to line.’
See o lwyn í-lwyn D.G. 141, o law í-law do. 145. Cf. Late Mn. W. í-gam ó-gam ‘zig-zag’.
​The ordinary accentuation is also met with in the bards:
    O lẃyn i lẃyn, ail Énid.—D.G. 84.
‘From bush to bush, [maiden] second to Enid.’
iv. When pa or pỿ is followed by a preposition governing it, the latter only is accented: pa-hám (for pa am, § 112 i (2)) ‘what for? why?’ often contracted into pam by the loss of the unaccented syllable, § 44 vii. So were doubtless accented the Ml. W. pahár a.l. i 108, 134, pa hár do. 118 (for pa ar) ‘what on?’ pa rác b.b. 50, pyrác r.m. 126 ‘what for?’
§ 48. i. When the syllable bearing the principal accent begins with a vowel, a nasal, or r, it is aspirated under certain conditions, § 112 i (4); thus ce|nhéd|loedd ‘nations’, from cenedl; bo|nhé|ddig (vonheẟic r.p. 1331) from bonedd ‘gentry’, § 104 iv (1); cy|nháli̯wyd, from cynnal ‘to support’ from cyn + dal (d normally becomes n, not nh, § 106 ii); di|háng|ol from di-anc ‘to escape’; a phlannhédeu r.p. 1303 ‘and planets’, usually planedau; kenhadeu w.m. 184, oftener in Ml. W. kennadeu do. 42 ‘messengers’.
    A’i aur a’i fedd y gŵyr fo,
    Fonhéddig, fy nyhuddo.—L.G.C. 188.
‘With his gold and mead doth he use, as a gentleman, to comfort me.’
ii. On the other hand, an h required by the derivation is regularly dropped after the accent; as cýnnes ‘warm’, for cýn-nhes from cyn + tes (t gives nh, § 106 iii (1)); bré|nin ‘king’, for brḗn|nhin from bre|en|nhin from *breentin, Cornish brentyn; tán|nau ‘strings’, for tán|nheu from O. W. tantou m.c.; ḗang ‘wide’, for éh-ang from *eks-ang‑; ánawdd Ỻ.a. 109 for án-hawdd ‘difficult’; áraul ‘bright’, for ár-haul, which appears as arheul in r.p. 1168. The h is, however, retained between vowels in a few words, as ḗhud ‘foolish’, dḗhau and dḗau ‘right (hand), south’; and in nrh, nhr, nghr, and lrh, as ánrhaith ‘spoil’, ánhrefn ‘disorder’, ánghred ‘infidelity’, ólrhain ‘to trace’.
The h is also dropped after a secondary accent, as in ​brènini̯áethau ‘kingdoms’. So we have cènedláethau ‘generations’, bòneddígaidd ‘gentlemanly’ (voneẟigeiẟ r.g. 1129).
iii. Note therefore the shifting of the h in such a word as diháreb ‘proverb’, Ml. W. dihaereb r.p. 1326, pl. dìarhébi̯on, Ml. W. diaerhebẏon r.b. 974, 975, 1083. The word has etymologically two h’s: di-haer-heb, but only that is preserved which precedes the principal accent.
iv. The above rules may be briefly stated thus: an intrusive h sometimes appears before the accent, and an organic h regularly disappears after the accent. It is obvious that the rule cannot be older than the present system of accentuation; it is indeed the direct result of that system, and is probably not much later in origin. The first change was the weakening and subsequent loss of h after the accent, giving such pairs as brenin, brenhinoedd; angen, anghenus (< *n̥ken‑, Ir. ēcen); cymar, cymharu (< Lat. compar‑): here h vanishes in the first word of each pair. Later, on the analogy of these, other pairs were formed, such as bonedd, bonheddig; cenedl, cenhedloedd; where an intrusive h appears in the second word of each pair.
In O. W., when the accent fell on the ultima, it was easy to say bre|en|nhī́n; but when the accent settled on the penult, it required an effort to sound the aspirate after the breath had been expended on the stressed syllable. Hence we find, at the very beginning of the Ml. period, breenhineẟ and breenin l.l. 120. But the traditional spelling, with h, persisted, and is general in b.b., as minheu 12; synhuir (≡ synnhwyr) 17; ag̃hen ag̃heu 23; breenhin 62; though we also find a few exceptions, as kag̃ell 35. In r.m. it still survives in many words, as brenhin 2; ag̃heu 5 (but angeu ib.); mwyhaf 11; minheu 12; but more usually vwyaf 13; minneu 3; gennyf 8; synnwyr 13; amarch 36; llinat (for llin-had) ‘linseed’ 121. In the r.p. we find ánawẟ 1227, 1264, 1270, 1299; áneirdd, ánoew̯ 1226; diagɏr (for dí-hagr) 1289; lláwir (for llaw-hir ‘long-handed’) 1207, 1226; láw$^h$ir 1214, with h inserted above the line—an etymological correction; áwrḥonn 1271, with h deleted by the underdot—a phonetic correction.
Intrusive h makes its first appearance later, and is rarer in Ml. W. than lost h. In a.l., ms. a., we find boneẟyc ii 6, 14, but in this ms. n may be for nh; in later mss. bonheẟyc i 176–8, ms. e.; bonheẟic in Ml. W. generally. In other cases it is less usual; thus kennadeu is the form in r.m., though the older w.m. has sometimes kenhadeu 184, 249; kenedloeẟ r.b.b. 259, Ỻ.a. 169, so generally.
The orthography of the 1620 Bible generally observes the phonetic rule; thus brenin, brenhinoedd Ps. ii 6, 2; cenedl, cenhedloedd do. xxxiii 12, ii 1; angeu, anghefol do. vi 5, vii 13; aros, arhosodd Jos. x 12, 13; bonheddig, boneddigion Es. ii 9, 1 Cor. i 26; ammarch, ammherchi Act. v 41, Rhuf. i 24; etc. There are some irregularities and inconsistencies; e.g. diharebion Diar., title, i 1, and anghall Diar. i 4 beside the phonetic angall do. viii 5. The Bible spelling was ​generally followed, and the use of h medially was fairly settled on phonetic lines, when Pughe introduced confusion by discarding it wherever his mad etymology failed to account for it. His wildest innovations, such as glanâu, parâu for glanháu, parháu, were rejected by universal consent; but his principle was adopted by the “new school” including T. Charles, Tegid and G. Mechain, who disregard the accent, and insert or omit h in all forms of the same vocable according to their idea of its etymology. Silvan Evans (Llythyraeth, 68) writes as if the cogency of this principle were self-evident, and imagines that to point out the old school’s spelling of cyngor without, and cynghorion with, an h, is to demonstrate its absurdity. In his dictionary he writes brenines, boneddig, etc., misquoting all modern examples to suit his spelling; under ammeuthun (his misspelling of amheuthun) he suppresses h in every quotation.
In spite of the determined efforts of the “new school” in the thirties, present-day editions of the Bible follow the 1620 edn. with the exception of a few insertions of etymological h, as in brenin, ammarch, which appear as brenhin, ammharch.
Quantity.
§ 49. In Mn. W. all vowels in unaccented syllables are short.
Unaccented syllables here include those bearing a secondary accent, in which the vowel is also short, as in cĕ̀nedláethau, though before a vowel it may be long in deliberate pronunciation, as in dḕalltẃri̯aeth.
In Late Ml. W. the same rule probably held good, but not necessarily earlier. In O. W. it was clearly possible to distinguish in the unaccented penult the quantities preserved later when the syllable became accented, § 56 iv.
§ 50. Vowels in accented syllables in Mn. W. are either (1) long, as the a in cân ‘song’; (2) medium as the a in canu; or (3) short, as the a in cann ‘white’, cannu ‘to whiten’.
In monosyllables a long vowel (except i or u) is generally circumflexed before n, r or l, § 51 iv, and in any other case where it is desired to mark the quantity. Short vowels are marked by ` which is sometimes used instead of doubling the consonant, as in D.D. s.v. càn = gan ‘with’, and before l which ​cannot be doubled in writing; dàl b.cw. 91, hèl do. 95, càlon Hyff. Gynnwys (1749) pp. 3, 20, 319 bis.
☞In this grammar the circumflex has been retained in most cases where it is, or might be, used in ordinary writing. But where the position of the accent has to be indicated, ˉ́ is used; where there is no need to point out the accent, and the word is not usually circumflexed, ˉ is used. As every long vowel must be accented in Mn. W., it will be understood that ˉ, ˉ́ and ˆ in Mn. W. words mean the same thing. In Brit. and earlier a vowel marked ˉ is not necessarily accented. As ` is required to denote a secondary accent it would be confusing to use it to mark a short accented vowel; hence ˘́ is used here for the latter purpose, where necessary. The accent mark ´ denotes accent without reference to quantity. A medium vowel can only be indicated by showing the syllabic division; thus cá|nu.
Note. The medium vowel, or short vowel with open stress, which occurs in the penult, is not heard in English where a penultimate accented vowel, if not short as in fathom, is long as in father. Silvan Evans calls the medium vowel “long”, and J.D.R. often circumflexes it. But the a of cá|nu is not long, except in comparison with the a of cán|nu; beside the a of cân it is short. It is a short vowel slightly prolonged past the point of fullest stress, so as to complete the syllable, and the following consonant is taken over to the ultima.
§ 51. i. If a vowel in a monosyllable is simple its quantity is determined by the final consonant or consonants, the main principle being that it is long before one consonant, short before two, or before a consonant originally double; see § 56 ii.
ii. The vowel is short before two or more consonants, or before p, t, c, m, ng; as cănt ‘hundred’, tŏrf ‘crowd’, pŏrth ‘portal’, bărdd ‘bard’, ăt ‘to’, llăc ‘slack’, căm ‘crooked’, llŏng ‘ship’.
Nearly all monosyllables ending in p, t or c are borrowed; some from Irish, as brăt ‘apron’, most from E. as hăp, tŏp, hĕt, pŏt, cnŏc, which simply preserve the original quantity. E. tenuis after a long vowel becomes a media, as W. clôg < E. cloak, W. grôd g. 157 < E. groat, re-borrowed as grôt; so the late borrowings côt, grât (but in S. W. cǒt}.
W. ăt is an analogical formation, § 209 vii (2); ac, nac should be ag, nag in Mn. orthography § 222 i (1), ii (3).
​Exceptions to the above rule are the following:
(1) In N. W. words ending in s or ll followed by another consonant have the vowel long; as trīst ‘sad’, cōsb ‘punishment’, hāllt ‘salt’ adj., etc., except in borrowed words, as căst ‘trick’. In S. W., however, all such words as the above conform to the rule.
(2) The vowel is long when it is a late contraction, § 33 iv; as ânt ‘they go’, for a-ant; bûm ‘I have been’, for bu-um; bônt ‘they may be’, for bo-ont; rhônt ‘they give’, for rho-ant. In ɥ̂m ‘we are’, ɥ̂nt ‘they are’, the vowel is pronounced long; it is marked long by J.D.R. 94; but E.P., ps. lxxv 1, rhymes ynt with hynt, and in Ml. W. it is written ynt (not *yynt); hence the lengthening is probably due to false analogy.
Cânt ‘they shall have’ is for ca-ant and has long a; but cant ‘sang’ is for can‑t; and is therefore short. Even gwĕld, § 44 vi, from gwêl, has the e shortened by the two consonants; a fortiori, in cant ‘sang’ where the final double consonant is older, the a must be short. Silvan Evans (s. v. canu) adopts the error of some recent writers, and circumflexes the a in cant, even where it rhymes with chwant, and in quoting Gr.O. 82, where no circumflex is used. The word never rhymes with ânt, gwnânt, etc.
☞The vowel is circumflexed when long before two consonants, except where the length is dialectal.
(3) The mutated form dēng of deg ‘ten’ preserves the long vowel of the latter in N. W.
iii. The vowel is long if it is final, or followed by b, d, g, f, dd, ff, th, ch, s; as tŷ ‘house’, llē ‘place’, māb ‘son’, tād ‘father’, gw̯āg ‘empty’, dōf ‘tame’, rhōdd ‘gift’, clōff ‘lame’, crōth ‘womb’, cōch ‘red’, glās ‘blue’.
Exceptions: (1) Words which are sometimes unaccented, vi below.
(2) Words borrowed from English, as săd ‘steady’, tw̆b, fflăch (from flash), lăch (from lash). Sŭd, also written sŭt, ‘kind, sort’ from suit (cf. Chaucer, Cant. Tales 3241) is now short; but in D.G. 448 it is long, rhyming with hud.
(3) Some interjectional words, such as chwăff, pĭff, ăch. The interjection och is now short, but is long in the bards; see Och/Gōch D.G. 464. Cȳff is now sometimes incorrectly shortened.
☞A long vowel need not be circumflexed before any of the above consonants. In the case of a contraction, however, the vowel is usually marked; thus rhôdd ‘he gave’ for rhoodd for rhoddodd. In such forms the circumflex is unconsciously regarded as a sign of contraction, and may be taken to indicate that the vowel is long independently of the character of the consonant.
The circumflex is also used in nâd ‘cry’ to distinguish it from năd ‘that not’.
iv. If the vowel be followed by l, n or r, it may be long or ​short: tâl ‘pay’, dăl ‘hold’, cân ‘song’, căn ‘white’; câr ‘relative’, căr ‘car’.
Each of these consonants may be etymologically single or double. Dăl is from *dalg- § 110 ii (2), so that the final l represents two root consonants. In O. and Ml. W. final n and r when double in origin were doubled in writing, as in penn, ‘head’, Irish cenn, in other cases of course remaining single as in hēn ‘old’, Irish sen; thus the principle that the vowel is short before two consonants, long before one, applied. The final consonant is now written single even in words like pen, and only doubled when a syllable is added, as in pennaf, cf. Eng. sin (O. E. sinn) but sinner (though even medial ‑nn- is now sounded ‑n- in Eng.). It is therefore necessary now to distinguish between long and short vowels in these words by marking the vowels themselves.
☞In a monosyllable, a long vowel followed by l, n or r is circumflexed; thus, tâl ‘pay’, cân, ‘song’, dôr ‘door’, dêl ‘may come’, hŷn ‘older’. But i and u need not be circumflexed, since they are always long before these consonants, except in prin, and in (= Ml. W. ynn ‘to us’), and a few words from English as pĭn, bĭl. The common words dȳn, hēn, ōl are seldom circumflexed.
Ml. W. ‑nn is still written in some words, e.g. in onn ‘ash’ pl. ɥnn, as in the names Llwyn Onn, Llwyn Ynn. Doubling the consonant is preferable to marking the vowel when it is desired to avoid ambiguity, as in cann ‘white’, a yrr ‘drives’. It is not sounded double now when final; but the consonant is distinctly longer e.g. in pĕn than in hēn. In Corn., penn became pedn.
Note. The a is long in tâl ‘forehead, front, end’, and was circumflexed down to the latter part of the 18th cent.; see D.D. s.v., g. 68. The l is etymologically single, as is seen in the Gaulish name Cassitalos. In the spoken language the word survives only in place-names, and is sounded short in such a name as Tàl-y-bónt because this has become an improper compound accented on the ultima, § 46 iii, so that its first element has only a secondary accent, § 49. When the principal accent falls on it, it is long, as in Trwyn-y-tâl near the Rivals. Tegig̃il o tâl, Edeirnaun, Iâl b.b. 74 ‘Tegeingl to its end, Edeirnawn, [and] Yale.’ The rhyme with Iâl shows the quantity of tâl.
    Y fun araf, fain, eirian,
    A’r tâl fal yr aur mâl mân.—D.G. 330.
‘The calm, slender, bright girl, with the head like finely milled gold.’
v. When the word ends in ll the quantity varies. In N. W. it is short in all such words except ōll, hōll; in S. W. it is long, except in găll ‘can’, dŭll ‘manner’, mw̆ll ‘sultry’, cy̆ll ‘loses’, and possibly some others.
​vi. Many prepositions, adverbs and conjunctions, which are long by the above rules, by being often used as proclitics have become short even when accented, more especially in N. W.; as rhăg ‘against’, hĕb ‘without’, nĭd, năd ‘not’, dăn ‘under’ (originally one n), măl, făl, fĕl ‘like’, ăg (written ac) ‘and’, năg (written nac) ‘nor’; but ā́g ‘with’.
The long vowel is preserved in some of these in S. W. The word nes ‘until’, § 215 i (2), was circumflexed even by N. W. writers as late as the 18th cent., see nês g. 237; it is now sounded nĕs (already nes in b.cw. 83, 115 beside nês ‘nearer’ 13, 109, 110). In D.G. dan ‘under’ has long a:
    Serchog y cân dān y dail.—D.G. 225.
‘Lovingly it sings under the leaves.’
§ 52. i. If the vowel in a monosyllable is the first element of a diphthong, its quantity depends chiefly upon the form of the diphthong.
ii. The vowel is long in ae, oe, w͡y; thus trāed ‘feet’, ōen ‘lamb’, hŵyr ‘late’, cāe ‘field’, cāem ‘we might have’, dōe ‘yesterday’, mw̄y ‘more’, cŵyn ‘complaint’, hw̄ynt ‘they’, blōesg ‘blaesus’, rhw̄ysg ‘pomp’, māent ‘they are’, trôent ‘they might turn’.
But except before ‑sg, w͡y is short before two or more consonants or m; as tw̆ym, tw̆ymn, ‘hot’, rhw̆ym ‘bound’ (also rhw̄ym), cw̆ymp ‘fall’ (now pron. cw̯ɥ̆mp in N. W.), llw̆ybr ‘path’, rhw̆ystr ‘hindrance’, brw̆ydr ‘battle’, pw̆ynt ‘point’;—hw̄ynt is influenced by hw̄y ‘they’. Similarly māent formed from, and influenced by māe. The other cases are examples of contraction: cāem < cā-em, trôent < tro-ynt.
iii. The vowel is short in all other falling diphthongs; as băi ‘fault’, by̆w ‘alive’, trŏi ‘to turn’, llăid ‘mud’, brĭw ‘wound’, dŭw ‘god’, bŭwch ‘cow’, hăul ‘sun’, ăur ‘gold’, dĕwr ‘brave’, băwd ‘thumb’, măwl ‘praise’, etc.
Exceptions: (1) In N. W. aw, ew are long when final only; as tāw! ‘be silent’, bāw ‘dirt’, llēw ‘lion’, tēw ‘fat’; otherwise short as above. In S. W. the diphthongs are short in both cases.
(2) au is long in trāul ‘wear, expense’, pāun ‘peacock’, gwāudd ‘daughter-in-law’, ffāu ‘den’, gwāun ‘meadow’, cāul ‘rennet’, pāu ‘country’. The form gwaen is a recent misspelling of gwāun. In West Gwynedd the word is pronounced gwĕun (e ≡ ə), Ml. W. gweun, O. W. guoun.
(3) The vowel is long in âu when contracted for a-au, as in plâu ‘plagues’; but in cău for cáe-u, § 202 iii, it is short. It is long in âi for a-ai, and ôi for o-ai when final, as gwnâi, trôi 3rd sg. impf.; but ​ŏi for o-ai not final, as in trŏis for tró-ais. On account of the long vowel gwnâi, trôi, etc. are generally sounded and often written gwnae, troe, etc.; but in the bards ‑âi rhymes with ai, see wnâi / ehedai g. 242. Both forms are seen in Ml. W. gwnai W.M. 25, 54, gwnay r.m. 237 (ae=ay, § 29 ii (1)).
(4) The vowel is long in o’i, a’i, da i̯, etc., § 33 v, of course only when accented. In Ml. W. o’i, a’i are written oe, ae or oy, ay.
§ 53. When the accent in a polysyllable falls on the ultima, the above rules apply as if the ultima were a monosyllable; thus, short, pahắm ‘why?’, penắig, § 41 iii (2), parhắu ‘to continue’, gw͡yrdrŏ́i ‘to distort’; long, Cymrā́eg, parhā́nt (for parhá-ant), gw͡yrdrṓi (for gw͡yrdro-ai) ‘he distorted’, penllā́d ‘summum bonum’.
In parhau, caniatau, etc., some recent writers circumflex the a, possibly a practice first intended to indicate the long vowel in the uncontracted form ‑ha-u, § 54 iii. When contracted the a is short. In D.D. and Bible (1620) it is not circumflexed. J.D.R. 144 writes cadarnháu. But see § 55 ii.
§ 54. In the accented penult—
i. (1) The vowel is short, if followed by two or more consonants, or by p, t, c, m, ng, ll, s; as hărddwch ‘beauty’, plĕntyn ‘child’, cănnoedd ‘hundreds’, by̆rrach ‘shorter’, ĕstron ‘stranger’, ĕpil ‘progeny’, ăteb ‘answer’, ămeu, ‘to doubt’, ăngen ‘need’, ăllan ‘out’, Iĕsu ‘Jesus’, glăndeg ‘fair’, glănw̯aith ‘cleanly’, tăni̯o ‘to fire’, ty̆bi̯af ‘I suppose’. There is no exception to this rule, though before m the vowel is sometimes wrongly lengthened in words learnt from books, such as trămor ‘foreign’, ămwys ‘ambiguous’.
Silvan Evans marks many obsolete words, such as amwg, amug with long ā, for which there is no evidence whatever; it merely represents his own misreading of Ml. W. ‑m‑, which always stands for ‑mm‑.
(2) The consonants above named are each double in origin. In Ml. W. t, c, s were usually doubled in this position, as atteb, racco or racko, messur; but ‑m- is generally written single, owing to the clumsiness of ‑mm- and its frequency; possibly ‑p‑, which is not very common, followed the analogy of ‑m‑; ll and ng being digraphs can hardly be doubled in writing. In early Bibles m and p are doubled; and G.R. wrote gaḷḷu, doubling ḷ (his ḷ = ỻ). As however each is etymologically double (except in borrowed words), the double origin ​is sufficiently indicated by writing the letter; thus ateb is necessarily the same as atteb; mesur is necessarily messur. So every medial or final m, ng or ll means mm, ŋŋ, or ỻỻ etymologically, and is so pronounced in the accented penult.
☞ But in the case of n and r the consonant is not necessarily douhle; hence a distinction must be made between single and double n and r. The a in cannu ‘to whiten’ is short because it is followed by nn, representing original nd (cf. Lat. candeo); the a in canu ‘to sing’ is medium because it is followed by a single n (cf. Lat. cano). The distinction is made in nearly all Ml. mss., and generally in Mn. mss. and printed books down to Pughe’s time.
(3) The accented syllable is “closed” (stopped, blocked) by the first of the two consonants, thus glắn|deg, plĕ́n|tyn, cắn|nu. Even i̯ and w̯ cause the preceding consonant to close the penult; thus glắn|w̯aith from glân ‘clean’. Ml. scribes, knowing that the syllable was closed by two consonants, and not knowing that the second in this case was i̯ or w̯, sometimes doubled the first consonant, as in dynnẏon w.m. 32, (g)lannweith r.m. 52; but as a rule, perhaps, it is written single, as in dynẏon r.m. 21, (g)lanweith w.m. 72. A consonant originally double cannot be distinguished from one originally single in this case; thus tắn-i̯o ‘to fire’, from tân ‘fire’, and glắ-i̯o ‘to land’, from glann ‘shore’, form a perfect double rhyme. It is therefore unusual to double the consonant in the modern language in these forms; glannio and torriad are written glanio and toriad, which adequately represent the sound (cf. pentref for penntref, etc.). Thus in ysgrifennw͡yd ‘was written’ the double n indicates that the w is a vowel; in ysgrifenw̯yr ‘writers’, the single n indicates that the w̯ is consonantal. Hence some words like annw͡yl c.m. 70, synnw͡yr r.m. 116 are now written with one n owing to a common, but by no means general, mispronunciation of w͡y as w̯ɥ; see P.Ỻ. xcvi, where Llyr / ssynwyr is condemned as a false rhyme.
ii. The vowel is medium if followed by b, d, g, ff, th, ch, l, single n, or single r; as gó|baith ‘hope’, á|deg ‘time’, sé|gur ‘idle’, é|ffaith ‘effect’, é|thol ‘to elect’, pé|chod ‘sin’, cá|nu ‘to sing’, bó|re ‘morning’, cá|lan ‘new year’s day’.
In this case the accented syllable is “open” (free), that is, it ends with the vowel, and the consonant is carried on to the next syllable. See § 50, Note; 27 i.
In a few forms we have a short vowel before l, as in Iŏ́l|o (often mis-read Iô|lo); cắl|on ‘heart’; cŏ́l|yn ‘sting’, O. W. colginn juv.; bŏ́l|wst ‘colic’ < *bolg‑; dĕ́l|ir ‘is held’ for dĕ́l|i̯ir § 36 i <*dĕ́lᵹ̑ir. In Ml. W. such forms are written with double l, § 22 ii.
Double l cannot be from original ll, which gives the voiceless Welsh ll (ỻ). It occurs only in a new hypocoristic doubling as in Iol-lo, or where a consonant now lost closed the syllable before disappearing: ​in cắlon the lost consonant is w̯; in cŏ́lyn it is i̯ < ᵹ̑; w̯ drops before o, and i̯ before y § 36 iii, ii;—cắlon (Corn. colon, Bret. kalon, kaloun) < *kalu̯ond‑: W. colweẟ b.a. 6 ‘heart’, coludd ‘entrail’: Skr. kroḍá‑ḥ ‘breast, interior’: Gk. χολάδες, O. Bulg. želąd‑ŭkŭ ‘maw’ with ɡh- (q/ɡh alternation).—For Early Mn. W. cắlyn ‘to follow’ the Ml. canlyn has been restored in writing.
A short vowel also occurs in cădwn, ty̆bir, etc. § 36 i.
iii. The vowel is long if followed by a vowel or h; as ḗog (‘salmon’, dḗ-hau ‘right, south’, Gwen|llī́|an.
iv. It is short in all falling diphthongs; as cắe|ad ‘lid’, mw̆́y|af ‘most’, llĕ́i|af ‘least’, rhw̆́y|dau ‘nets’, llw̆́y|brau ‘paths’, hĕ́u|log ‘sunny’, tĕ́w|dwr ‘thickness’, bỿ̆́w|yd ‘life’, cnắw|dol ‘carnal’.
But in N. W. the vowel is medium in aw, ew, iw before a vowel, that is the w is heterosyllabic; thus tá|w̯el ‘silent’, té|w̯i ‘to be silent’, llé|w̯od ‘lions’, ní|w̯ed ‘harm’. In S. W., however, these are sounded tắw|el, tĕ́w|i, llĕ́w|od, nĭ́w|ed.
§ 55. i. The above are the quantities of the vowels in the Mn. language. They were probably the same in Ml. W. where the vowel is simple. Thus map or mab, tat, gwac had a long ā like their modern equivalents māb, tād, gwāg; for where the vowel was short and the final consonant voiceless (= Mn. p, t, c), the latter was doubled, as in bratt r.g. 1117, Mn. W. bratt D.D., or brat (≡ brăt) ‘rag, apron’. In the case of Ml. single ‑t, both the long vowel and the voiced consonant are attested in the spelling of foreigners; thus the place-name which is now Bōd Feirig, which in Ml. W. spelling would be *Bot veuruc, appears in Norman spelling in the Extent of Anglesey, dated 1294, as Bode-ueuryk (Seebohm, Trib. Sys.¹ App. 6), where bode doubtless means bōd, the Mn. W. sound. Again in the Extent of Denbigh, dated 1335, the Mn. W. Rhōs appears as Roos (op. cit. 72), showing the vowel to be long before s then as now. The N. W. long vowel before st is attested in 1296 in the Ruthin Court Rolls p. 15, l. 10 in the spelling Neeste of the name Nest. The distinction between medium and short in the penult is everywhere implied in Ml. spelling; and we are told in r.g. 1120 that the vowel is long when followed by another, as the i in Gwenlliant, Mn. W. Gwen-llī́-an. Thus the quantity of a simple vowel was ​generally the same in all positions in Ml. and Mn. W., even local usage agreeing; except in shortened words § 51 vi.
ii. But in diphthongs many changes must have taken place. As a “vowel before a vowel” was long then as now, trṓ-ï must have had a long ō, so that, when first contracted, it was still long; it remains long in Montgomeryshire; thus the short o in trŏi̯ is probably late. Similarly short ĕi for e-i, ău for a-u, ŏu for o-u. Other diphthongs also probably differ, and we can infer nothing as to Ml. W. quantity in diphthongs from the Mn. W. pronunciation.
§ 56. i. The quantity of a vowel in British determines its quality in Welsh; but its quantity in Welsh depends, as we have seen, on the consonantal elements which follow it in the syllable.
ii. A short accented vowel in Brit. or Latin ollowed by a single consonant was lengthened in Welsh; thus Brit. *tălos gave tâl, § 51 iv Note, *rŏtā (cognate with Lat. rŏta) gave rhōd, Lat. sŏnus gave sôn, etc. This took place after the change in the quality of long vowels, for while original ā gives aw § 71, long ā lengthened from ă remains â. It also took place after the reduction of pp, tt, cc into ff, th, ch, for the latter are treated as single consonants for this purpose; thus Lat. saccus became *saχos with single χ, which gives sach (≡ sāχ) in Welsh. Long vowels remained long, as in pûr from Lat. pūrus. On the other hand, a vowel originally long was shortened before two consonants; thus the ō of Lat. fōrma became ǖ, which was shortened in the Welsh ffŭrf. Hence the general rule § 51 i, which probably goes back to Early Welsh and beyond; for the lengthening of short vowels originated at the time of the loss of the ending, and is due to compensation for that loss.
iii. There is no reason to suppose that this lengthening took place only in monosyllables. Thus O. W. litan ‘wide’ (: Gaul. litanos in Κογκο-λιτανος, Smertu-litanus, etc., Ir. lethan) was probably sounded *llỿ-dā́n, while guinlann was doubtless *gwinl(l)ắnn. In Ml. W. when the ultima became unaccented this distinction was lost, the a of llýdān being shortened, § 49, and the nn of gwín-llann being simplified, § 27 ii. The rule forbidding the rhyming of such a pair was handed down from the older period, and is given in r.g. 1136; such a rhyme is called trwm ac ysgawn ‘heavy [with 2 consonants] and light [with one]’. But the bard’s ear no longer detected any difference in the unaccented ultima; he is therefore instructed to add a syllable to find out whether the syllable is “heavy” or “light”: kallonneu (ll ≡ l‑l) is given as an example to show that the on(n) of kallon [sic] is “heavy”, and amkaneu to show that the an of amkan is “light”. The Early Ml. bards avoid trwm ac ysgawn; but in the first poem in b.b., where the rhyme is ‑ann, several forms in ‑an occur, as imuan 1 (: gwanaf ‘I wound’), darogan 7 (: canaf ‘I sing’), which shows that ​the distinction was beginning to disappear. The Late Ml. poets frankly give it up; e.g. Ca. bychan / glan / kyvan(n) / diflan(n) / darogan / …kalan(n) / kan / Ieuan(n), r.p. 1233–4. Yet in O. W. the distinction was a real one, for it is reflected in the ordinary spelling of words; as bichan ox. ‘little’ (cf. vychanet w.m. 44, r.m. 31), atar ox. ‘birds’ (cf. adaren b.b. 107), scribenn m.c. ‘writing’ (cf. yscrivennu Ỻ.A. 2), corsenn ox., guinlann juv., etc. The dimin. endings ‑yn, ‑en appear as ‑inn, ‑enn; the pl. ending ‑i̯on is always ‑ion.
iv. In the unaccented penult in O. W. the distinction between an open and a closed syllable was preserved; the vowel must have been shorter in the latter, as it was later when the penult became accented.
v. The diversity in the present quantity of vowels before ll and s, and the fixing of the present quantities of diphthongs, are due to complicated actions of analogy, which it would take too much space here to attempt to trace.
The Aryan vowels in Keltic
§ 57. Parent Aryan had the following vowel-system:
| Short vowels | a | e | i | o | u | ə |
| Long vowels | ā | ē | ī | ō | ū |
| Short diphthongs | ai | ei | oi | au | eu | ou |
| Long diphthongs | āi | ēi | ōi | āu | ēu | ōu |
| Short vocalic | l̥ | m̥ | n̥ | r̥ |
| Long vocalic | l̥̄ | m̥̄ | n̥̄ | r̥̄ |
e and o were probably pronounced open; u has of course its Latin value ≡ Welsh w (not Welsh u); ə was an obscure vowel whose exact quality is uncertain, but which was probably not unlike W. ỿ; vocalic l̥, m̥, n̥, r̥ arose from reduced el, em, en, er; when long they represent the contracted reductions of two syllables § 63 vii (2).
§ 58. i. The Aryan short vowels remained unchanged in Primitive Keltic, except ə, which became a as in all the other branches except Indo-Iranian, in which it became i, see vii below.
ii. Ar. a (Lat. a, Gk. α). Lat. dacruma (lacruma), Gk. δάκρυ, Goth. tagr: W. pl. dagrau ‘tears’ < Pr. Kelt. *dakruu̯a.—Ar. *ag̑ō > Lat. agō, Gk. ἄγω: Ir. agaim ‘I drive’, W. af for a-af for *aᵹaf ‘I go’ < Pr. Kelt. *ag‑.—Lat. sāl, sălis, Gk. ἅλς, Goth. salt: Ir. salann, W. halen ‘salt’ < Pr. Kelt. *sal‑.
iii. Ar. e (Lat. e, Gk. ε). Ar. *bher- > Lat. ferō, Gk. φέρω, O. E. beran ‘to bear’: Ir. berimm ‘I bear’, W. ad-feraf ‘I re​store’ < Pr. Kelt. *ber‑.—Ar. *medhu- > Gk. μέθυ ‘wine’, O. H. G. metu ‘mead’, O. Bulg. medŭ ‘honey’, Skr. mádhu ‘honey’: W. medd ‘mead’, meddw̯ ‘drunk’ < Pr. Kelt. *medu- *medu̯‑.—Ar. *ek̑u̯os > Lat. equus, Skr. ás̑va‑ḥ: Ir. ech ‘horse’, Gaul. Epo- (in Epo-redia, etc.), W. eb-ol ‘colt’ < Pr. Kelt. *eku̯‑.
iv. Ar. i (Lat. i, Gk. ι). Ar. *u̯id- (√u̯eid- ‘see, know’) > Lat. video ‘I see’, Gk. Hom. ϝίδμεν, Goth. witum ‘we know’: Ir. fiss ‘knowledge’, W. gw̯ŷs ‘summons’ < Pr. Kelt. *u̯iss‑, § 87 ii.—Ar. *u̯liq$^{u̯}$- (√u̯eleiq$^{u̯}$- ‘wet’) > Lat. liqueo: Ir. fliuch ‘wet’, W. gw̯lyb ‘wet’ < Pr. Kelt. *u̯liq$^{u̯}$‑.
v. Ar. o (Lat. o, Gk. ο). Ar. *ok̑tṓ(u) > Lat. octō, Gk. ὀκτώ: Ir. ocht, W. ŵyth ‘eight’ < Pr. Kelt. *oktō § 69 iv (2). Ar. *loɡh- (√leɡh- ‘lie’) > Gk. λόχος ‘bed, couch, ambush’, O. Bulg. są-logŭ ‘consors tori’: W. go-lo-i, r.p. 1040, ‘to lay, bury’ < Pr. Kelt. *log‑.—Ar. *toɡ- (√(s)theɡ- ‘cover’) > Lat. toga: W. to ‘roof’, § 104 ii (2).
vi. Ar. u (Lat. u, Gk. υ). Ar. weak stem *k̑un- > Gk. gen. sg. κυνός, Goth. hunds, Skr. gen. sg. s̑únaḥ: W. pl. cŵn ‘dogs’ < Pr. Kelt. *kun-es.—Ar. *sru‑t- (√sreu- ‘flow’) > Gk. ῥυτός ‘flowing’, Skr. srutáḥ ‘flowing’, Lith. srutà ‘dung-water’: Ir. sruth ‘stream’, W. rhwd ‘dung-water’ < Pr. Kelt. *srut-.
vii. Ar. ə (see i). Ar. *pətḗr *pətér- > Lat. pater, Gk. πατήρ, Goth. fadar, Arm. hair, Skr. pitár‑: Ir. athir ‘father’ < Pr. Kelt. *(p)atīr. Ar. *sət- (√sē- ‘sow’) > Lat. satus: W. had ‘seed’ < Pr. Kelt. *sat‑, § 63 vi (1).
§ 59. i. The Aryan long vowels ā, ī, ū remained; but ē became ī; and ō in stem syllables became ā, in final syllables ū.
ii. Ar. ā (Lat. ā, Gk. Dor. ᾱ, Att. Ion. η). Ar. *bhrāt-ēr, ‑er‑, ‑ōr, ‑or- > Lat. frāter, Gk. Dor. φρᾱ́τηρ ‘member of a clan’, Goth. brōþar, Skr. bhrā́tar‑: Ir. brāthir, W. brawd ‘brother’, pl. broder, brodorion § 124 i < Pr. Kelt. *brāt-īr, ‑er‑, ‑or‑.—Ar. *māt-ēr, ‑er‑, ‑r- > Lat. māter, Gk. Dor. μᾱ́τηρ, Skr. mātár‑: Ir. māthir ‘mother’, W. modr‑yb ‘aunt’ < Pr. Kelt. *māt-ēr, ‑r‑.
iii. Ar. ē (Lat. ē, Gk. η). Lat. vērus, O. Bulg. věra ‘faith’: Ir. fir, W. gwīr ‘true’ < Pr. Kelt. *u̯īros.—Lat. rēx, Skr. rā́j- ‘king’: Ir. rī, Gaul. rīx, W. rhī < Pr. Kelt. *rīks, *rīg‑.
iv. Ar. ī (Lat. ī, Gk. ῑ). Ar. *q$^{u̯}$rīt- (√q$^{u̯}$rei̯ā- ‘buy’) > Skr. krītaḥ ‘bought’: Ir. crīthid ‘inclined to buy’, W. prīd ​‘precious’ < *Pr. Kelt. q$^{u̯}$rīt‑. O. H. G. rīm, O. E. rīm ‘number’: Ir. rīm, W. rhīf ‘number’ < Pr. Kelt. *rīm‑. Ar. suffix *‑īno‑, as in Lat. su-īnus: W. ‑in § 153 (10) < Pr. Kelt. *‑īno‑.
v. Ar. ō (Lat. ō, Gk. ω). Lat. ōcior, Gk. ὠκύς, Skr. ās̑úḥ ‘quick’: Ml. W. di-awc, Mn. W. di-og ‘idle’ < Pr. Kelt. *āk-us.—Lat. ignōtus, nōtus, Gk. γνωτός: Ir. gnāth ‘known, accustomed’, W. gnawd ‘customary’ < Pr. Kelt. *gnātos.—Lat. flōs, O. H. G. bluot ‘bloom’: Ir. blāth, Ml. W. blawt ‘blossom’ < Pr. Kelt. *blāt‑.
In final syllables Ar. ō > Kelt. ū; this became ǖ, later ī in Brit., and affected a preceding vowel, § 69 i; it remains as ‑ī in W. cī ‘dog’ § 132 (1). But when followed by a final nasal ō became o in Pr. Kelt.; thus Ir. gen. pl. fer ‘of men’ implies *u̯irŏn from *u̯irōm *‑ōm: Gk. ‑ων).
vi. Ar. ū (Lat. ū, Gk. ῡ). Lat. tū, Gk. τῡ́-νη), O. Icel. þū, Avest. tū: Ir. tū, W. tī ‘thou’ < Pr. Kelt. *tū.—O. H. G. rūna, O. Icel. rūn ‘secret, rune’: Ir. rūn, W. rhīn ‘secret’ < Pr. Kelt. *rūn‑.—Lat. cūlus: Ir. cūl, W. cīl ‘back’ < Pr. Kelt. *kūl‑.
§ 60. The Aryan short diphthongs remained in Pr. Kelt.; see examples in §§ 75, 76. In the long diphthongs the long vowels developed as elsewhere; thus āi, āu remained; ēi > īi̯; ēu > īu; in syllables not final ōi, ōu became āi, āu respectively; in final syllables ōi > ūi, later doubtless ū, but seemingly still written ‑ουι in Gaulish, Rhys CIG. 5; ōu > ūu̯; §§ 75, 76.
§ 61. i. (1) Aryan l̥, r̥ (Lat. ul, or; Gk. αλ, λα, αρ, ρα; Germ. ul, ur; Skr. r̥, r̥) probably remained in Pr. Kelt., but developed in all the groups as li, ri. Thus Ar. *ml̥k̑‑t- (√melg̑- ‘milk’) > Lat. mulctus: Ir. mlicht, blicht, W. blith ‘milch’ < *mlikt- < Pr. Kelt. *ml̥kt- (W. ar-mel ‘the second milk’, mel-foch ‘suckling pigs’ < F-grade *melg̑‑).—Ar. *k̑l̥‑t- (√k̑el- ‘hide’) > Lat. oc-cult-us: Ir. clethi ‘celandum’, W. clyd ‘sheltered’ < Pr. Kelt. *kl̥t‑.—Ar. *pr̥t- (√per-) > Lat. portus, O.H.G. furt: Gaul. ‑ritum, O. W. rit, Mn. W. rhyd ‘ford’ < Pr. Kelt. *(p)r̥t‑.—Ar. *q$^{u̯}$r̥m-is ‘worm’ > Skr. kŕ̥mi‑ḥ, Lith. kirmis: Ir. cruim, W. pryf 'worm' < Pr. Kelt. *q$^{u̯}$r̥mis.—Ar. *dr̥k̑- (√ derk̑‑) > Gk. ἔδρακον ‘I saw’, Skr. dŕ̥s̑- ‘look’: Ir. drech ‘aspect’, W. drych ‘appearance’, e-drychaf ‘I look’ < Pr. Kelt. *dṛk‑.
Ir. cru comes from q$^{u̯}$ri before i, e or u, as shown by cruimther ‘priest’ which appears in ogam as q$^{u̯}$rimitir < Early W. primter, Thurneysen Gr. 135; therefore this proves nothing as to Kelt. r̥. But Kelt. *r̥k gave Brit. *r̥kk > W. rych as in drych above, rhych < *pr̥k- § 101 iii (1), Zupitza KZ. xxxv 256, while Kelt. rik gives W. ryg as in cryg § 101 ii (2).
(2) Before vowels and i̯ and u̯, Ar. preserved an older form of these sounds, which we may write ₑl, ₑr, where ₑ represents an indistinct or murmured vowel. These give Kelt, ar, al, see § 63 iii.
ii. Ar. l̥̄, r̥̄ (Lat. lā, rā; Skr. īr, ūr for both) appear in Pr. Kelt. as lā, rā. Thus Ar. *pl̥̄-no- ‘full’ (√pelē‑) > Skr. pūrṇá‑ḥ: Ir. lān, W. llawn ‘full’ < Pr. Kelt. *(p)lānos.—Ar. *ml̥̄‑t- (√melā- ‘grind’) > W. blawd ‘flour’ < Pr. Kelt. *mlāt‑.—Ar. *g̑r̥̄n- (√gerāˣ- ‘rub, grind’) > Lat. grānum, Skr. jīrṇá‑ḥ ‘worn out’: Ir. grān, W. grawn ‘grain’ < Pr. Kelt. *grān‑. See § 63 vii (2).
62. i. (1) Ar. m̥, n̥ (Lat. em, en; Gk. α; Germ. um, un; Skr. a) remained in Pr. Kelt., and appear as am, an in Brit. and Gaul., and *em, *en in Ir. (becoming ē before c, t, and im, in before b, d, g). Thus Ar. k̑m̥tóm ‘hundred’ > Lat. centum, Gk. ἑ-κατόν, Goth. hund, Lith. szim̃tas, Skr. s̑atá‑m: Ir. cēt, W. cant.—Ar. *dn̥t- ‘tooth’ > Lat. dent‑, Goth. tunþus, Skr. dat‑: Ir. dēt, W. dant.—Ar. *n̥- negative prefix > Lat. in‑, Gk. ὰ‑, Germ, un‑: Ir. in-gnath ‘unwonted’, ē-trōcar ‘unmerciful’, W. an- § 156 i (5).
(2) Before vowels and i̯ and u̯, the forms were ₑm, ₑn, see § 61 i (2); these gave am, an in Kelt., and appear so in Ir. and W.; thus W. adanedd ‘wings’ < *pₑtₑníi̯ās; O. W. ‑ham, W. ‑(h)af spv. suffix < *‑isₑmos. But when ₑn followed the accent it seems to have become ann in Kelt. (through n̥n?); thus Ir. anmann ‘names’ < *án’mₑna < *ánəmₑnə § 121 iv, § 63 v (2); Ir. Ērenn ‘of Ireland’ < *ēriann < *īu̯erii̯ₑn-os beside W. Iwerẟon ‘Ireland’ < *īu̯éri̯on‑;—Brit. Britann- < *q$^{u̯}$rítₑn- § 3 iii; with the same suffix W. pell-enn-ig ‘stranger’;—W. griddfan ‘groan’ pl. griddfannau § 203 ii (4);—W. Gofannon, Gaul. Gobannicnos, Ir. goba ‘smith’, gen. gobann; etc.—Final ‑ann either remains as ‑an, or is reduced to ‑a § 110 v (2), or tended to become ‑ant (through ‑and?) § 121 iv, 203 ii (4).
This development is precisely parallel to that of the R-grade of ei̯ after the accent in Brit., which gave ai̯i̯ > W. ‑oeẟ, the second i̯ becoming ẟ. Similarly ou̯ after the accent gives W. ‑eü̯, prob. from ´‑ou̯u̯- § 76 iii (2).
ii. Ar. m̥̄, n̥̄ were doubtless mā, nā in Pr. Kelt. Thus Ar. *sn̥̄- (R² of √senē‑, see § 63 vii (2)), > Ir. snā-that, W. no-dwydd ‘needle’.—Ir. gnāth, W. gnawd ‘known, accustomed’ might be from *g̑n̥̄- like Lat. gnā-rus, but is more probably from *g̑nō- like Lat. nōtus, √g̑enē‑. The Gaul, ‑gnatus ‘born’ is assumed to have ā, in which case it may be from *g̑n̥̄‑; but it may have ă from ə, like W. ynad ‘judge’, Early Ml. W. pl. hyg̃neid B.B. 10, 84 < *hyn-ᵹnat < *seno-gnat- ‘elder’ < *g̑nə‑t‑, √g̑enē- ‘give birth’.
Aryan vowel gradation
§ 63. i. In Parent Aryan, while the consonants of any morphological element were comparatively stable, its vocalism varied according to circumstances; this variation is called “vowel gradation” or “ablaut”. The system is similar to, but less highly developed than, that of the Semitic languages, in which the only fixed elements of a word are its consonantal skeleton. In Aryan what may be regarded as the standard vowel was e; this is the full grade, and may be denoted by F. It interchanged with o; this grade may be denoted by F°. In either case the vowel might be lengthened, becoming ē or ō; the lengthened grades may be denoted by L and L°. The vowel might become more or less indistinct; in this case we write it below the line thus ₑ; this is the reduced grade, R. Lastly it might vanish altogether; this is the vanishing grade, V. The same syllable in different combinations may occur in any or all of these grades.
ii. Taking the root *sed- ‘sit’ as an example, the system is as follows (for z in V-grade see § 97) :
| V | R | F | F° | L | L° |
| zd | sₑd | sed | sod | sēd | sōd |
Examples: V *‑zd‑: W. nyth, Lat. nīdus, E. nest, etc. < Ar. *ni-zd-os § 97 ii, W. syth < *si‑zd‑, ibid.—R *sₑd‑: W. hadl < *sₑd-lo- § 111 vii (1).—F *sed‑: W. gorsedd ‘high seat’ < Kelt. *u̯er-en-sed‑; eistedd ‘to sit’ met. for *eitsedd < *ati-en-sed‑; Gaul. esseda ‘war-chariot’ < *en-sed‑; W. annedd ‘dwelling’ for ann-hedd < *n̥do-sed‑, cyntedd ‘porch’ < *kintu-sed‑; heddwch ‘peace’ < *sed‑; Lat. sedeo, etc.—F° *sod‑: W. hudd-ygl, Ir. suide ‘soot’ § 100 v; W. aros ‘to stay’ < *pₑri-sod‑t- § 187 iii.—L *sēd‑: Lat. sēdēs, whence W. swydd ‘office’.—L° *sōd‑: W. soddi ‘to sink’, sawdd ‘subsidence’ < *sōd‑, O.E. sōt, E. soot.
​√ed- ‘eat’:—V *d‑: W. dant, Lat. dent‑, etc. < *d‑n̥t- (participial stem) ‘*eater’. F *ed‑: W. ŷs ‘eats’ < *etˢti < *ed-ti, Lat. edo, est.—L *ēd‑: Lat. in-ēdia, Skr. ādyáḥ ‘eatable’.
√ret- ‘run’:—F *ret‑: W. rhedaf ‘I run’, gwa-redaf ‘I succour’, Gaul. Vo-reto‑.—F° *rot‑: Ir. roth, W. rhod ‘wheel’, Lat. rota.—L° *rōt‑: W. rhawd ‘troop’, Ml. W. gwarawt ‘he succoured’ < *u̯o-rāt- < *upo-(re)rōte.
In Kelt. ₑ becomes a before explosives, as well as before l, r, m, n, see iii below. Thus W. adar ‘birds’ < *pₑtₑr‑; adanedd ‘wings’ < *pₑtₑníi̯ās; beside edn ‘bird’ < *petn‑, √pet- ‘fly’. In Italic also we seem to have a for it, as in Lat. quattuor < *q$^{u̯}$ₑtu̯ores; in Gk. ι in πίσαρες; Hirt, Abl. 15, Meillet, Intr.² 73.
iii. When the vowel is followed by one of the sonants l, r, m, n, the scheme is as follows, er being taken as the example:
| V | R | F | F° | L | L° |
| r | r̥ ₑr | er | or | ēr | ōr |
Examples: suffix *‑ter‑:—V *‑tr‑: W. modryb ‘aunt’ < mā́-tr-əq$^{u̯}$-ī, Lat. gen. mā-tr-is.—R *‑tr̥‑: Skr. mā-tr̥-kā ‘grandmother’.—F *‑ter‑: W. bro-der ‘brothers’, Gk. acc. πα-τέρ-α.—F° *‑tor‑: W. bro-dor-ion ‘brothers, clansmen’, Gk. acc. φρᾱ́-τορ-α.—L *‑tēr‑: Gk. πατήρ.—L° ‑tōr‑: Gk. φρᾱ́-τωρ.
√bher- ‘bear’: R *bhr̥‑: W. cymryd ‘to take’ < *kom-bhr̥‑t-—F *bher‑: W. cymeraf ‘I take’ < *kom-bher‑; Lat. fero, Gk. φέρω, etc.
√k̑el- ‘hide’:—R *k̑l‑: W. clyd ‘sheltered’ < *k̑l̥‑t‑, Lat. occultus § 61 i (i).—F *k̑el‑: W. celaf ‘I conceal’.—L *k̑ēl‑: Lat. cēl-o.
Before these sonants ₑ appears as a in Kelt., giving al, ar, am, an. In other branches thus : Ar. ₑl, ₑr give Gk. αλ, αρ, Lat. al, ar, Germ. ul, ur, Skr. ir ur (for both), Lith. il ul, ir ur; Ar. ₑm, ₑn give Gk. αμ, αν, Lat. am, an or em, en (venio § 100 i (4), tenuis below), Germ. um, un, Skr. am, an, Lith. im um, in un.
The V-grade occurs only before vowels. The form r̥, n̥, etc. of the R-grade occurs only before consonants; the form ₑr, ₑn, etc. before vowels, and before i̯ and u̯. Where in the derived languages the latter appears before other consonants, a vowel following it has been elided since the Ar. period. I use ’ to mark this elision.
Examples: V-grade of el in W. glas ‘green’ see vii (3); of er in rhann vii (2); of en in glin vii (4).
R-grade before consonants, l̥, r̥, m̥, n̥, see examples in §§ 61, 62.
R-grade before vowels: W. malaf ‘I grind’ < *mₑl‑, √melāˣ- ‘grind’;—araith ‘speech’, Ir. airecht < *ₑreq‑t‑, √ereq- ‘speak’: O. Bulg. reką ‘I speak’ (with V-grade of 1st syll.);—archaf ‘I ask’, Ir. arco < Kelt. *ar’k- < *pₑrₑk̑‑, √perek̑‑: Lat. precor (with V-grade of 1st syll.);—carr ‘car’, Ir. carr, Gaul. (‑Lat.) carr(‑us) < Pr. Kelt. *kar’sos: Lat. currus < *qr̥s-os;—darn ‘fragment’ < *dₑr’n- < *dₑrə‑n‑: Skr. dīrṇáḥ ‘split, divided’ < *dr̥̄n- < *dₑrə‑n‑, √derā- ​‘split’;—so sarn ‘causeway’: Skr. stīrṇáḥ ‘strewn’, √sterō‑;—carn ‘hoof’, Galat. κάρνον ‘trumpet’: √k̑erāˣ(u̯)‑;—teneu ‘thin’, Corn. tanow, Ir. tana: Gk. τανυ‑, Lat. tenuis, Skr. tanú‑ḥ, all < Ar. *tₑnu‑; hafal ‘like, equal’, Ir. samail ‘likeness’ < *sₑmₑl‑: Lat. similis;—ganed ‘was born’ < *g̑ₑn‑, *√g̑enē‑.
R-grade before u̯: W. carw̯ deer ' < *k̑ₑru̯-os: Lat. cervus < *k̑eru̯-os;—marw̯ ‘dead’: Lat. mortuus § 204 ii (5);—before i̯: W. myned § 100 iv.
The forms l̥, r̥, m̥, n̥ are generally classed as V-grade; but the vowel of the syllable cannot be said to have vanished when it has converted the consonant r into the vowel r̥. In fact r̥ is the form that ₑr takes before a consonant, and must therefore be the same grade.
iv. The treatment of the diphthongs ei, eu (properly ei̯, eu̯) is parallel, i̯ and u̯ corresponding to l, r, m, n, and vocalic i, u to vocalic l̥, r̥, m̥, n̥. Thus:
| V | R | F | F° | L | L° |
| i̯ | i, (ₑi̯ >) ii̯ | ei̯ | oi̯ | ei̯ | oi̯ |
| u̯ | u, (ₑu̯ > ) uu̯ | eu̯ | ou̯ | eu̯ | ou̯ |
The R-grade forms i, u occur before consonants only; the forms ₑi̯, ₑu̯, which became ii̯, uu̯, occur before vowels.
Examples: V-grade: W. berw̯i ‘to boil’, Lat. ferveo < *bheru̯‑, √bhereu̯‑;—W. duw ‘god’ < *dw͡yw̯, Lat. deus both < *dei̯u̯-os, √dei̯eu̯‑, vii (4).
√u̯ei̯d- ‘see, know’:—R: gwedd ‘aspect’ < *u̯id-ā; gw̯ŷs ‘summons’, gw̯ŷs ‘it is known’, both < *u̯itˢt- < *u̯id‑t‑; Lat. vid-eo;—F: gŵydd ‘presence’ < *u̯ei̯d‑, arw͡ydd ‘sign’ < *pₑri-u̯eid‑; Gk. εἴδομαι;—F°: Gk. οἶδα < *u̯oi̯d-a.
√k̑leu̯- ‘hear’:—R: clod ‘praise’ < *k̑lu-tó‑m § 66 v; Gk. κέ-κλυ-θι;—F: clust ‘ear’ < *k̑leu‑t‑st- § 96 ii (3).
√deu̯k- ‘lead’:—R: dyg-af ‘I bring’, dwg ‘brings’ < *duk‑; dwyn ‘to bring’ < *duk‑n‑;—F: Lat. dūco, O. Lat. douc-o, Goth. tiuh-an < *deuk‑;—L°: dug 'brought' < *(du)-dōuk‑, § 182 ii (2).
The V-grade disappears between consonants; see √qonei̯d- vii (4) √geneu̯- ib.; see viii (2) and § 100 ii (2).
v. (1) As seen above, Ar. had the vowel e interchanging with o; the vowels i and u are secondary, being vocalized forms of i̯ and u̯.
(2) a occurred in Ar. only in special cases, which Meillet, Intr.² 139 gives thus: 1. in child-language, as Skr. tata, Gk. τάτα, Lat. tata, W. tada; 2. in certain isolated words, possibly borrowed, as Lat. faba; 3. in a few endings, as 3rd sg. mid. *‑tai, Gk. ‑ται, Skr. ‑te; and 4. initially, interchanging with zero, as Gk. ἀστήρ: Lat. stella, W. seren, E. star.
As shown by Meillet (ib. 140) initial a- may coexist with the F- or L-grade of the following syll., as in Gk. ἀ(ϝ)έξω with F *u̯eg- beside αὔξω, Lat. augeo with V *u̯g‑; cf. ἀστήρ. This seems to imply that a- might be a movable preformative, but it does not prove that it was ​outside the ablaut system; in fact, the common gradation ā : ə necessarily implies the ablaut of a, as ē : ə does that of e; see vi.
Many indications point to a being an Ar. survival of a pre-Aryan sole vowel a, which ordinarily split up in Ar. into e and o. It is preserved in child-language because this is conservative; thus while Ar. *tata gives W. tad ‘father’, in W. child-speech it remains as táda. In the ordinary language a stands side by side with e/o, or occurs where we should expect e/o, in the following cases: 1. initially; 2. before *ə̯ or i̯; 3. before gutturals. Thus 1. at‑, ati‑: et‑, eti- pref. and adv. ‘beyond, and, but’ § 222 i (3); O. W. anu, Ir. ainm ‘name’ < *án(ə)mn̥, Armen. anun ‘name’: Gk. ὄνομα < *ónəmn̥, √onō‑/​anō‑.—2. The ending of the neut. pl. nom.-acc. is *‑ə; now the neut. pl. of o/e-stems is ‑ā from *‑aə, where *‑a- represents the stem vowel instead of ‑o- (or ‑e‑); similarly the fem. of o/e-stems is formed with ‑ā- for *‑aə‑; but i̯o/​i̯e-stems have beside ‑iā- < *‑iaə- the fem. form ‑i̯ē- < *‑i̯eə‑. Cf. also ā : ō ix below. In the dat. sg. of cons. stems both ‑ai and ‑ei occur, as Gk. infin. suff. ‑μεναι: Osc. diúveí, patereí, Solmsen KZ. xliv 161 ff.
In the positions indicated, a has R- and L-grades. Thus, 1. Initially: F *am- in Gk. ἀμφί, Lat. ambi‑: R *m̥- in Ir. imb, imm, W. am, ym‑, Skr. abhí-taḥ (a- < *m̥‑) ‘on both sides’; F *ar- in W. arth, Gk. ἄρκτος: R *r̥- in Lat. ursus, Skr. ŕ̥kṣah § 98 i (2); F *ag̑- in Lat. ago, Gk. ἄγω: L *āg- in Lat. amb-āges.—2. Before ə̯ or i̯: F *ā (< *aə): R *ə, see vi; F *ai- in Gk. αἴθω, Ir. aed ‘fire’, W. aelwyd: R *i- in Skr. idh-má‑s ‘firewood’. For the fem. of i̯o/​i̯e-stems there is beside ‑i̯ā- and ‑i̯ē- a form ‑ī‑; this may be explained thus: RF *ii̯aə, *ii̯eə give ii̯ā, ii̯ē: RR *ii̯ə > ī, vii (2). Cf. vii (5).
3. Before gutturals : √ak̑‑: oq- ‘sharp, rugged’, as Gk. ὄκρις, ὀξύς, Lat. ocris, W. ochr: Gk. ἄκρος, Lat. acus, W. (h)agr ‘ugly’;—√dek̑/g̑h- ‘to seem good, acceptable; to apprehend, teach’; e in Lat. decus, decet, Ir. dech, deg, ‘best’: o in Lat. doceo, Gk. δοκέω, δόγμα: a in Gk. διδάσκω (< *διδαδσκω), διδάχη, W. da ‘good’ < *dag‑, Gaul. Dago‑, Ir. dag- ‘good’.
vi. (1) The long vowels ē, ō, ā had R- and V-grades; ē had also the F°-grade ō. The R-grade of each is ə. Before a vowel ə regularly disappears, giving the V-grade, as in Skr. dá-d-ati ‘they give’, where ‑d- is the V-grade of √dō‑. It also occurs before consonants, as in Skr. da-d-máḥ ‘we give’ beside Gk. δί-δο-μεν; but the disappearance of ə between consonants is believed to be due to analogy or elision after the Ar. period. It is however lost in syllables not initial or final in Germ., Balt.-Slav., Armenian, Iranian; Meillet, Dial. 63.
ə appears to come from a guttural spirant resembling ᵹ (§ 110 ii (2)), which played the same part as the sonants, so that the ablaut series of ē is parallel to that of ei̯ or er, the F-grade ē being for *eə̯; thus V (ə non-syllabic, lost) ; R ə (syllabic); F ē for *eə̯; F° ō for *oə̯; corresponding to V i̯ (non-syllabic); R i (syllabic); F ei̯, F° oi̯. This explains why ə is the R-grade of all the long vowels.
​In cases where the F-grade has not survived, or has survived only in Indo-Iranian, where ā̆, ē̆, ō̆ all appear as ā̆, so that the quality of the vowel is unknown, it is usual to write it āˣ.
Examples: √dō- ‘give’: F: dawn ‘gift’ < *dō‑n‑; Lat. dō-num; Gk. δί-δω-μι.—V: rho-ẟ-ant ‘they give’ < *pro-d-n̥ti; Skr. dá-d-ati < *dé-d-n̥ti. √dhē- ‘put’:—F: Gk. τί-θη-μι;—V: rho-ẟ-ant ‘they put’. See § 179 ii.
√sthā- ‘stand’: R: gwa-sta‑d ‘level’ < *upo-sthə‑t‑; Lat. stā-tus; W. sa‑f ‘stand’ < *sthə‑m- § 203 vii (5);—F: saw‑dl ‘heel’ < *sthā‑tl‑.
√sē- ‘sow’:—R: had ‘seed’ < Ar. *sə‑t‑; Lat. să-tus.—F: hīl ‘progeny’, Ir. sīl < *sē‑l‑; Lat. sē-vi, sē-men.
(2) ə generally appears as a in the European languages, as in the above examples. (Cf. § 110 ii (2).) But in Gk. if the F-grade is ē or ō, the R-grade often appears as ε or ο. Elsewhere e beside a is probably to be explained as due to a variant of the root, with short vowel; thus W. tref, O. W. treb ‘homestead’ < *treb‑; Lat. trabs < *trəb‑; Gk. τέρεμνον, τέραμνον both < *terəb‑; √terē̆b‑.
vii. (1) As a rule the same morphological element could not contain two F-grade syllables, though, of course, a word, made up of more than one element, might. The diversity in different languages of words of the same origin is largely due to the preservation of various groupings of grades; see for example *q$^{u̯}$etu̯er- in (4) below.
(2) A large number of roots were disyllabic. A characteristic form of Ar. root had a short vowel in the first syllable and a long in the second. A very common form of reduction was RR, i.e. R-grade of both syllables. When the consonant between the vowels was one of the sonants i̯, u̯, RR was ₑi̯ə, ₑu̯ə, which gave ii̯ə, uu̯ə; these were generally contracted to ī, ū respectively; we may call this contraction R². On the analogy of these it is assumed that RR ₑlə, ₑrə, ₑmə, ₑnə gave respectively R² l̥̄, r̥̄, m̥̄, n̥̄, § 61 ii, § 62 ii. The uncontracted RR forms also survived, as in Gk. παλάμη; < *pₑlə-mā, √pelā‑, beside W. llaw(f), Ir. lām < Kelt. *lā-mā < *pl̥̄-mā;—W. taradr ‘auger’, Ir. tarathar < ER *tₑrə‑tr‑, beside Gk. τέρετρον < FR *terə‑tr‑, √terē- ‘bore’;—W. rhaeadr ‘cataract’ < RR *rii̯ə‑tr‑, beside Lat. rīvus < R² *rī‑, √rei̯ā- ‘flow’. In many cases the ə dropped, see vi (1), as in Lat. palma < *pₑl(ə)-mā; we may denote this by R(R). Beside these we also have VR forms lə, rə, mə, nə; thus beside W. gwaladr ‘ruler’ < RR *u̯ₑlə‑tr‑, we have W. gw̯lad ‘country’, Ir. flaith ‘lordship’ < VR *u̯lə‑t‑, √u̯elē(i)- (: Lat. valēre, E. wield);—W. gw̯lân ‘wool’ < VR *u̯lən-ā, beside Lat. lāna, Skr. ū́rṇā < R² *u̯l̥̄n-ā;—W. rhann ‘share’, Ir. rann id. < VR *prə‑t-snā, beside Lat. part- < R(R) *pₑr(ə)‑t‑, beside Skr. pūr-t-ám ‘reward’ < R² *pr̥̄‑t‑, √perō‑;—W. ystrad ‘dale’, Gk. στρατός < VR *strə‑t‑, beside W. sarn ‘causeway’ < R(R) *stₑr(ə)n‑, beside Skr. stīr-ṇá‑ḥ ‘strewn’, Lat. strā-tus < R² *str̥̄‑, √sterō- ‘spread out’.—When the long vowel after l, r, m, or n was ā or ō we cannot distinguish in Kelt. between ​R² and VF, since in Kelt. l̥̄, lā, lō, all give lā; we can only infer the probable original from a comparison of cognates; thus O.E. flōr ‘floor’ < VF *plā‑r- suggests that Ir. lār, W. llawr ‘floor’ contain VF *plā‑r‑, √pelā‑; and Gk. παλάμη < RR as above suggests W. llaw < R². But where the vowel was ē as in √pelē- ‘fill’, we know e.g. that W. llawn, Ir. lān ‘full’ come from R² *pl̥̄‑n‑, since VF *plē‑n- as in Lat. plēnus would give W. *llīn, which does not exist, and does give Ir. līn‑, which is seen in līnaim ‘I fill’.
R(R) is postulated instead of RV because the loss of ə is late; this agrees with the fact that we have ar in W., implying *ₑr the form before a vowel, the loss of which is therefore secondary, and not ry from *r̥ the form before a consonant. Similarly i may be taken as R(R) of eiē; thus RR ii̯ə > R(R) ii̯(ə) > i. Where ry occurs in W. beside forms implying an original long vowel we may assume that the former comes from a variant with short vowel of the root; thus W. gw̯rysg ‘boughs, twigs’ < *u̯r̥d‑sq‑, RV of √u̯erod‑; Lat. rādīx < *u̯r̥̄d‑, R² of √u̯erōd‑, O.E. wrōt < *u̯rōd‑, VF of √u̯erōd‑.
(3) A few examples are appended:
√g̑helē- ‘green, yellow’: VR *g̑hlə- > Kelt. *gla‑st- > Brit. ‑glasos ‘tawny’ (Gildas), W. glas ‘green’; FV *g̑hel- > Lat. hel-us.
√gelāk/g- ‘milk’: RR *gₑlək- > Gk. γάλα, γάλακτος;—VR *glək- > Lat. lact- (whence W. llaeth); *gləkt‑s > Ir. glass ‘milk’, W. glasdwr ‘milk and water’.
√qeu̯ēp- ‘blow’: VF *qu̯ēp- > Lith. kvė̃pti ‘blow’;—RR *qₑu̯əp- > W. cawad ‘shower’, Ir. cūa, gen. cūad;—VR *qu̯əp- > Lat. vapor, Gk. καπνός.
√ɡ$^{u̯}$ei̯ē- ‘live’: R² *ɡ$^{u̯}$ī- > Lat. vī-vu‑s, W. buan ‘quick’ < Brit. *bī-u̯o-no‑s § 76 ix (2);—R(R) *ɡ$^{u̯}$i- > W. by‑w ‘live’, by‑d ‘world’, Gk. βίος;—VF *ɡ$^{u̯}$i̯ē- > Gk. ζῆν.
√bheu̯ā- ‘be’: R(R) *bhu- > Lat. fu-turus, Gk. φύ-σις, Kelt. *bu-tā > W. bod ‘to be’;—L°V *bhōu̯- > W. bu § 189 iv (3);—VV *bh(u̯)- > f- in Lat. fīo, b- in W. byẟ § 189 iv (1).
(4) When the second syllable has a short vowel, the treatment is similar: RR ii̯ₑ > R² ī, etc., as before; RV is ĭ. Examples:
√dei̯eu̯- ‘god, day’: FV *dei̯u̯-os > Lat. deus, W. *dwyw > duw ‘god’;—R² *dīu̯- > Lat. dīv-us;—RV *dĭu- > W. dyw ‘day’;—RL *dii̯ēu̯- > Lat. diēs, W. dydd ‘day’.
√qonei̯d- ‘nit’: FR *qonid- > Gk. κονίς gen. κονίδος ‘nit’; VR *qnid- > O.E. hnitu, E. nit, O.H.G. hniz ‘nit’; *s(q)nid-ā > W. nedd ‘nits’, Ir. sned ‘nit’;—FV *qond- > Lith. kandìs ‘moth’; *sqond- > W. chwann-en ‘flea’.
√g̑eneu̯- 'knee': FR *g̑enu > Lat. genu;—F°R *g̑onu > Gk. γόνυ;—with ‑en‑, ‑er- forming names of parts of body: base *g̑eneu̯-en‑: VR² *g̑nūn‑, by dissim. > Kelt. *glūn- > Ir. glūn, W. glīn ‘knee’;—base *g̑eneu̯-er‑: RVV *g̑ₑn(u̯)r- > *ganr- > W. garr ‘knee’ (afal garr ‘knee cap’).
√qorou̯‑: FR *qoru- > Gk. κορυ-φή;—VF *qrou̯- > W. crug ‘heap, hillock’.
​√bhereu̯ ‘boil’: FV *bheru̯‑, see iv above;—VR *bhru- > W. brwd ‘hot, fervent’, Lat. dē-frŭ-tum ‘new wine boiled down’.
*q$^{u̯}$etu̯er- ‘four’: RF° *q$^{u̯}$ₑtu̯or- > Lat. quattuor;—FR *q$^{u̯}$etuₑr- > W. pedwar, Ir. cethir, Gk. τέτταρες;—RL° *q$^{u̯}$ₑtu̯or- > Skr. catvā́raḥ, Goth. fidwor; FR (before cons.) *q$^{u̯}$etu̯r̥- > Gk. τετρα‑, becoming by viii (1) *q$^{u̯}$etru- it gives Gaul. Petru‑, W. pedry- as in pedry-fan.
(5) Long diphthongs must represent radical disyllables, and their reduced grades can only be explained from the disyllabic forms. Thus ēi̯ must be FV of *eə̯ei̯ or *eə̯ai̯ (ei/ai v (2)); the R of the first syll. is ə which vanishes before a vowel, leaving ei or ai (properly VF of *eə̯ei̯ or *eə̯ai̯); if the second is reduced we get ii̯, before a cons. i (properly VR of *eə̯ei̯ or *eə̯ai̯). We know that ēi̯ interchanges in roots with ei̯ē or ei̯ā; this implies a metathesis of the sonants, for the latter forms represent *ei̯eə̯ or *ei̯aə̯; the RR of these is *ii̯ə which gives ī, see vii (2). Thus we have as reduced grades of ēi̯ the forms ei or ai, i(i̯), ī; for convenience these may be distinguished thus: R₁ₑ ei, R₁ₐ ai, R₂ ii̯, i, R₃ ī. The same principle applies to the long u̯-diphthongs. [It has been assumed that ai is əi̯ (with ə as R of ē), but Skr. has ay for it, whereas ə is i in Skr. Besides, we should expect əi̯ like ₑi̯ to give *ii̯, as perhaps it does, for ii̯ may also be for *əi̯ RV of *eə̯ei̯.] Examples :
√sēi̯- ‘late, long’: F *sēi̯- > Skr. sāyám ‘evening’, before cons. *sē- > Lat. sērus, W. hir ‘long’, Ir. sīr;—R₁ₑ *sei- > W. hŵyr ‘late’ (< *sei-ros), hŵy ‘longer’, Ir. sīa (< *seison < *sei-isōn);—R₂ *si- > W. hyd ‘length’ (< *sit‑);—R₁ₐ *sai- > W. hoedl ‘lifetime’, Lat. saeculum ‘age’, both < *sai-tlo‑m § 75 i.
√u̯erēi̯- ‘laugh (at), shame’: VR₂ *u̯ri- > *u̯ri‑zd- whence Lat. rīdeo, Skr. vrīḍ-ā ‘shame’;—(VF *u̯rē- or else) VR₃ *u̯rī- > Kelt. *u̯rī‑t- > W. gw̯rīd ‘blush’;—RR₂ *u̯ₑri- > *u̯aritā in W. dan-wared ‘to mimic’;—RR₂ *u̯ₑrii̯- > W. gw̯arae ‘play’ § 75 v (4).—From √u̯erē- (without i̯): RR *u̯ₑrə- > *u̯arat- > W. gw̯arad-w͡yẟ ‘shame’ (by dissim. for *gwarad-rw͡yẟ);—R(R) *u̯ₑr’- > *u̯ar‑t- > W. gwarth ‘shame’; *s‑u̯ar‑d- > W. chwarẟ ‘laughs’; *s‑u̯ar-tīn-ī > W. chwerthin ‘laughter’ § 203 vii (3).
viii. (1) Certain combinations produced by the above laws are unstable; thus u̯r̥ is liable to become ru, as in *q$^{u̯}$etru- vii (4); and u̯ₑr may become ur as in *dhur- for *dhu̯ₑr‑: *dhu̯or‑, § 91 i. While u̯ₑ, lₑ, rₑ, etc., may remain and give u̯a, la, ra, etc., in Kelt., they may be, and oftenest are, reduced to u, l̥, r̥, etc. Hence we are not obliged to postulate eue, ele, ere, etc., where there is no evidence of the first e in surviving forms. Thus:
√su̯ep- ‘sleep’: F *su̯ep-no- > Lat. somnus (< *su̯epnos), Skr. svápnaḥ ‘sleep, dream’;—R *sup-no- > Gk. ὔπνος, W. hun ‘sleep’, Ir. sūan.
√plethē‑: RR *pl̥thə- > Gk. πλάτα-νος, Gaul. ‑λιτα-νο‑ς, O.W. lita‑n, W. llyda‑n ‘broad’; FV *pleth- > Skr. práth-aḥ ‘breadth’, W. lled ‘breadth’;—RV *pl̯th- > W. llys ‘court’ § 96 ii (5), Gk. ​πλατ-ύς;—RV *plₑth- > Armen. layn ‘broad’;—(without l, § 101 ii (2)) RF *pₑthē- > Lat. patē-re, etc.
(2) Other combinations are unpronounceable or difficult; thus u̯i̯ cannot be sounded before a cons.; in that case i̯ drops. Generally i̯, u̯ drop between consonants, see iv above.
ix. Some roots have more than one ungraded form; thus radical ā may stand beside radical ō, as in *arā- or *arō- ‘scratch, bite; plough, dig’: Lat. arā-re has F *arā- of the first, Gk. ἄροτρον has R *arə- of the second. The F of both, with ‑d- extension, occurs in Lat. rād-o, rōd-o. Beside ā we have sometimes to assume a, as in Skr. rádati ‘scratches, digs’ (not ə here, which gives i in Skr.). In many cases all the forms cannot be explained without assuming an alternation of long and short vowel in the root; this may have come about by false analogy. Another common form of root alternation is *tēu̯‑: *teu̯ā- or *g̑hēi̯‑: *g̑hei̯ā- (Lat. hiā-re); see vii (5).
Note.—Ablaut is not to be confused with the changes due to accentuation or other causes in the derived languages, such as the shortening of unacc. ā in Brit. § 74, or the loss of a vowel in such a word as cawr § 76 iii (4), which would be *cur if the loss were primitive § 76 ii (1).
Keltic vowels in British and Welsh
§ 64. From what has been said in §§ 57–62 we arrive at the following vowel system for Pr. Kelt.:
| Short vowels | a e i o u |
| Long vowels | ā ī ū |
| Short diphthongs | ai ei oi au eu ou |
| Long diphthongs | āi ūi āu, īu |
| Short vocalic | l̥ m̥ n̥ r̥ |
The Short Vowels.
§ 65. i. The short vowels a, e, o remain unchanged in W.; see examples in § 58; so Latin a, e, o; unless affected by other vowels §§ 67–70. The exceptions are the following:
ii. (1) Before a guttural o in many cases became a, apparently when unaccented in Brit.; thus W. Cymro < *kom-brógos, but Cymraes ‘Welsh-woman’ < *kom-brogíssā: *brog‑, W. bro ‘border, region’ < *mrog‑, VF of √marog‑, whose FV gave Lat. marg-o;—W. troed ‘foot’ < acc. *tróget-m̞, pl. traed < acc. pl. *troget-áss (< *‑ń̥s: Skr. ‑aḥ), or from gen. pl. *troget-ón (< *‑ṓm which was generally ​accented in Ar.) as in gwŷr traed ‘infantry’; √t/dhregh‑: Gk. τρέχω, τρόχος; the √ had also a by Ar. a/e/o altern. § 63 v (2), as in Ir. traig ‘foot’ < *tragets, but we can hardly suppose Ar. o/a in the same word in Brit.—Similarly in Lat. loanwords, as W. achos ‘cause’ < occā́sio.—W. achub < *occū́p- for Lat. occup- § 73 ii (4).
(2) On the other hand a > o in Pr. Kelt. before Ar. ɡ$^{u̯}$h in W. oen, Ir. ūan ‘lamb’ < *ognos < *aɡ$^{u̯}$hnos: O.E. ēanian ‘yean’ § 101 iii (1).
(3) In Brit. e became i before g followed by a vowel; so partly in Gaul; as W. ty ‘house’ O. W. tig < *tigos < *tegos, Brit. Cato-tigirni, also spelt (in Cornwall) Tegerno-mali beside Tigerinomalum Rhys LWPh.² 404, Gaul. Tigernum, Ir. teg ‘house’, tigerne ‘lord’, √(s)theg- § 92 i.—W. hy ‘bold’ < *segos: Gaul. Σεγο-μαρος, √seg̑h‑: Gk. ἔχω < *seg̑hō, Skr. sáhaḥ ‘might’.—W. gwe-ly ‘bed’ < *u̯o-leg‑: Ir. lige < *legii̯o- √legh‑.—Where e appears it is due to a-affection; as in bre ‘hill’ < *brigā § 103 ii (1); thus lle ‘place’ < acc. *ligan < *leg-m̥, √legh‑; gre ‘herd’ < *greg-m̥ = Lat. gregem;—godre ‘bottom (edge of garment), foot (of hill)’ < *u̯o-treg-m̥, √treɡh‑, see (1), pl. godryon, godreon, both in r.m. 151.
But before a consonant eg remained: W. gwair m. ‘hay’ < *u̯egr‑: Ir. fēr;—W. tail ‘manure’ < *tegl- § 104 ii (1);—W. arwain ‘to lead’ < *ari-u̯eg‑n- √u̯eg̑h‑: Lat. veho; olr͑ein, etc. § 203 iv (1);—W. tew ‘thick’ § 76 viii.
iii. (1) The mid vowels e and o were pronounced close in Brit. before nasal + explosive and became i and u respectively. Examples:
e before nas. + exp. > W. y; thus W. hynt ‘way’ Ir. sēt < *sent‑: O.H.G. sind ‘way’ < *sent‑.—O.W. pimp, Ml. W. pymp ‘five’, Gaul. πεμπε- < Pr. Kelt. *q$^{u̯}$eŋq$^{u̯}$e < Ar. *penq$^{u̯}$e.—W. cy-chwynnu Ỻ.A. 133 ‘to rise’, later ‘to start’, Ir. scendim < Ar. *sqend- § 96 iii (2).—The y becomes e by a-affection, as Gwent < Venta; cf. E. Wintchester 'Venta Belgarum'. In Lat. loanwords we have y, as tymp < tempus ; tymor < tempora ; cymynn(af) < commend-o; esgynn(af) < ascend-o, etc.; but most nouns have ‑enn, Mn. W. ‑en, as elfen < elementum; ffurfafen < firmāmentum; ysgrifen < scribenda, all fem., having been treated like native nouns in ‑enn § 143 i; mynwent fem. ‘graveyard’ alone has ‑ent < pl. monumenta. (Calan is from Vulg. Lat. Kaland‑, which occurs.)
o before nas. + exp. > W. w; thus trwnc < *tronq- § 99 v (3);—twng ‘swears’: Ir. tongim ‘I swear’;—hwnt ‘yonder’: Bret. hoñt § 220 ii (5).—The change took place in Lat. loanwords, as pwnn ‘burden’ < pondus; ysbwng < spongus; except in fem. forms, as llong ‘ship’ < longa (nāvis). W. pont ‘bridge’ < Brit. acc. *pontan (< ‑m̥) put for Lat. pontem, became fem. The 3rd pl. subjunct. ‑ont instead of *‑wnt is prob. due to the analogy of the other persons, which have ‑o‑.
(2) The same change took place before a liquid and explosive, though here with less regularity.
​e + liq. + exp. > W. y; thus Ml. W. kymyrth < *kombert-et, with a-affection kymerth § 181 vii (1);—gwyllt ‘wild’ < Brit. *gu̯eltis: Ir. geilt § 92 iv.—But usually it remains as e; thus for nyrth b.b. 68, the ordinary form is nerth m. ‘strength’; so perthyn < Lat. pertin- owing to preference for the sequence e . . y.—merch ‘maid’, perth ‘bush’ are fem.; and mellt pl. ‘lightning’, gwellt pl. ‘grass’ may be neut. pl. in *‑ā or fem. pl. in *‑ās.
o + liq. + exp. > W. w ; thus W. i̯wrch ‘roebuck’, Bret. iourc’h; O. Corn, yorch: Gk. ζόρξ;—W. twrch ‘boar’, Bret. tourc’h: O. Corn. torch, Ir. torc;—W. swllt ‘money, shilling’ < Lat. sol’dus.—torch ‘torque’ is fem.: Ir. torc. But other exceptions occur as corff ‘body’ < Lat. corpus; porth m. ‘gate’ f. ‘harbour’ has exchanged genders and keeps o in both. Formations like gor-ffen etc. are also exceptions.
(3) The same change took place before rn. Thus e: W. chwyrn ‘whirling’ < *spern‑, § 96 iv (1);—W. Edyrn beside Edern < Eternus.—W. gwern ‘alder’, and cern § 95 ii (3) are fem.; so uffern ‘hell’ < Vulg. Lat. īferna.—o: W. asgwrn ‘bone’ < *ast-korn- § 96 ii (4);—W. dwrn ‘fist’: Ir. dorn.—But W. corn ‘horn’ < Lat.
e before rr > W. y; as byrr ‘short’: Ir. berr;—W. gyrr ‘a drove’ < *gerks- § 95 iv (2). But o remains, as in corr ‘dwarf’, torri ‘to break’.
(4) In many Lat. loanwords e or o before r + cons. became a (on the analogy of the R-grade in sarn etc.?); thus sarff < serpens; carrai ‘lace’ < corrigia; parchell b.b. 55 beside porchell a.l. i 276 < porcellus; tafarn < taberna; Padarn < Paternus; Garmon < Germānus.
(5) e before ss > y; as in ys (ỿs, ɥ̄́s § 82 ii (1)) < *esti ‘is’;—ŷs ‘eats’ < *essi < *ed-ti: Lat. est. Also before Lat. st as in tyst ‘witness’ < testis. But either affection or the sequence e . . y (or e . . u) causes it to be e, as in ffenestr ‘window’, testun ‘text’ < testimōnium.
iv. (1) In the present penult ỿ appears for e and o before a nasal whether followed by another consonant or not; as in cychwỿnnu, tỿmor § iii (1); ffỿnnhawn, now ffynnon < Lat. fontāna; tỿner < Lat. tenerum; mỿfɥr < Lat. memoria, mỿned ‘to go’: Bret. monet; mỿnwent beside monwent < Lat. monumenta. But many exceptions occur, as cenedl ‘nation’, Conwy; and derivatives like gwenu ‘to smile’ (: gwên ‘smile’), tonnau ‘waves’ (: tonn ‘wave’) do not show the change (exc. hỿnaf ‘oldest’ assim. to the cpv. hŷn, § 148 i (11)).
(2) o > ỿ in the prefixes *ko‑, *kom‑, *kon‑, *to‑, *do‑, *ro‑; as W. cỿwir ‘correct’ < Kelt. *ko-u̯īros; rhỿ-fawr ‘very great’ < *(p)ro-māros; see § 16 iii; except when the vowel of the root is lost, as in W. cosp ‘punishment’, Ir. cosc < *kon-sq$^{u̯}$- § 96 iii (5); W. rhodd ‘gift’ < *(p)ro‑d- § 63 vi (1).—When separately accented rhỿ has acquired a new strong form rhɥ̄́, as rhɥ̄́ ddā́ ‘too good’; similarly *dỿ, *ẟỿ, written di in O. W. (< *do ‘to’), as a preposition became *ẟɥ > Ml. W. ẏ > Mn. W. i ‘to’ § 16 ii (3). So cyn before the equative, now sounded cɥn, and dialectally k̑ĭn.
​v. (1) o and a interchange after u̯ § 34 iv. So we have gwa- beside go- for gwo- < *u̯o‑: Gaul. vo- < Ar. *upo; thus gwa-red-wr ‘saviour’ < *u̯o-reto-u̯ir‑: Gaul. Voretovir‑;—W. gwas ‘servant’: Ir. foss < *upo‑st- § 96 ii (2). The 15th cent. pedwor § 34 iv (so Salesbury’s Dic. s. v.) has a new, perhaps local, o for a § 63 vii (4).
We also find the interchange after ü (cons. or voc.), as breuan for *breuon § 76 iv (2); bū́an for *büon § 76 ix (2); (Anglesey dial. neuoẟ for neuaẟ).
(2) After m- there is an older change of a to o, as in W. môr ‘sea’, Gaul. Aremorici, Ir. muir: Lat. mare; W. myned < *monet‑, Bret. monet < *mami̯et- § 100 iv;—W. morwyn < *marein- § 125 v (1).
(3) e after u̯ becomes o/a in the following cases: Ar. *uper > Pr. Kelt. *u̯er > Gaul. ver‑, Bret. war ‘on’, W. ar, gwar‑, gwor‑, gor- § 36 iii;—W. Cadwallon < Brit. Catu-vellaunos;—W. gosper < Lat. vesper‑. Probably the above show the influence of Brit. u̯o‑; cf. Ir. for- < *u̯er- on the analogy of fo- < *u̯o‑. Generally u̯e remains, as in chwech ‘six’ < *su̯ek̑s.
vi. (1) After i̯ post-tonic a became e; thus wyneb ‘face’ < *éni̯-eq$^{u̯}$‑, § 100 v, < *éni̯-aq$^{u̯}$- < *éni̯-əq$^{u̯}$‑, √ōq$^{u̯}$ = Skr. ánīkam ‘face’ < *eni-əq$^{u̯}$om. But when pre-tonic the a remained, as in wynab‑, in composition, from *eni̯aq$^{u̯}$‑; gwyẟi̯ad < *u̯idi̯ətó § 180 iv (1).
(2) Pre-tonic i̯o prob. became i̯a; thus we have aea < *‑ii̯a‑´, but no *aeo < *‑iio‑´, so that the latter perhaps became *‑ii̯a‑´ § 75 vi (2). So the rel. a <*i̯a < Ar. i̯os, § 162 vi (1).
§ 66. i. Pr. Kelt. i and u remained in Brit. Brit. i was open, and is transcribed ε by the Greeks, as in Πρετ(τ)ανικὴ (νῆσος) : W. (ynys) Prydain, but i by the Romans as in Britannia (Gk. ι was close, Lat. i open). Brit. i gave W. y, which is ɥ in the ult. and accented monosyllables, ỿ in non-ultimate syllables and proclitics. Brit. u remains, now written w, in the ultima and monosyllables, and becomes y (≡ ỿ) in all other syllables. See § 40 iii. Examples: W. drɥch ‘appearance’, edrỿchaf ‘I look’ < Pr. Kelt. *dr̥k‑, § 61 i;—W. cŵn ‘dogs’, cỿnos ‘little dogs’ < Pr. Kelt. *kun‑;—W. cỿbɥdd ‘miser’ < Lat. cupidus;—W. terfɥn ‘end’ < Lat. terminus.
ɥ and ỿ may interchange with e, and ỿ with a, § 16 iv.
u before a labial may develop irregularly, § 73 ii.
ii. (1) ỿ in the penult, whether from i or u becomes w in Mn. W. before w in the ult., as in cwmwl ‘cloud’ for cymwl < *cumbul- < Lat. cumulus; swmbwl < *stimbul- < Lat. stimulus; cwmwd ‘comot’ < Ml. W. kymwt; dwthwn < dythwn < dydd hun § 164 iii. When a syllable is added, both w’s become ỿ, as cỿmỿlau ‘clouds’.
​(2) After w̯ the obscure ỿ became w; as (g)wrthẏeu Ỻ.A. 83 ‘miracles’ for gw̯ỿrthi̯eu. In the spoken lang. and frequently in mss. we have gwnnach for gw̯ỿnnach ‘whiter’, ’wllɥs for ew̯ỿllɥs ‘will’, etc. The ỿ was artificially restored in most of these forms in the lit. lang.—G.R. 31 states that the rising diphthong always becomes w in the penult, the falling diphthong never, citing as examples gw̯ynn, gwnnach; gwinw̯ydd, gwinwdden; celw̯ydd, celwddog, but cŵyn, cw͡ynaw; gŵydd, gw͡yddau, etc. J.D.R. writes wỿ in gwỿnnach, gwỿrddach 63, but (g)wrthieu [xvii].
iii. (1) Unaccented initial u̯i- before sonants became *u̯u- > *gw̯w- > *gw‑, § 36 i. Thus gŵr ‘man’ < *u̯ur-os < *u̯ir-ós;—gwrth- ‘contra‑’, wrth ‘against’ < *u̯urt- < *u̯irt- < *u̯ertó: Ir. frith < *u̯r̥t- § 211 iv (2);—gwnn ‘I know’ < *u̯indṓ, § 191 iii (1). The w thus produced is not mutated to ỿ in the penult, e.g. gẃrol ‘manly’, gẃraidd id., ẃrthyf ‘by me’; and gwnn seems to show that it was not liable to affection; in that case gw̯ŷr ‘men’ is analogical.
(2) Before other consonants initial unaccented u̯i- or u̯e- became *oi- giving W. ü‑, as in Ml. W. ugeint ‘twenty’ < Kelt. *u̯ikn̥tí: Ir. fiche;—W. ucher ‘evening’ < (*u̯isqer- <) *u̯esper- § 96 iv (2).
(3) Generally, however, initial u̯i- became gw̯y- regularly: as gw̯ŷs < *u̯id‑t- § 63 iv;—gw̯ynt < *u̯int- < *u̯ent- < *u̯ēnt‑: Lat. ventus;—gw̯yw ‘withered’, § 75 vii (3);—gw̯yrth ‘miracle’ < Lat. virtus. But gw̯ỿ- later became gw‑, ii (2) above.
iv. Ar. i in the ultima, or ending the first element of a compound gave Gaul. and Brit. e. Thus Gaul. are‑, W. ar- < *are- < *ari- < *pₑri;—W. am < *m̥be < *m̥bhi: Lat. ambi‑, Gk. ἀμφί;—W. môr < *more, Gaul. more < *mori: Lat. mare. The reason that final unaccented short i does not affect a preceding vowel is probably that it had become e.
v. Pretonic u became o, as in i̯ôn ‘lord’ < *i̯ud-nó‑s, i̯ôr ‘lord’ < *i̯ud-ró‑s: W. uẟ § 100 i (1); see § 104 iv (3); bôn m. ‘base, stem’ < *bud-nó- § 104 iv (1); clod ‘praise, fame’ < k̑lutóm: Ir. cloth (gen. cluith) id. < k̑lutóm, Gk. κλυτόν, Skr. s̑rutám ‘what has been heard, tradition’, √k̑leu- ‘hear’.
Affection of Short Vowels.
§ 67. A short vowel (but no long vowel) was liable to be affected by a sound in a succeeding syllable. Affection is of two kinds in Welsh : 1. ultimate, when it takes place in the syllable which is now the last, having been brought about by a sound in a lost termination; 2. non-ultimate, when it takes place in the present penult or antepenult, the affecting sound being generally preserved in the ultima. Ultimate affection is caused by a or i sounds ; non-ultimate by the latter only.
​§ 68. Ultimate a-affection. ĭ and ŭ became respectively e and o in the ultima when the lost ending had a; thus gw̯edd ‘aspect’ < *u̯id-ā § 63 iv;—bod ‘be’ < Kelt. *bu-tā § 189 iv (6); ciwed ‘rabble’ < Lat. cīvitās;—gramadeg < Lat. grammatica; colofn < Lat. columna.
Hence adjectives having ɥ, (< ĭ) or w (< ŭ) in the ultima change these to e and o in the fem., the affection being due to the lost fern, ending ‑ā; thus Brit. *u̯indos, *u̯indā gave respectively gw̯ynn, gw̯enn ‘white’.
The adj. *briktos had regularly fem. *briktā, which by the rule became *brektā; now *ikt > īth and *ekt > eith, later aith § 108 iv (1); hence brīth ‘speckled’, f. braith, which is thus seen to be quite regular.
The affection is original only in adjectives of the ‑os/​‑ā declension; but after the loss of the inflexional endings, it spread by analogy to other stems; e.g. crwnn ‘round’ < Brit. *krundis (: Ir. cruind) has f. cronn on the analogy of trwm < Brit. *trumbos (: Ir. tromm) f. trom; and gwyrẟ < Lat. vir’dis has f. gwerẟ on the analogy of ffyrf, fferf < Lat. firmus, firma. Doubtless deilien wyrdd in M.Ỻ. i. 155 represents a local survival of the old fem., as in tonn wyrt (‑t ≡ ‑ẟ) w. 9a ‘green wave’.
§ 69. Ultimate i-affection. i. This was caused by i̯, ī (from ī, ē, ō or ū), or by accented ĕ́ or ĭ́. Kelt. post-tonic es before a vowel became i̯ and caused this affection § 75 vii (1), so e(p) see ib.; also Lat. i, and sometimes e, before a vowel.
ii. (1) a becomes Ml. W. ei, Mn. W. ai: eil, ail ‘second’ < *ali̯ós: Lat. alius;—yspeit, ysbaid ‘space’ < Lat. spatium;—rhaib ‘spoil’ < Lat. rapio;—beirdd ‘bards’ < *bardī; meib ‘sons’ < Brit. *mapī;—ugeint, ugain ‘twenty’ < *u̯ikantí < Ar. u̯ī̆k̑m̥tí;—lleidr ‘thief’ < Lat. latrō;—deigr ‘tear’ < *dakrū § 120 iii (1).
(2) ak or ag before a consonant, which becomes ae in Ml. and Mn. W. § 104 ii (1), iii (1), § 108 iv (1), is affected to ek or eg which gives Ml. W. ei, Mn. W. ai, see ib. Thus Saxones > Saeson but Saxō > *Sex > Seis, Sais;—*kaktos ‘serf’ (< *qaptos) > caeth, but pl. *kaktī > ceith, caith ‘serfs’;—*dragnos > draen ‘thorn’ § 104 ii (1), pl. *dragnesa > *dragni̯a > drein, drain.
(3) In disyllables before consonant groups containing r, and before ch, the affection of a appears as ɥ, which alternates with ei in Ml. and early Mn. W. Thus heyrn b.t. 29, r.m. 121, r.p. 1362, r.b.b. 47, pl. of haearn ‘iron’;—r͑eydɏr r.p. 1301 beside r͑yeidɏr r.p. 1222, pl. of rhaeadr ‘cataract’;—kedyrn w.m. 51 ​beside kedeirn do. 40, pl. of cadarn ‘mighty’;—so alarch pl. eleirch, elyrch § 117 i;—tywarchen pl. tyweirch, tywyrch § 126 i (2);—paladr, pl. peleidɏr w.m. 179, Mn. W. pelydr;—Mn. W. bustych, menych, § 117 i. Also in the proclitic geir > gyr ‘near’ § 214 ii.
The ɥ is probably the result of thickening the i̯ before r + cons. and before χ in an unaccented syllable. (In accented syllables as beirẟ, the i is still pure, but it has become ɥ before χ § 17 iii.) Thus ei > ỿɥ > ɥ. From r + cons. it spread to cons. + r. Probably gwesgyr (single r) for gwasgar § 173 iv (1) is due to false analogy.
(4) In polysyllables before a labial also, a is affected to ɥ; as in modryb < *mātr-aq$^{u̯}$-ī § 122 iv (2); cyffelyb, ethryb also from *‑aq$^{u̯}$- < *‑əq$^{u̯}$- √ōq$^{u̯}$- ‘face’, cf. § 143 iii (8); Caer-dȳ́f ‘Cardiff’: Taf.—‑am- becomes ‑eu or ‑yf, except in analogical formations; see § 76 vii (1).
iii. (1) e becomes ɥ: engyl ‘angels’ < Lat. angelī;—cyllyll ‘knives’ < Lat. cultellī;—so, cestyll, gwëyll § 117 i;—erbyn ‘against’ < Kelt. *ari qu̯ennōi § 215 ii (4);—gwŷl ‘sees’ § 173 iv (1).
There appears to be no certain example of e becoming ei; dyweit ‘says’ may be from *u̯at- § 194 i (1).
(2) ek or eg before a consonant when affected became ik or ig which gives ī regularly; as nith ‘niece’ < *nektí‑s § 86 ii (1);—llith ‘lesson’ < Lat. lectio.
iv. (1) o becomes ei (Mn. ai) or ɥ: yspeil, ysbail ‘spoil’ < Lat. spolium;—seil, sail ‘foundation’ < Vulg. Lat. solea for Lat. solum, cf. E. soil;—myfyr ‘thought’ < Lat. memoria;—ystyr ‘meaning’ < Lat. historia;—dŷn ‘man’ < *doni̯os: Ir. duine;—mɥ̂r ‘seas’ < *morī § 122 ii (4);—esgyb ‘bishops’ < Lat. episcopī;—Selyf < Salomō;—tair Ml. W. teir for *ty-eir ‘three’ fem. < *tisorés § 75 vi (3);—pair, Ml. peir ‘caldron’: Ir. coire § 89 iii.
It is seen that ei occurs before l and r; but in disyllables we have ɥ before the latter.
(2) ok or og before a consonant, which gives oe in W., becomes w͡y when affected; thus oen ‘lamb’ < *ognos, pl. ŵyn < *ognī; ŵyth ‘eight’ < *ok̑tō.
v. u becomes ɥ: Merchyr § 16 iv (2) < Mercurius;—cŷn ‘chisel’ < Lat. cuneus;—asgwrn ‘bone’ pl. esgyrn;—ŷch ‘ox’ < ​Ar. *uqsō, whence O.H.G. ohso, Skr. ukṣā (Av. uxš- implies ‑q‑); the pl. ỿchen (< Ar. *uqsénes, whence Skr. ukṣáṇaḥ, E. oxen) has ỿ from u unaffected, § 66 i.
u does not become ei; deifr as pl. of dwfr is doubtful (m.a. i 556) except as a late and artificial form; see Silvan Evans s. v.
vi. When any of the above changes takes place in the ultima, a in the penult becomes e; see kedyrn, elyrch, pelydr, Selyf, esgyrn above. o also became e, as gosod ‘to set’ gesyd ‘sets’, liable to become ỿ before st, as Ml. W. ebestyl, ebystyl < apostolī, sg. abostol < apostolus. In Ml. W. the affection extended, as in the last example, to the ante-penult.
vii. The ei due to affection as above, also ei from ek or eg, had open e̦, and was thus distinct from original ei which had close ẹ. The former (e̦i) gives ei, ai; the latter (ẹi) gives w͡y § 75 iii (1).
On later modifications of ɥ, ei, see §§ 77, 79.
§ 70. Non-ultimate affection. i. a and sometimes o in the syllable which is now the penult became e when the following syllable had ī or ĭ (now i or ɥ), except where the ĭ was itself affected to e, § 68. Thus cerydd ‘reprimand’ < *karíi̯o(s) beside caredd ‘fault’, Ir. caire, < *karíi̯ā;—Ml. W. gwedy ‘after’, O. W. guotig;—Ml. W. pebyll ‘tent’ < *papíli̯o < Lat. pāpilio;—Ebrill < Aprīlis;—cegin < coquīna; melin < molīna; etc. In Ml. W. the affection extends over two syllables, as ederyn ‘bird’, Mn. W. aderyn, pl. adar.
o seems to undergo the change chiefly after a labial or before a guttural, where it might have become a if unaffected.
The restoration of a in the antepenult in Mn. W. is due to the vowel in that syllable becoming obscure because unaccented, in which case it was natural to re-form etymologically.
ii. (1) Before i̯ the same change took place, and a and o appeared as e in O. W.; but the e was further affected by the i̯, and became ei in Ml. and Mn. W.; thus Mariānus > O. W. Meriaun gen. iii. > Ml. W. Meirẏawn r.b.b. 81, Mn. W. Meiri̯on;—so O. W. Bricheniauc a.c. 895, Mn. W. Brycheini̯og;—O. W. mepion gen. xii, Mn. W. meibi̯on ‘sons’. See § 35 ii.
In the dialect of Powys ceili̯og ‘cock’, ceini̯og ‘penny’ are pronounced cel̯iog, ceni̯og. This is perhaps a simplification of ei, § 78 v, rather than old e retained.
​(2) Original e also became ei before i̯; thus Eterniānus > Edeirnaun b.b. 74 Edeirnon w.m. 50, r.m. 35, Mn. W. Edeirni̯on (now wrongly spelt Edeyrnion);—so pencerdd ‘chief of song’ Ml. pl. penkeirẟẏeit r.p. 1230, Mn. W. penceirddi̯aid;—anrheg ‘gift’ pl. anr͑eigẏon r.p. 1221 (generally anr͑egẏon r.b.b. 394, r.m. 257, now anrhegi̯on); un-ben ‘mon-arch’, unbeẏnẏaeth, a.l. i. 34, 382, ‘sovereignty’ (now unbennaeth, new formation); gorwedd ‘to lie’, gorweiddi̯og ‘bed-ridden’; gweini̯aith § 32 for gweni̯aith ‘flattery’.
(3) In later formations i̯ does not affect the vowel ; forms like personnẏeit, Albanẏeit etc. § 123 iv, and cari̯ad, meddi̯ant, etc., are extremely common in Ml. and Mn. W. Also forms like ari̯an ‘silver’ in which i̯ is not original, but comes from g.
iii. The Ml. and Mn. diphthong ae, whether from ak- or ag- before a consonant, or from a-e, becomes ei before ī or i̯, as in Ml. W. keithiwet < Brit.-Lat. *kaktīu̯itās; saer ‘craftsman’ pl. seiri; gwaedd ‘cry’, gweiddi ‘to cry’; draen ‘thorn’, dreiniog ‘thorny’. Similarly og..ī or ug..ī > ei..i; as in gweini ‘to serve’ < *u̯o-gnīm‑, heini ‘active’ < *su-gnīm‑: gnīm- § 203 vii (4). Before ɥ it becomes eɥ, as in keyrydd pl. of kaer ‘fort’. But, except in a few cases such as the above, this affection is usually ignored in writing, especially in the Mn. period.
iv. The affecting sound has disappeared in cenwch ‘ye sing’ for an earlier *cenɥw̯ch § 26 vi (5); in the Ml. forms Edeirnon etc. § 35 ii; and in such forms as ceidw̯ad for ceidw̯i̯ad, § 36 v.
v. The affection of a and o by a lost stem-ending ‑ī‑, ‑i̯o‑, ‑ū‑, of the first element of a compound is similar to ultimate affection: a > ei in meitin b.a. 18 ‘morning’ (Mn. W. er’s meitin ‘some hours ago’) < *matū-tī́n- (treated as a compound) < Lat. mātūtī́num;—o > ỿ in sỿl-faen: sail, § 69 iv.
In Ml. W. meinoeth b.t. 68, meinẏoeth do. 45 ‘midnight’ < mediā nocte, we seem to have early metathesis of i̯, thus meinẏoeth < *menẏoeth < *meda-ni̯okte. The forms meinyẟ b.t. 31, meinẟyẟ do. 55 ‘mid-day’ are formed on its analogy.
The Long Vowels.
§ 71. i. (1) Pr. Kelt. ā (from Ar. ā and ō) remained in Brit. In Early W. it became an open ō like Eng. a in call, which we may write ɔ; in O. W. this became o in unaccented syllables, au ​(≡ aw) in accented syllables. Latin ā also shared this development.
The Early W. ɔ is attested in Bede’s Dinoot (≡ Dünɔt), Ml. W. Dunawt < Lat. Dōnātus. In all syllables except the ultima it became o, as broder ‘brothers’ < Pr. Kelt. *brāteres; in this position aw from ā occurs only in late formations like mawrion pl. of mawr ‘great’, and after w̯ § 148 i (6). But in the ultima and in monosyllables ɔ > O.W. au ≡ Ml. W. aw, as O. W. braut ox. ‘judgement’ < Pr. Kelt. *brāton, trintaut juv. sk. < Lat. trīnitātem; Ml. W. brawt, trindawt. In Mn. W. aw remains in monosyllables, as brawd, but in the now unaccented ultima it has become o, as in trindod. The following table summarizes the history of Brit. (and Lat.) ā:
| Brit. (Lat.) | Brit. (Lat.) | Brit. | Early W. | Early W. | O.W. | Ml.W. | Ml.W. | Mn.W. | Mn.W. | |
| *brāteres | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | ā——— | ɔ | / \ | o——— | o——— | o——— | o | broder | penult. |
| trīnitātem | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | ā——— | ɔ | / \ | au——— | aw | / \ | o | trindod | ult. |
| *brāton | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | ā——— | ɔ | / \ | au——— | aw | / \ | aw | brawd | monosyll. |
(2) ā when unacc. was shortened and gives a § 74 i (1); this might happen in monosyllables as a ‘of’ § 209 vii (5), a ‘whether’ § 218 iii. When acc. in Brit. and unacc. later, it gives o, as in pob § 168 i (3), mor § 151 i, o ‘from, of’ § 209 vii (5), o, ‘if’ § 222 v (1).
ii. (1) Ml. W. aw in the unaccented ultima (whether from ā as above, or from ou § 76 iii) survives in the spoken language in canllaw ‘hand-rail’, darllaw ‘to brew’, distaw ‘silent’, eirlaw ‘sleet’, ysgaw (also ysgo) ‘elder-tree’, llỿsfrawd ‘brother-in-law’; in compounds with numerals, as deunaw ‘18’, dwyawr ‘2 hours’, teirawr ‘3 hours’, etc. (except dẃylo for dẃylaw ‘hands’); and in compounds of mawr, as dĭ́rfawr ‘very great’, trỿstfawr ‘noisy’ (except in place-names, Trefor, Coetmor). In a few book-words which have gained currency it is not a genuine survival: as traethawd ‘treatise’, catrawd ‘regiment’, bydysawd ‘universe’, rhaglaw ‘deputy’; and the forms llïaws ‘multitude’, cyfiawn ‘just’, Ionawr ‘January’, ansawdd ‘quality’, are influenced by the written language, which, however, had also llios, cyfion, Ionor, ansodd Io.G. 187, formerly; see examples below. Chwefror has o always (generally sounded Chwefrol by dissimilation). The recent written language has been influenced by mechanical ideas of etymology in the substitution of aw for the regular o in ffỿddlon ‘faithful’, dwylo ‘hands’, union ‘straight’, cinio ‘dinner’, anodd ‘difficult’, cpv. anos (§ 48 iv, § 148 i (6)); all these appear with o in early Mn. poetry, and are pronounced with o in the spoken language. On the misspelling athraw for athro see § 76 v (5).
    Ni fyn cariad i wadu,
    Na’i ddangos i lios lu.—D.G. 69.
‘Love will not be disavowed, or manifested to many a host.’
    Gwahawdd Saeson bob Ionor
    I’r Deau maent ar hyd môr.—L.G.C. 155.
‘They invite Saxons every January to the South across the sea.’
    Anodd rhyngu bodd y byd.—T.A. a 14967/29.
‘It is difficult to please the world.’
(2) aw in the ultima began to be reduced to o in the Ml. period; thus we find Edeirnon w.m. 50, achos Ỻ.A. 4, Meirẏon r.b.b. 13. But the bards even in the Mn. period continued to write the aw for the purposes of rhyme. In recent times, owing to ignorance of the older language, they have sometimes written aw for original o, as “esgawb” for esgob ‘bishop’, “dyniawn” for dynion ‘men’. This is not due to a confusion of the sounds of o and aw (for the a in aw is a pure a, quite distinct from o), but to the blundering notion that as some o’s may be written aw, any o may. The Early Mn. poets generally use aw correctly, guided by a living literary tradition. The distinction is seen in Ml. W. yscol ‘school’, iscol b.b. 81 from Lat. sc(h)ola and yscawl w.m. 189 ‘ladder’ < Lat. scāla, both ysgol in Mn. W.
(3) In a few cases aw comes from o: praw(f) beside profi < Lat. prob‑; mawl beside molaf ‘I praise’, Ir. molim; tymawr r.p. 1244 for the usual tymor < Lat. tempora. In each case the o comes before or after a labial. In Vulg. Lat. there was a tendency to lower a vowel before a labial so that prob- might become *prɔb- > prawf. But it is more likely that all these are due to false analogy.
In awr ‘hour’, and nawn ‘noon’ we have aw < Lat. ō. These have been explained as late borrowings ; but historically this is improbable. Possibly the pronunciation of hōra varied in Lat., since Gk. ω (≡ ō̦) was popularly sounded ō̦ (γλῶσσα > Ital. chio̦sa); ō̦ would give ɔ > aw. For nawn see § 76 iii (4).
iii. āg > O. W. oü, Ml. W. eu, Mn. W. eu, au; thus breuant ‘wind-pipe’, O. W. ‑brouannou < *brāgn̥t‑: Ir. brāge gl. cervix, O. Bret. brehant;—W. pau ‘country’, O. Bret. pou, Corn. pow < Lat. pāg-us;—so āk or āg before a consonant: W. gwaun, O. W. guoun l.l. 156, 196 ‘lowland’, Ir. fān < *u̯ākn- < *u̯o-ak‑n- § 104 iii (1);—W. ceulo ‘to congeal’ < *cāgl- < Lat. co-āg’l-o. But before t the ā is shortened § 74 iv.
iv. ‑ān- often gives onn in the present penult: cronni: crawn § 202 v (2);—ffynhonnau ‘fountains’ < fontān‑;—Meirẏonnyẟ g.c. 122, r.b.b. 263, beside Meirẏonyẟ do. 303, 306, < Mariān‑.
​§ 72. i. Pr. Kelt. ī (< Ar. ē, ēi̯, ī) remained in Brit., and Brit. and Lat. ī remain in W., § 59 iii, iv. Further examples: W. hīr ‘long’, Ir. sīr < Pr. Kelt. *sīros < *sē-ro‑s: Lat. sērus;—W. gwīn < Lat. vīnum. It is, of course, shortened in W. before two consonants; as gwĭ́n-llan ‘vineyard’.
ii. Lat. ī is treated as ē or Kelt. ẹi in W. paradw͡ys < paradīsus < Gk. παράδεισος; and synnw͡yr < sentīre. In rustic Lat. ī was often sounded ē, but whether only in words with original ei is not clear, Lindsay, p. 29. In Lat. ign the i was often written long, or was written e; hence it probably differed little from Lat. ẹ̄, and so gives W. w͡y, as sŵyn ‘charm’ < signum.
§ 73. i. Pr. Kelt. ū, which remains in Ir., and apparently remained in Gaul., as shown by the spelling ου in the second element of Αὐγουστό-δουνον, advanced in Brit. towards ü, for it appears as ī in W., while Lat. ū borrowed into Brit. gives u in W.; thus Pr. Kelt. *dūnom > Ir. dūn, W. dīn ‘fort’, dinas ‘city’: O. E. tūn, E. town;—Pr. Kelt. *glūn- > Ir. glūn, W. glīn ‘knee’ § 63 vii (4);—Pr. Kelt. *kū > Ir. cū ‘dog’, W. cī, § 89 iii.—But Lat. pūrus gives pūr, mūtus gives mūd, etc.
ii. Some irregularities occur in the development of Lat. ū and Brit. and Lat. ŭ before a labial:
(1) Lat. ū in cūpa gives ī in W. cib, Bret. kib. This seems to be the only example in W., and may be due to fluctuation between ü and i before a labial; cf. conversely W. uffern ‘hell’, Bret. ifern < Vulg. Lat. īferna, Lat. inferna.
(2) Brit. and Lat. ŭ before b followed by a vowel gave W. u; as du ‘black’ for *duv < *dub‑: Ir. dub ‘black’; W. cuẟygl for *cufygl < Lat. cŭbic’lum. But before n, r, l, ub gives wf regularly, as in dwfn, dwfr, § 90.
(3) ŭ before m is regular, as shown by W. twf ‘growth’, tỿfu ‘to grow’ < *tum- § 201 i (8). But Lat. ŭ in numerus gives i in nifer. This may be due to a dial. pronunciation of Lat. u as ü; cf. Osc. Niumsieís ‘Numerii’, and the Oscanized Lat. Niumeriis ‘Numerius’. Lat. itself had ü before m in an unacc. syll., as maximus, maxumus ≡ maxümus. The sound ü would be identified with Brit. ü, and prob. lengthened, giving the same result. W. ufyll ‘humble’ < Lat. hŭmilis may perhaps be similarly explained, but with u for i as in uffern.
(4) ŭ before p is regular, as seen in cybyẟ ‘miser’ < Lat. cŭpidus, syberw̯ ‘proud’ < Lat. superbus. In W. achub < Lat. occŭpo the u may be due to the lengthening of the ŭ when it came to be accented, as it did in Brit. § 65 ii (1).
For Lat. ē see § 75 iii (1); for Lat. ō see § 76 ii (1).
​§ 74. i. (1) In Brit. ā was shortened when unaccented. Thus W. pechadur ‘sinner’ < *peccătṓr- < Lat. acc. peccātōr-em beside pechod ‘sin’ < peccā́tum;—W. meitin ‘morning’ < *meid-din < *matū-tī́n- < Lat. mātūtī́num;—W. agw͡yẟawr for *afgw͡yẟawr < Lat. ābēcēdā́rium;—W. Madrun < Lat. mātrṓna beside modryẟ ‘aunt’ < Kelt. *mā́traq$^{u̯}$ī;—W. ceiliagw͡ydd ‘gander’, Ml. W. keẏlẏacuyt a.l. i 280 < *kali̯ako-géidos beside ceiliog ‘cock’ < *kali̯ā́kos;—W. paratói ‘to prepare’, § 201 iii (5), beside parod ‘ready’ < Lat. parā́tus, etc., etc.
    Naw mwy i frag na cheiliagwydd,
    Naw gwell i synnwyr na gŵydd.—S.T., c 16/93.
‘Nine times more boastful than a gander, nine times more sensible than a goose.’ (The recent spellings parotoi, ceiliogwydd are false; the words are pronounced as spelt above.)
For the apparent exception in Ionawr a sufficient explanation is the secondary accent which was required to distinguish Jầnuā́rius from Fèbruā́rius, and which for emphasis might even become primary.
(2) Words like swyddogol ‘official’ are formed in W., and mostly late, by adding ‑ol to ‑og, and are not derived in full from Brit., for Brit. ‑āk-ā́l- would give ‑ag-ol. The word lluosog is an old formation, but it is not formed from the original of llïaws; the latter has ā́ from ō, the formation being *‑ōs-tāts, while the former has ŏs, the formation being *‑os-tos, extended to *‑os-tākos, § 75 iii (3).
ii. It is seen in the above examples that other long vowels remained long when unaccented; and that ī and ū need not have been accented to cause affection of a preceding vowel.
iii. In Ir. the shortening of long vowels is carried further and is independent of the Brit. shortening of ā. The latter had not set in in Pr. Kelt, as is shown by the development of āu, which when unaccented in Brit. gave au, while Kelt. au gave ou § 76 v (5).
iv. All long vowels were shortened before groups of sonant + explosive, as in gwynt ‘wind’ < *u̯entos < *u̯ēntos; so Lat. ventus. W. dyall < *dii̯ált- < *dii̯ā́lt- § 75 vi (4). Also before two explosives; *‑o-akt- *‑ākt- > *‑akt- > ‑aeth § 203 i (4).
The Diphthongs.
§ 75. i. (1) Ar. ai remained in Kelt. It appears in Ir. as āi, āe, in Gaul. as ai or e. Before a consonant it appears in O. W. as oi, and in Ml. and Mn. W. as oe (oɥ) § 29. Thus W. coeg ‘empty’ (as a nut without a kernel), coeg-ddall ‘purblind’, Ir. ​caech ‘one-eyed’: Lat. caecus ‘blind’, Goth, haihs ‘one-eyed’, Skr. kekara‑ḥ ‘squinting’ < Ar. *qaiq‑;—W. hoedl ‘lifetime, life’, Gaul. Setlo-ceni-(ae Deae): Lat. saeculum < *sai-tlo‑m § 111 vii (1); W. coed ‘wood, forest’, Gaul. Ceto-briga < *kaito‑: Goth. haiþi, O. H. G. heida, E. heath, Lat. bu-cētum (ē for ae owing to confusion with the suffix ‑ētum).
(2) Before a vowel ai fell together with ii̯, see iv below. But as in the penult, followed by e (or i), gave a new ai which gives W. oe > o § 78 i (1); thus Brit. *karaset > *karoe, caro ‘may love’. Followed by ī́ it falls together with ii̯ and gives ‑ei, as *u̯órnasīm > arnei; when the ī was unacc. it gives ‑i as *u̯órnasīm > erni § 209 vii (1).
But in the ante-penult a vowel before s drops § 113 i (2); hence *kara-se-re > kar-her ‘may be loved’.
(3) Kelt. āi > W. w͡y, as in mwy ‘greater’ < *mā́-i̯ōs or *mā́ison: Ir. mao for *mau < *mā́i̯ōs. When unaccented it was shortened and so gives oe, as prob. in Ml. W. moe Ỻ.A. 142 ‘more’.
A new āi was produced before a vowel in Brit. when ās was followed by ī or e; thus *karā́s-īt > *karāi̯īt > karwy § 183 ii (1).
A new āi might be produced before a cons. by metath. of i̯ § 100 v; thus Lat. occā́sio > W. achos > but Brit. pl. *accā́si̯ones > *accā́i̯sones > Ml. W. achwysson.
(4) W. oe > ae after w̯ or m, etc.; oe > w̯ae after g § 78 ii (2).
ii. (1) Ar. oi remained in Pr. Kelt., and appears in Ir. as ōi, ōe. In W. it became u before a consonant. Thus Ar. *oinos ‘one’ > Gk. οἰνός, οἰνή ‘ace’, O. Lat. oinos, Lat. ūnus: Ir. oen, W. un ‘one’.—W. ud in anudon ‘perjury’, Ir. oeth ‘oath’: Goth. aiþ‑s ‘oath’.—W. grug ‘heather’ for *gw̯rug (Pemb. dial. gw̯rīg), Ir. froech < *u̯roiko‑s: Gk. ἐρείκη < *u̯ereikā.
Before or after u̯ in Brit., oi became ai which gives W. oe (oy); as in gloyw ‘shiny, glossy’ < *ɡloi-u̯o‑s: Gk. γλοιός < γλοιϝος, § 92 i;—ky(h)oeẟ ‘public’ < *ky-w̯oeẟ < *ko-u̯oid‑: W. gŵyẟ ‘presence’ < *u̯eid‑, √u̯eid- ‘see’; here ‑w̯- dropped; where it remained, woe again gave wae § 78 ii (2); thus gwaethaf for *gwoethaf < *u̯aidisamos < *u̯oidisamos < *u̯o-ed-isamos < *upo-ped-isₑmo‑s § 148 i (5).
(2) Before a back vowel oi gave W. w͡y; as *‑oi̯an > *‑wy‑n > ‑wn § 180 iii (1); cf. § 76 v (4). But before i or e the i̯ ​dropped § 100 vi, and o before the vowel developed like u before a vowel, that is, as ou̯; thus *dó esō > *dói̯ǖ > *dóī > *dóu̯ī > *deu § 76 v (1), whence deuaf § 193 x (5); and *do eset > *doi̯et > *doet > *dou̯et > daw, or without diphthongization *do-et > do, see ib.; so *moi estō > *mo estī > *mo ys > moes § 200 ii. Followed by ī after the accent it gives ‑i, as in ‑ẟi f. sing. ‘to her’ < *´‑doi̯ī < *´‑do-sī § 210 x (1).
(3) Ar. ōi gave Kelt. āi and developed accordingly.
iii. (1) Ar. ei remained in Pr. Kelt. In Gaul. it is written e or ει, as Devo-gnata, Δειουονα. In Ir. it appears as ē or īa. In W. before a consonant it became w͡y. Thus W. gŵyẟ ‘presence’ for *gw̯ŵyẟ < Ar. *u̯eid- § 63 iv;—mor-dw͡y ‘sea voyage’ < *mori-teig- § 103 ii (1), etc.
In Brit. and Gaul. it was probably sounded as ẹi̯. Latin ē which was sounded ẹ̄, was identified with this sound in Brit., and shared its development in W., thus rēte > rhwyd, rēmus > rhwyf, plēbem > plwyf, cēra > cwyr, etc. Lat. oe which seems to have varied from ö to ẹ appears in W. as i, oe or w͡y, as ciniaw ‘dinner’, poen ‘pain’, cwyn ‘supper’.
(2) Before a vowel ei fell together with ii̯, see below.
(3) Ar. ēi before a vowel > Kelt. ī > W. i. Thus W. dī́od, Ml. diawt ‘drink’ < *dhēi-āti‑s, √dhēi- ‘suck’.—W. llī́aws ‘multitude’, Bret. liez < Brit. *līā́ssās < *līāstāts < *(p)līōs-tāts, a noun in *‑tāt- from the cpv. *plē-i̯ōs: Lat. insc. pleores, Gk. πλείων. Before Kelt. o it becomes u, as in llüosog, Ml. lluossauc < Brit. *līu̯ossā́ko‑s an extension *lī$^{u̯}$osso‑s < *(p)līos-to‑s an adj. formed from *plē-i̯ōs like Lat. honestus from honōs; see § 76 ix (2), § 74 i (2), § 169 iii (3). Before a consonant ēi > ē giving Kelt. ī, W. i.
iv. ai and ei fell together with ii̯ before vowels. After the accent the i̯ became ẟ, in other positions it remained as i̯. Thus:
(1) Accented íi̯ (or ái̯ or éi̯), which is generally in the penult, but may be ante-penultimate, gives W. ‑yẟ; thus W. rhyẟ ‘free’ < *príi̯os: Goth. freis, Eng. free;—trefyẟ ‘towns’ < *trebíi̯es;—trydyẟ ‘third’ m. < *tritíi̯os; with ‑a in the ult. it gives ‑eẟ, as trydeẟ ‘third’ f. < *tritíi̯ā. In the ante-penult ‑yẟ‑, as W. ysbyẟad ‘thorn’: Ir. scē, gen. pl. sciad.
(2) Post-tonic ´‑ii̯ gave *ai̯i̯, which became oeẟ, § 62 i (2); ​thus moroeẟ ‘seas’ < *mórii̯a: Lat. maria;—Ml. W. gw̯ladoeẟ ‘countries’ < *u̯látii̯es;—dannoeẟ fem. m. m. 8 ‘toothache’ < *dántii̯ā;—oeẟ ‘would be, was’ < *´sii̯ēt, § 180 ii (3).
v. Before the accent, in the penult the result varies according to the quality of the accented vowel in the (now lost) ultima; thus:
(1) ii̯é > W. ‑i, as in tri ‘three’ m. < *trii̯és (accented like the f.) < Ar. *tréi̯es (f. *tisorés) see § 103 i (3);—W. trefi ‘towns’ < *trebii̯és.
(2) ii̯ī́ > Ml. W. ‑ei, Mn. W. ‑ai, as in W. r͑ei, rhai ‘some’ § 165 vi, carai ‘would love’ § 180 ii (2); cf. nei, nai vii (2).
(3) ii̯ó > W. ‑yw as in rhyw ‘some’ § 165 vi; cf. gwyw vii (3).
(4) iiá > O. W. ‑ai, Ml. and Mn. W. ‑ae, ‑e, also Ml. W. w͡y; as in O. W. guarai, later gwarae, gware, chwarae, chware ‘to play’, Bret. c’hoari, Corn. hwary < Brit. *(s‑)u̯arii̯ā́ < *u̯ₑrii̯- √*u̯erēi § 63 vii (3); a variant is guarvy b.b. 50 = gw̯arw͡y.
vi. Before the accent in the ante-penult the result varies according as the accent fell on the lost ultima, or on the penult.
(1) In the former case the penult had generally a reduced vowel a (< ə or ₑ) ; the combination ‑ii̯a‑´ gave W. ‑aea- (also written aya), O. Bret, ‑oia‑, Bret. ‑oua‑, ‑oa‑. Thus W. claear ‘lukewarm’, Bret. klouar: Gk. χλιαρός (Ar. alternation k / gh);—W. gaeaf, gayaf, Bret. goañv ‘winter’ < *g̑hii̯əmó‑s: Skr. himáḥ, Lith. žëmà, Gk. χειμών, χεῖμα > Lat. hiems: Gaul. Giamon.., Ir. gem-red (e for ia);—W. traean ‘third part’: Ir. trian;—W. rhaeadr ‘cataract’ < *rii̯ə-tró‑: Ir. riathor: Lat. rīvus, √rei̯ā- ‘flow’;—W. daear ‘earth’, Bret. douar < *g̑hðii̯ₑrā § 98 iii.—‑isa- or ‑esa- gives the same result: Pr. Kelt. *isarno- (*is R-grade of *ais: Lat. aes): Gaul. Ysarno- Iserno‑: W. haearn, hayarn ‘iron’, O. W. Gur-haiernn gen. xxiii, O. Bret. hoiarn.
Before the loss of the accented ending the accent must have shifted to the present penult, which had the next highest stress. In Gwent and part of Dyfed the unaccented a was generally lost; thus daer ‘earth’ now dâr § 29 ii (da’r a nen Wms. 785). The O. W. dair, dayr l.l. 120, gaem b.s.ch. 3 represent this dialect. The reduction is general in claer ‘bright‘ beside claear ‘lukewarm’, with differentiation of meaning. From daer comes daerawl Ỻ.A. 130, 164.
(2) After a labial the above group takes the form ‑w͡ya- ​interchanging with ‑ïa‑; thus W. mw͡yar ‘blackberries’, mïaren ‘bramble’, Ir. smēr ‘blackberry’ < *smii̯ar- < *smii̯oró- (§ 65 vi (2)) : Gk. μόρον (μῶρον, Hes.) (with μ < *smi̯‑?), Lat. mōrum prob. < Gk.;—W. gw͡yal (for *gw̯w͡yal) in morw͡yal ‘laminaria’, gw̯ïal ‘twigs, osiers’ < *u̯ii̯ə‑l‑, √u̯ei̯āˣ- ‘weave’: Lat. vieo, etc.;—W. gw͡yar ‘blood, gore’ < *u̯ii̯ₑr‑: Lat. vīrus;—W. bw͡yall ‘axe’ < *bii̯ald‑, met. for *bii̯adl‑: Ir. biāil, Ml. Bret. bouhazl < *bii̯adl‑: O. N. bilda, O. H. G. bīal < *bīþl *bītl: Lat. findo, √bheied‑?—W. hw͡yad ‘duck’, Gwyn. dial. chw̯ïadan < *s‑u̯ii̯at‑, √a-u̯ei‑: Skr. váya‑ḥ ‘bird’;—W. mw͡yalch ‘ousel’ < *mesₑl‑: Lat. merula < *mesula, O.H.G. amsala, Ger. Amsel.—éso developed similarly (since post-tonic s did not give ẟ); thus *su̯ésores > chwïor-eẟ ‘sisters’, with ‑eẟ added, Bret. choarezed with two additions.
The labial changed the diphthong (Early W. *oi) to wy. Under the new accent wy remained, but became i in the present ante-penult; thus mẃyar: mïáren—*gw̯ẃyal: gw̯ïálen, a new pl. gw̯ḯal being then formed from the latter. Where the sound comes in the present ante-penult in old formations, the form is undecided ; thus O. W. guiannuin ox. ‘Spring’, Early Ml. W. guaiannu(i)n, guayanuhin a.l. i 142, also gwahanwyn do. 308, Ml. and Mn. W. gwannw͡yn, gwanw͡yn < Brit. *u̯esant‑´: Skr. vasantá‑ḥ ‘Spring’, Lat. vēr < *u̯ēsr.
(3) When the following a or o was affected, the diphthong became y or e, liable to be assimilated and lost; thus r͑yeidɏr, r͑eydɏr ‘cataracts’, heyrn ‘irons’ § 69 ii (3), Gwyn. dial. hɥ̂rn for hɥɥrn;—W. tair ‘three’ f., Ml. and O. W. teir for *tyeir (cf. breint, Seint § 103 ii (1)), Ir. teoir < *tisorés: Skr. tisráḥ; so W. pedair ‘four’ f., Ir. cetheoir < *q$^{u̯}$etesorés: Skr. cátasraḥ.
Such forms as heiyrn, rheieidr are quite late and artificial. But some old re-formations occur when the diphthong stood in the present ante-penult, as deyeryn (‑yn ≡ ‑in) b.a. 12 ‘earthen’, heyernin ib. ‘of iron’, daeerin r.p. 1281, mïéri, pl. of mïáren.
(4) Secondly, the vowel following the diphthong is accented. In that case the diphthong became e or y liable to be assimilated and lost, as in (3) above. Thus W. ëog ‘salmon’ < *esā́k‑: Ir. ēo, gen. iach;—W. deall, dyall, dallt § 82 ii (3) ‘understanding’, deallt-wriaeth id., N.W. dial. dāllt < *dii̯ált- < *dii̯ā́lt- § 74 iv, met. for *dii̯ā́-tlo‑, √dhei̯ā- ‘appear, perceive’: Skr. dhyā-yati ‘thinks’, dhīraḥ ‘intelligent’; Ml. W. dyat ‘thought’ < *dii̯á‑t- with ​analog. accentuation for original *dhii̯ə-tó‑; Ml. W. gorffywys, later, with y lost, gorffwys ‘rest’ < *u̯er-q$^{u̯}$ii̯éi‑st‑, √q$^{u̯}$ei̯ēi̯‑: Lat. quiēsco.
(5) Latin pretonic i or e before a vowel is treated as i̯, thus diáb(o)lus gives di̯awl § 100 ii (1).
vii. Except as above, ‑es‑, ‑is- before a vowel developed differently from ‑ii̯‑, chiefly because post-tonic s did not, like i̯, become ẟ.
(1) In the penult after the accent ‑es- > ‑i̯‑ ; thus Ml. W. tei ‘houses’ < *tigi̯a < *tigesa § 104 ii 2;—W. clyw ‘hearing’ < *klou̯i̯- § 76 v (2) < *kléu̯es‑, nom. *kléu̯os: Ir. clū, Gk. κλέος < *kléu̯os, neut. s-stem.—So ‑ep‑: W. ceifn ‘distant cousin’ < *kóm-ni̯ōs < *kóm-nepōt‑s, see § 123 v.
(2) In the penult and ante-penult, when és came before ‑e‑, contraction took place, and ése > ei > W. w͡y; thus W. wy‑t ‘art’ < *ése tū < Ar. *esi ‘art’;—W. neithi̯wyr < *nokti di̯éser- § 98 i (3).—So épe: W. twymn < *tepesm(e)n- § 86 i (3).
In the penult ‑és- before ‑ī- gave oe; thus W. chwaer for *chwoer i (4), Corn. hoer < *su̯ésīr < *suésōr;—W. doe ‘yesterday’ < *désī < *ghði̯esei: Lat. heri, Gk. χθές, Skr. hyaḥ.—Corn. noi ‘nephew’ < *népōts.—‑es- before ī́ prob. gave ei (like ‑ii̯- before ‑ī́‑, see v), and Ml. W. nei, Mn. nai ‘nephew’ may represent *nepṓts (accented like the f. *neptís: Skr naptī́ḥ).—‑es- before ‑i̯´- gave y, as in Ml. W. y ‘his’ < *esi̯ó, y ‘her’ (for e?) < *esi̯ā́s, § 160 iv.
Lat. ‑ai̯i̯- > Ml. W. ei, Mn. W. ai as in Mei, Mai ‘May’ < Mai̯i̯us (Sommer 225); Ml. W. Kei < Caius.
(3) Before lost u or o, ‑es- or ‑is- gives yw (ew); as Ml. W. Ywein, Ewein, later Owein < *Esu-gani̯os: Gaul. Esugen(ios), Ir. Eogan: Gk. Εὐγένιος. So perhaps in the (pretonic) penult: W. gwyw ‘withered’ < *u̯isú‑: Ir. feugud gl. marcor, Icel. visenn: Lith. výstu ‘I wither’, Lat. viēsco.
So īs before lost u or o gives iw, and ais gives oew: W. gwiw ‘good’ < *u̯īsus < *u̯ēsu‑s: Gaul. Visu-rix: Skr. vásu‑ḥ, Gk. εὖ, √eu̯eseu̯‑;—W. gwaew ‘spear’ for *goew § 78 ii (2) < *gaison: Gaul. gaison whence Lat. gaesum: Ir. gae.
Lat. e in the penult gives ew before lost o or u: W. llew ​‘lion’ < leo; pydew ‘pit’ < puteus; olew ‘oil’ < oleum. But Lat. i in the same position gave i̯ which affected the vowel: W. yspeil < spolium; so sometimes e: W. cŷn ‘chisel’ < Lat. cuneus.
viii. (1) In final syllables, lost in W., Ar. ai, oi, ei became ī in Brit. and Gaul.; thus the nom. pl. ending of noun o-stems, which in Pr. Kelt., as in Lat. and Gk., was *‑oi (instead of Ar. *‑ōs), became ‑ī (though ‑oi also survives in a North Italian Kelt. insc.: Tanotaliknoi, Rhys, CIFI. 60); thus Brit. *bardos pl. *bardī > W. bardd, pl. beirdd.
‑āi unaccented > ai > ī, thus Gaul. Βηλησαμι dat. of a name whose nom. occurs as Belisama; ōi > ūi, in Pr. Kelt, later ū, § 60, cf. Ir. dat. fiur ‘to a man’ < dat. *u̯irōi; ‑ēi doubtless gave ‑ī.
(2) But in monosyllables Ar. ‑ai, ‑oi, ‑ei remained in Kelt., and developed as follows in W.:
‑ai > ‑oe, thus Ar. *u̯ai > *gwoe > gwae § 78 ii (2).
‑ei > wy; W. wy ‘they’ < *ei: Ir. ē.
‑oi > wy; W. pwy ‘who?’ < *q$^{u̯}$o-i = Lat. quī § 163 vi; when unaccented it became eu (O. W. ou, oi) § 78 iii, thus Ar. *moi, *toi > W. meu, teu § 161 iv.
§ 76. i. The Ar. diphthongs au, eu, ou were distinct in Pr. Kelt., but tended later to become one sound, which is written ou. In Gaul. eu was still written as well as ou in forms having original eu, as in teuto- beside τοουτιους and Neviod… beside Noviodunum; we also find αυ, iii (4). In Brit. we may assume ou for all three. In W. it takes a variety of forms according to its position. The same development is shared by uu̯ whether from Ar. uu̯ § 63 iv or from Lat. u before a vowel.
ii. (1) Before a consonant, except s, the diphthong became u (≡ ü) in W., ūa in Ir. Thus W. tud ‘people, country’, Ir. tūath < *teutā, Gaul. teuto‑: Goth. þiuda, etc.;—W. rhudd ‘red’, Ir. rūad < *roudh-os, Gaul. Roud-ius: Goth. rauþs;—W. cudd ‘hidden’, cuddio ‘to hide’ < *qeudh‑: Gk. κεύθω, O. E. hȳde, E. hide;—W. bugail ‘shepherd’ < *bou-koli̯ós < *ɡ$^{u̯}$ou-qoli̯ós: Gk. βουκόλος.
In Brit. it was probably sounded ọ$^{u̯}$; and Lat ō (≡ ọ̄) and ū shared its development; thus W. ffurf < Lat. fōrma; mur < Lat. mūrus, etc.
(2) But original eus gives W. ew, as rhew ‘ice’ < *preus‑: ​Lat. pruīna < *prusuīna;—W. trew ‘sneeze’ < *(s)treu‑s‑, √pstereu- § 96 ii (4);—W. blew ‘hair’ < *bleus- § 101 iii (2).
The reason seems to be that *eus became *eh$^{u̯}$ before the degradation of the first element of the diphthong.
(3) The diphthong was liable to be simplified by dissimilation when the following syllable contained u̯ or u; thus Ar. *tauros ‘bull’ became Kelt. *tauru̯os (in imitation of *u̯eru̯ā > Ml. Ir. ferb ‘cow’, Vendryes MSL. xii. 40), whence Kelt. *taru̯os > Ir. tarb, W. tarw ‘bull’. Later, when au had become ou in Brit., *ou-tūt- > *o-tūt- > W. odid ‘rarity’, beside Ir. ōthad, uathad < *au-tāt‑, both from *pau‑: Lat. pau-cu‑s, O.H.G. fōh, E. few.
iii. (1) Before a vowel the diphthong became aw when unaffected. Thus W. naw ‘nine’ < Brit. *nou̯an < Ar. *neu̯n̥;—W. baw ‘dirt’ < *bou̯‑, beside budr ‘dirty’ < *bou-tro- √peu̯(āˣ)‑: Lat. pūs, etc. § 101 iii (2);—W. awydd ‘desire’ for *aw̯w͡yẟ (rh. with rhŵyẟ § 38 x) < *au̯eid‑: Lat. avidus < *au̯id‑, √au̯ei̯‑.—So Brit. au for unacc. āu as in Ml. W. andaw ‘listen’, met. for *adnaw < *áti-gnā-u- ‘attend to’ < *g̑n̥̄‑u̯- √g̑enē‑: Lat. nāvus, Ir. aithgne ‘cognitio’. So also uu̯ for Lat. u before a vowel, as W. cystrawen ‘syntax’ < Lat. construenda.
(2) But in the penult (the present ult.) post-tonic ´‑ou- gives Ml. W. ‑eu, Mn. W. ‑au; thus the pl. endings *´‑ou̯es, *´‑ou̯a give W. ‑eu, ‑au, as in cadau ‘armies’ < *kátou̯es, dagrau ‘tears’ < Ar. *dák̑ruu̯ə; similarly angau ‘death’ < *ánkou̯‑; cigleu ‘I have heard’ < *k̑ū́k̑lou̯a § 182 i.
In this case ‑eu does not affect a preceding a as it does when it is itself the result of affection § 69 vi, as in teneu < *tanouís.
The above change may be due to a doubling of u̯, see § 62 i (2), thus *auu̯ > *üu̯ > *üü̯ > *öü > O. W. oü, Ml. W. eü.
(3) i̯ou̯- gives W. ieu (≡ i̯eü). Thus W. ieuanc ‘young’ < Brit. *i̯ou̯ankos < Ar. i̯uu̯n̥k̑os: Lat. juvencus § 100 i (1);—W. Ieuan < *I̯ou̯ánnes for lōánnes;—Mn. W. Iau, Ml. W. Ieu ‘Jove’ < Brit. gen. *I̯ou̯-os for Lat. Jovis;—Mn. W. iau, Ml. W. ieu ‘yoke’ < *i̯ou̯-ón < *juɡ-óm, see vi (1). Here we have the assimilation of u̯ to i̯ by which it becomes ü; cf. the assim. of i̯ to ü in ‑i̯oü in O. W., § 25 i.
An alternative form i̯ef‑, if- appears in the penult: iefanc, ifanc; Iefan, Ifan. The latter is attested in the 14th cent: ivanghet c.m. 84. Later it is common: Pawb yn eu rhif yn ifanc S.C., c. i 114 ‘all in their [full] number young’.
    Ifanc, ifanc a ofyn:
    Henaint, at henaint y tyn.—S.Ph. br. iv 391.
‘The young seeks the young: old age is drawn to old age.’ The form i̯ef- is probably older, but cannot be verified; Ml. W. ieu- is ambiguous, but doubtless generally meant i̯eü‑. The latter form is seen in
    Paham, a minneu ’n ieuanc,
    Yr wyf yn rhwym ar fy nhranc?—B.A. Ỻ 133/77.
‘Why, when I am young, am I bound at death’s door?’ The dialects now have if‑, as Ifan, ifanc, but i̯enctid for i̯euenctid ‘youth’.
(4) The ante-vocalic form aw may occur before a consonant where the vowel after it has dropped, as in W. cawr ‘giant’ < Brit. *kou̯arós: Gaul. Καυαρος, Ir. caur (< W.?) √k̑eu̯ā‑. We also have aw regularly for Lat. au, as in awdur < Lat. au(c)tṓrem; llawẟ ‘praise’ < laudem; Ml. W. Pawl < Paulus (the biblical Paul is merely the Eng. form, and is pronounced Pôl).
W. nawn ‘noon’ < *nouna possibly dial. Lat. for nōna ( < *nou̯enā), cf. Pelignian Nounis ‘Nonius’, and Lat. old spelling noundinum. Sir John Rhys suggests the influence of Brit. *nou̯an. See § 81 iii (2).
(5) Except when affected as in iv (4), v (3) (5), Brit. āu̯ gave u in W., as in bu ‘has been’ < *(be)bā́u̯e < Ar. *bhebhōu̯e § 189 iv (3); caru ‘to love’ < *karā́-u- § 202 ii. When unaccented ā was shortened, iii (1), § 74.
iv. The penultimate affection of the diphthong has the forms ew, yw, and eu; thus
(1) Before ĭ or ī remaining as y or i, it appears as ew, as in newyẟ ‘new’, Bret. nevez < *nouíi̯os < *neu̯ii̯os;—W. cnewyll ‘kernels’ < *kneu̯‑: E. nut < *knu‑d‑;—W. ewythr ‘uncle’ < *au̯on-tēr: Lat. avun-culus < *au̯on- (nom. *au̯ō see v (5)); Bret. eontr (eo for eu; i lost), Corn. euitor (‑tor ≡ tr̥?); W. ewyllys ‘will’ < *ou̯i‑, √au̯ei‑. Similarly rhewin ‘ruin’ derived from the Lat. ruīna.
(2) Before i̯ when pretonic it is eu (≡ eü), the i̯ being lost ; thus W. breuan ‘handmill’ for *breuon < *broui̯ón- (: Corn. brou, Bret. breo, Ir. brāu all from nom. *broui̯ō, Ir. gen. broon): Goth. quairnus, E. quern, √ɡ$^{u̯}$erā‑.
But when accented it is yw as in ultimate aff. ; thus cyw ​‘young of an animal’ < *kóui̯ō pl. cywi̯on < *kóui̯ones, see v (6);—distrywi̯af < *dī-stróui̯a-mi, v (2);—llywiaf ‘I steer’: llyw ‘rudder’ ib.
In late formations i̯ has no effect: gwrandawi̯ad ‘hearing’ from gwrandaw ‘to listen’.
(3) Where it remained a diphthong before a consonant iii (4), its affected form is eu; thus ceuri p 94/179 r. ‘giants’ now ceiri (in Tre’r Ceiri, etc.) by § 77 ix, pl. of cawr; the usual pl. cewri w. m. 441, Ỻ.a. 44 is a re-formation;—W. beudy < Brit. *bou̯i-tigos, a later formation than *boukoli̯os ii (1) (cf. Lat. nāufragus, later nāvi-fragus);—Ml. W. Meuruc § 77 viii < Mauricius, Ml. W. cyngheussaeth < *con-caus‑i̯‑act‑: cyngaws ‘lawsuit’ < Lat. causa.
(4) ā́u̯i̯ became ā́i̯, giving w͡y § 75 i (3); as andwyo ‘to mar, spoil’ met. for *ad-nwy-o < *ati-nāu̯‑i̯‑, niwed ‘injury’ for *nwyet § 78 iv < nā́u̯-i̯at- < *nōu̯‑i̯‑: Lith. novýti ‘to afflict’ < *nōu̯ī‑.
v. In the present ultima the diphthong, when affected, takes various forms, as follows:
(1) The ordinary affection is Ml. W. eu, Mn. W. au; this occurs:
1 . Before unaccented ‑ī; as dau ‘two’ m., Ml. deu, O. W. dou < *dóu̯ī < Ar. *duu̯ō(u̯): Gk. δύω, δύο, Lat. duo, Skr. duvā́(u);—W. tau ‘is silent’ < *tou̯īt < * (s)tup-ēit, beside taw ‘be silent!’ < *tóu̯e;—W. cenau ‘whelp’ < *kanóuī < *kanóu̯ō: Ir. cana: from *k(u̯)ₑn‑: Lat. canis.
2. Before accented ĭ; as W. teneu ‘thin’ (Corn. tanow, Bret. tanao) < *tanouís < *tₑnuu̯ís: Lat. tenuis, Skr. tanúḥ f. tanvī́.
3. Before a consonant; as W. haul ‘sun’ < Brit. *sau’li̯ós < *sāu̯eli̯ós: Gk. ἠέλιος, ἥλιος, Dor. ᾱ̓έλιος Lith. sáulė, Skr. sū́rya‑ḥ, Lat. sōl < *sāuol < *sāuel. (´‑li̯- would have given W. II; hence we assume Brit. ‑li´‑; see also § 113 i (5).)
Ml. W. eur, Mn. W. aur ‘gold’ cannot be from aurum which gave Ml. aur (≡ awr), and Bret. aour. The Mn. W. aur, Ml. eur represents the adj. *auri̯os for aureus, which spread from expressions like modrwy aur ‘gold(en) ring’, etc. The noun is seen in ef guisgus aur (u ≡ w) b.a. 38 ‘he wore gold’.
¶ The above is the ordinary affected form, which is used e.g. in the ​formation of the 3rd sg. pres. ind. of verbs; thus tereu ‘strikes’: taraw = saif: saf § 173 iv (1). It is seen that when ‑eu is the result of affection as above, an a before it is affected to e; see iii (2).
(2) ‑óu̯i̯- gives ‑yw. Thus W. dilyw ‘flood’ (now generally misspelt diluw) < *dīlóu̯i̯o- < Lat. dīluvium;—distryw ‘destruction’ < *dī-stróu̯i̯‑: Goth. straujan, Lat. destruo ; the vb. is distrywi̯af iv (2);—W. llyw ‘rudder’, < *lóu̯i̯o‑: Ir. lue < *lu-ii̯o‑: Gk. πλόος, √pleu‑;—W. clyw ‘hearing’ < *klou̯i̯- < k̑léu̯es- § 75 vii (1).
There is no reason to suppose that uu̯ became iu̯ in Brit., as stated by Pedersen, Gr. i 61; yw is from óu̯i̯ as above. Clywaf ‘I hear’ is a denominative from clyw, cf. clywẏaf c.m. 32 (the pres. stem of √k̑leu̯- meant ‘to be named’, and clywaf cannot come directly from it; cf. Meillet, MSL. xv 337).
(3) ‑ā́u̯i̯- became ‑ā́i- which gives ‑w͡y § 75 i (3); thus W. wy ‘egg’ < Brit. *ā́u̯i̯on < Ar. *ṓu̯i̯om: Gk. ὤιον, ᾦον, Lat. ōvum;—Cornwy < Cornā́u̯i̯‑(a);—Aethwy r.p. 1419 < *Oethwy § 78 ii (3) < Octā́vius.
Pedersen Gr. i. 66 suggests that Ir. og is borrowed from W., but this is improbable, and does not help to explain the ‑g. Thurneysen IA. xxvi 26 insists upon a Kelt. *ugos, *uges. The fact, however, seems to be that u̯i̯ under certain conditions became in Ir. a spirant written g; thus Ir. ugaire ‘shepherd’ < *ou̯i̯-ārius: ōi, ui ‘sheep’, Lat. ovis; Mn. Ir. ughachd ‘will’ < *ou̯i̯-akt‑, √au̯ei̯‑, iv (1). Eng. egg is from Icel. egg < Pr. Germ. *ajja- < *ōu̯i̯o‑.
(4) ‑ou̯ī́ or ‑ou̯i̯´- was similarly simplified to ‑o-ī́, ‑oi̯´‑, which gives ‑w͡y; thus W. dwy ‘two’ f. < *dou̯ī́ < *duu̯ái: Lat. duae, Skr. duvé < *duu̯ái;—W. aswy ‘left (hand)’ < *at-sou̯i̯-ā́: Skr. savyá‑ḥ ‘left’.
‑wy as in (3) and (4) may be weakened to ‑eu; as Cerneu, asseu; these are not direct affections, as shown by the unaffected a‑; also to w, assw, see § 78 iii, i.
(5) ‑āu̯ī́, ‑āuí- or ‑āu̯i̯´- by the shortening of unacc. ā became ‑au̯ī́, ‑au̯í- or ‑au̯i̯´- simplified to ‑a-ī́, ‑a-í- or ‑ai̯´‑, which gives ‑oe. The simplification here was late, so that ‑au̯ī́ did not, like ‑asī́, give ‑ei. It did not take place in Bret. and Corn., in which the groups appear as ‑ou (‑ow). In W. ‑oe generally becomes ‑o, 78 i (1). Examples: ‑(g)no in proper names; Iud-noe l.l. 176, 187, Balch-noe D. G. 43; Gueithgno l.l. 144, Guiþno ​(wrongly wr. guipno) gen. v, Mn. W. Gwyddno; Mochno b.b. 61, Beuno Ỻ.A. 119, Mn. W. Tudno, Machno, etc., all < *‑gnāu̯i̯ó‑s: Lat. Gnaeus < *gnā-u̯i̯os < *g̑n̥̄‑, √g̑enē- ‘be born’. (With the accent on the ā́ it gave ‑nwy by (3), as Mochnwy b.b. 47, Gronwy § 78 i (2), weakened to ‑neu, see (4), as Guitneu b.b. 98, 106, Iudnou l.l. 73, 77, etc.);—W. clo ‘lock’ < *qlāu̯-ís: Gk. κληίς, Lat. clāvis, √(s)qlāu̯‑;—W. noe ‘large bowl’ < *nāu̯i̯ā́: Lat. nāvia, nāvis, Gk. ναῦς, Ion. νηῦς, Skr. nā́uḥ;—W. athro ‘guardian, teacher’, < *altrāu̯ī́ < *altrāu̯ṓ < *altro-au̯ṓ, § 155 ii (1): *au̯on- iv (1); pl. athrawon, alltrawon < *altrāu̯ónes; f. elltrewyn ‘stepmother’ < *altrāu̯ónī; Bret. aoutrou ‘seigneur’, Corn. altrou ‘fosterfather’.
The mas. sg. is athro in all Ml. W. texts: b.b. 86; a.l. i 338; w.m. 128, 452–3; r.m. 100–1, 202; Ỻ.A. 3, 6, 49, 107, 113; r.p. 1225, 1241, 1255, 1345, 1348; r.b. 975; Io. G. 640, etc.; and in the early edns. of the Bible. The late athraw (Salesbury, Dic.) is an artificial form deduced from the pl. Cae Athro (near Carnarvon) is so named locally; Cae-athraw is a misspelling which came through the Sunday school from late edns. of the Bible. The sg. alltraw is also artificial. (So in late W. cenaw is written for cenau in defiance of the pronunciation in all the dialects, which is cene or cena implying cenau § 6 iii.) Pughe's fem. elltrewen is his own invention; ‑en would not affect the ‑aw- to ‑ew‑.
Other examples of the same development, though the orig. formation is not so clear in these, are—W. glo ‘coal’ for *gw̯loe < Brit. *gu̯lāu̯ís, √g̑u̯el(āˣ)‑: E. coal, Skr. jválati ‘blazes’;—W. gro ‘gravel’ < *grāu̯ís < *ɡhrōu‑, √ghreu̯‑: Lat. rūdus, E. grit;—W. tyno ‘plain, meadow’ for *tno, O. W. tnou l.l. 32, 44, 74, Bret. tnou (: W. teneu, √ten- ‘stretch’?).
(6) Doublets occur for several reasons.—1. Difference of accentuation in Brit.; thus W. gwryw ‘male’, benyw ‘female’ < Brit. *uiróu̯i̯os, *banóu̯i̯os, beside guru, banu a.l. i 272 = Gwyn. dial. gwrw, banw for *gwrwy *banwy < *u̯irou̯i̯ós, *banou̯i̯ós.—2. Difference of ending, as in ceneu ‘whelp’ < *kanóuō, see (1) above, beside cnyw ‘young of an animal’ < *k(a)nóu̯i̯ō, whence, by § 101 ii (2), cyw ‘young of an animal’ pl. cywion < *k(n)óu̯i̯ones.—3. Difference of strong and weak forms; as asswy beside asseu and assw, Gronwy beside Gronw, Cornwy beside Corneu, see § 78.
Note. It is to be observed that ‑ō does not produce i-affection in Bret.; hence W. aff. dau, but Bret. unaff. daou, < *dúu̯ō. On the other hand W. aff. haul, Bret. aff. heol both from *sau’li̯os. The assumption usually made that āu gives W. ‑eu, ‑au based entirely upon these two words (taken as *d(u̯)āu, *sāu’l‑) does not explain the difference in Bret.
vi. (1) ug before a vowel > uu̯ in Brit. and developed like ​ordinary uu̯ or ou̯. Thus W. traw-af ‘I strike’ < *trug-ami < *prug- for *pu̯r̥g‑, √(s)phu̯ereɡ- § 97 v (3);—after i̯‑, iii (3), W. iau ‘yoke’: Lat. jugum, Gk. ζυγόν, Skr. yugám all < Ar. *jugóm;—before i retained as y, W. llewych ‘light’ < *lug-isk‑;—before lost i, O. W. poullor-aur, Ml. W. peullawr b.t. 25 ‘writing tablet’ < Lat. pugillāres;—before ‑ū, W. go-lev ‘light’ < Brit. *u̯o-lugū.—For ug before i̯ see § 104 ii (2).
(2) But oug has the regular development of ou̯ before a consonant, and gives *üᵹ > ü, as W. llu ‘host’, Ir. slūag < *sloug‑, § 95 i;—W. tru, tru-an ‘wretched’, Ir. trūag < *troug-os;—W. bu-arth ‘farmyard’ < *bou-gart‑: Lat. hortus § 99 vi.
vii. In Brit. m between vowels or sonants was already loosened to nasalized v or u̯; after a vowel it is therefore treated partly as a consonant and partly as the second element of a diphthong.
(1) am generally gives af as in the spv. ending ‑haf § 147 iv (2), hafal ‘like, equal’: Ir. samail § 94 i; affected it gives medially ef before a vowel, eif before i̯, ef or eu before n, as in defnydd or deunydd f. 37 ‘material’ < *dam-níi̯o‑: Ir. damnae id., √demā- ‘build’; cyntefig ‘primitive’: cyntaf ‘first’;—finally, eu, as W. edau, edeu ‘thread’ < *etamī, O. W. etem (≡ edɥṽ?), pl. edafeẟ < *etamíi̯ās < *petə‑, √petē‑; so Ml. W. gwelleu ‘shears’, Mn. W. gwellau pl. gwelleifiau; Mn. lit. gwellaif is deduced from the pl.; hynaif is doubtless analogical; so drycheif, dyrchaif, § 188 iii. The variant of ‑eu is ‑yf: crog-edyf ‘dropwort’.
(2) em gives ef finally, as in nef § 100 v; medially ef as in gefell ‘twin’ < Lat. gemellus; or ỿf as in Dyfed < Demeta; or (before w͡y) y(w) as in tywyll § 111 i (2), tywyẟ § 86 i (5); affected, finally, ‑yf or ‑eu; as cleẟyf or cleẟeu ‘sword’ < *klad-emō (cf. Gk. ἀκρεμών), √qolād‑; pl. cleddyfau a new formation; so neẟyf or neẟeu ‘adze’, § 130 i.
(3) om gives of as in dof ‘tame’: Lat. domāre; affected, yf as in Selyf § 69 iv (1); before ‑n- it gives af as in safn ‘mouth’ < *stom‑n‑: Gk. στόμα; affected, eif as in ceifn § 75 vii (1), simplified to ef, § 78 v, in the improper compound cefnderw, O. W. pl. ceintiru § 137 ii.
(4) um before a vowel gives ‑w(f), ‑ỿf‑, as in tw(f) ‘growth’, tyfu ‘to grow’: Lat. tumeo; before n it gives aw, af or w, as in ​Ml. W. ysgawn > S.W. ysgon, also ysgafn, Mn. W. and N. W. ysgafn, Ml. W. ysgwn § 101 iv (3).
viii. (1) After the prefixes *ko‑, *to‑, *do‑, *ro- an initial u̯- was heterosyllabic, and the o of the prefix becomes ỿ regularly § 65 iv (2), as in cỿ-wir ib., tỿ-wysog ‘prince’, dỿ-wedaf § 194 ‘I say’, rhỿ-wynt ‘hurricane’.
(2) The vowel also develops regularly before gu̯, as in tew ‘thick’, Ir. tiug < *tegu̯‑: E. thick; cf. ii (2).
ix. (1) iu̯ and īu̯ occurred as V- and R-grades of ei̯eu̯, ei̯ēu̯, etc.; Kelt. īu̯ also < Ar. ēu̯. The i or ī appears regularly in W. as y or i. Thus byw ‘live’ < ɡ$^{u̯}$iu̯- § 63 vii (3);—W. lliw < *līu̯‑: Lat. līvor.
(2) īu̯o gives W. üo or üa (§ 65 v (1)); thus W. buan ‘quick’ < Brit. *bīu̯o-no‑s § 63 vii (3);—W. hual ‘shackle’ for *ffual < *fīu̯ol < Lat. fībula;—original īo > īu̯o > üo as in lluossawc § 75 iii (3).
Later Modifications of Vowels.
§ 77. i. In Late Ml. W. ɥ, when short, became i before g (then written c) or ng. Thus in the unaccented ultima in Late Ml. W. we generally find ic, sometimes ing, as tebic w.m. 122, 129, 142, r.m. 164, 213, etc.; meddic w.m. 141, r.m. 113, 212, 306, r.p. 1298; kyving r.m. 110 (but kyvyng w.m. 46, 465, r.m. 32). Such words are rhymed by the bards with monosyllables having i (not ɥ):
    Ond dychmygion dynion dig,
    A cham oedd pob dychymig.—D.G. 22; see 246.
‘[They were] but jealous men’s fancies, and every fancy was false.’
    Rhinwedd mab Ieuan feddig
    Ar dy rudd fal aur a drig.—L.G.C. 348.
‘The virtue of Ab Ieuan the physician will dwell as gold on thy cheek.’
    A’i frig yn debig i dân.—D.E., g. 125.
‘And its tips like fire.’—To a woman’s hair. See 133, and D.G., 27, 285. See tebig / diwig / cerrig / llewig / rhyfig, etc. E.P. 283.
In a monosyllable before g the vowel is long, § 51 iii, and therefore remains ɥ, as in plŷg ‘fold’, crŷg ‘hoarse’ see plyc w.m. 89, r.m. 65; but before ng it is short, § 51 ii, hence ing ‘anguish’, which is for ɥng r.p. 1286, 1407; cf. the derivative ỿg̃der r.m. 119.
The only words in which the vowel is sounded ɥ in the unaccented ult. are compounds of plyg, cryg etc., as dyblyg D.G. 258, (g)w͡yrblyg 255, ogryg 244, deuẟyblyc Ỻ.A. 68; also the 3rd sing. pres. ind. of ​verbs with stems ending in ‑og, as ysgyg D.G. 370 ‘shakes’ (though we have ennic c.m. 13 from annoc ‘incite’). In other cases the sound is ig. The late Mn. spellings meddyg, tebyg etc., are purely artificial, deduced from meddỿgon, tebỿgu etc. A few words of this class are still written phonetically, as cerrig.
The sound was ɥ in Early Ml. W. as shown by the rhyme cerryg / plyg C. m.a. i 241, and the assonance metic / bid b.b. 76 (≡ meẟɥg / bɥd); and ỿ the mutation of ɥ remains in the penult. Hence we have two forms: (1) ‑ig for ‑ɥg < ‑ĭc‑, which becomes ‑ỿg- in the penult; (2) ‑ig for ‑ig < ‑īc‑, which is ‑ig- in the penult. Thus (1) meddig < Lat. medĭcus, pl. meddỿgon, (2) lleithig < Lat. lectīca, pl. lleithigeu. In Mn. W. one or two words of the second class have passed over to the first: perigl ‘danger’ < Lat. perīc’lum; cynnig ‘to offer’ < Lat. condīco, though still sounded perigl, cynnig are written perygl, cynnyg because, by false analogy, derived forms have come to be sounded with ỿ as perỿglus, cỿnỿgi̯af. In Ml. W. the penult had i in these, as periglwys r.b.b. 44–5, periglus Ỻ.A. 146, berigleu r.b.b. 121, gynigwyt w.m. 168, gynnigẏwyt r.M. 234, kynnigẏwys do. 144.
ii. ɥ becomes i in the unaccented ult. in some cases after g or ng; thus ergyt w.m. 110, 111 ‘shot’; ergit r.m. 80, 81, r.b.b. 42, now ergid (written ergyd); efengil R.Ỻ., f. 5, E.P. 278 ‘gospel’; so sounded now though written efengyl; megis / dis, D.G. 315; cregin for *cregyn. But as a rule ɥ remain ; egyr ‘opens’, diogyn ‘idler’, negydd ‘denier’, dengys ‘shows’, are so pronounced, owing to the influence of analogical forms without g or ng.
iii. In the same position ɥ frequently becomes i after penultimate i or ei; thus llinɥn w.m. 75 ‘string’, but llinin four lines earlier, also 78, llinin r.m. 54, 56 (each time), dibin c.m. 91 ‘hang’, amẟiffin p 21/1 r. ‘to defend’, gwlithin w.m. 455, r.m. 102 ‘dewdrop’, giliẟ w.m. 9, 134 ‘other’, origin Ỻ.A. 122 ‘a moment’, (double dim. of awr ‘hour’), dilin d.g. 343 ‘to follow’.
    Derfel wrth ryfel a thrin
    Dewr oedd, a da i wreiddin.—D.I.D., g. 178.
‘He was a brave Derfel in war and encounter, and of good stock.’
    Herwydd nas gwnai ddyhirin
    Fentri̯o i oes o fewn trin.—S.T., g.r. 369.
‘Because a dastard would not risk his life in battle.’
But analogy has always tended to preserve the termination ‑yn:
    Ysbys y dengys y dŷn
    O ba radd y bo i wreiddɥn.—T.A., f. 33.
‘Plainly does a man show of what degree his origin is.’
    O chyrch dyrfa, deca’ dŷn,
    Daw i’w harail dihirɥn.—D.G., 173.
‘If she hies to a gathering, fairest maid, a knave comes to watch her.’
​The sound is now i, as llinin, dibin, amddiffin, giliẟ, gwreiẟin, etc.; the y written is an etymological spelling. Sometimes it is wrongly written, as in ers meityn for ers meitin § 70 v. This may also occur in Ml. W. as in yr meityn w.m. 17, r.m. 11 beside the correct er meitin w.m. 128, 138, yr meitin r.m. 280, cf. meitin/ffin b.a. 18; dilyt beside dilit w.m. 41.
iv. In Mn. W. ɥ followed by i in some common groupings became i; thus cerɥ di ‘thou lovest’ became ceri di, and ceri supplanted cerɥ as the regular form. So wrthɥf i, wrthɥt ti became wrthif i, wrthit ti, and the 1620 Bible has wrthif, wrthit; so gennif, gennit; but later the Ml. forms with y were restored in writing. [The dialects developed new formations.]
v. The diphthong ɥw is now sounded iw after front consonants: after c (≡ k̑) in cyw ≡ k̑iw (but pl. cỿwi̯on ≡ qəui̯on), after r in rhyw and its compounds amryw, cyfryw, etc., in dryw, ystryw, gwryw, after n in benyw, and initially in yw ‘is’, yw ‘to his’ now written i’w. (Gwryw, benyw, yw ‘is’ are not dialectal forms in N. W., but are sounded with ‑iw in reading or quoting.) Ml. W. nywl r.m. 46, w.m. 64 ‘fog’ is now written niwl, § 37 ii. In distryw, dilyw the ‑iw sound is earlier, on account of the preceding i; both are often spelt with ‑iw in Ml. W. After d and ẟ the sound iw is still earlier; thus ydiw, heẟiw are so spelt in Ml. W. in MSS. where i and y are distinguished.
The only words remaining now with ɥw are bɥw, clɥw, llɥw ‘prince’ and llɥw ‘rudder’ (also sounded lliw), gwyw ‘withered’ in addition to Duw which is sounded Dɥw in Late Mn. W.; and compounds of these lledfyw, hyglyw, etc.
vi. In the Mn. language ɥ in the unaccented ult. is sounded i before ll in some words; as cyllyll ‘knives’, gwyntyll ‘fan’; in some, as candryll ‘shattered’ (lit. ‘100 bits’), both ɥ and i are heard; others have ɥ always, as sefyll. This modification sometimes appears in late MSS.; but is not recognized in the rhymes of the bards.
vii. (1) In Ml. W. u (≡ ü) was unrounded to i after the labial in govut ‘pain’; the usual Ml. form is govut w.m. 138 l. 15; 231; but gofit w.m. 138 l. 4; 131, 141, etc.; Mn. W. gofid.
(2) In a few cases ɥ came to be rounded after a labial; thus pump ‘five’ for an earlier pɥmp, O.W. pimp, bustl ‘gall’ for *bɥstl: Bret. bestl (Bret. e = W. y § 16 iv (2)).
viii. As it was difficult to pronounce unrounded i or ɥ and rounded ü in consecutive syllables, assimilation took place: *iẟunt ‘to them’ (cf. iẟaw ‘to him’) became uẟunt and always appears so in Ml. W. see a.l. i 2; p 17/1 r.; Ỻ.A. 7, 8, 11, 21, etc.; w.m. 6, 26; r.m. 4, 7, etc. The natural sound in Gwyn. is uẟun, though the artificial Mn. lit. iddynt and the analogy of iddo may have influenced the pronunciation of some speakers. Similarly ei became eu, as in r͑eudus w.m. 21, r.m. 13, r.p. 1238 for rheidus ‘needy’; teulu ‘household troops’ for teilu, the form implied in the spelling teylu of a.l. i 2, 12, etc.; eulun often later for eilun, and now sounded eulun. In the reverse order we have Ml. W. Meuruc for Meuric.
​ix. In Mn. W. u having come to be sounded ɥ, it becomes i in those positions where ɥ would be so treated: thus barrug, esgus, cynnull are sounded barrig, esgis, cynnill.—D.G. rhymes menig / sarrug 8.—Before i̯ or i it is sounded i. Dr. M. writes iniawn Job i 1; we now say ini̯on ‘straight’ for uni̯on, inig for unig, tostirio for tosturio, etc. Hence carut ti became carit ti, and ‑it in Late Mn. W. replaced ‑ut as the 2nd sg. impf. ending.
x. u being rounded in O. and Ml. W., final ch after it retained its rounding; thus uch ‘higher’ ≡ ü$^{u̯}$ch, sometimes written uwch in Late Ml. W.; when the u was unrounded the glide remained, and the sound became ɥw̯ch as implied in ywch r.p. 1295; this is the present sound; it is written uwch in Mn. W. But in the penult we have uch, as in uchel ‘high’. Hence the mutation, uw: u, § 81.
xi. The modern pronunciation cited in this section is that of Gwynedd, where the sound ɥ or u is quite distinct from the sound i.
§ 78. i. (1) The diphthong oe or oy, O. W. oi, remains finally in only two words: noe ‘basin’, doe ‘yesterday’; Ml. W. had moe ‘more’ also. Elsewhere it is regularly reduced to ‑o, as in creto ‘may believe’ for *cred-hoe appearing as cred-doe b.b. 53, a stray survival, § 183 ii; and in ‑no in personal names for ‑noe, clo for *cloe, etc. § 76 v (5); in am-do ‘shroud’ for *am-doe § 104 ii (2); th or ẟ may be lost after it as in heno ‘to-night‘ < O. W. henoid juv. sk. ≡ henoeth r.p. 1040; it became ui by assim. in hunnoid ox. > hunnuid m.c. > Ml. and Mn. W. hwnnw; and hinnoid gave hynny by analogical assimilation (‑d ≡ ‑ẟ in O.W.). A late example is y ddannodd ‘toothache’ < Ml. W. y ẟannoeẟ § 75 iv (2), in which however the final ‑ẟ remains.
Final ‑aeth > ‑a in the same way in yna, etwa for ynaeth, etwaeth.
(2) Similarly w͡y, O. W. ui, may be reduced to w; cf. hwnnw above. Thus llw ‘oath’ § 104 ii (2); Gronwy w.m. 110, 111 > Gronw do. 101, 104, 105; Gronwy, Goronwy for *gw̯ronwy < *u̯(i)ro-gnā́u̯i̯os § 76 v (5); both forms survived: Pont Ronw (Llanedwen) is called Pont Ronwy by some, but whether the latter is of lit. origin is difficult to decide. So assu a.l. i 144 (≡ assw) < asswy ‘left’;—guru, banu < *gwrw͡y, *banw͡y § 76 v (6);—raccw § 210 x (3).—Before a consonant: aor. 3rd sg. ‑w͡ys > ‑ws § 175 i (5); tyngwt b.a. 4 for tyngw͡yt; adeilwt, rannwt g.c. 106, 108; and doubtless impf. 1st sg. ‑wn is for an earlier *‑w͡yn § 180 iii (1); ‑wn for *‑w͡yn § 215 iii (1). So mwrthwl w.m. 46, r.b. 968, D.G. 430, myrthwl r.m. 32 beside mortuyl b.ch. 77, morthwyl, mwrthwyl D.D., morthwyl Bible, spoken lang. mwrthwl pl. mỿrthw͡ylion. Late Mn. W. neithi̯wr ‘last night’ < neithi̯w͡yr § 34 ii, Ml. W. neithẏwyr s.g. 43.
Some cases occur of the late substitution of wy for w: madws ‘high time’ w.m. 22, b.m. 14 (: Sequ. matu.., Lat. mātūrus) is given by Wm.S. and D.D. s.v. as madwys, which is not attested;—cyfarws, w.m. 454, 459–60, later cyfarwys, see Silvan Evans s.v.
ii. (1) In some words oe in the ultima was reduced to e, and w͡y to y; thus *nammoen ‘not more [than]’ became namen b.a. 15, 16 ‘only’, ​and namwyn r.p. 1056 gave Ml. and Mn. W. namyn ‘but, except’, § 222 iii (3);—*mahar-oin (variant maharuin, b.s.ch. 3), Early Ml. W. maharaen a.l. i 278, Ml. and Mn. W. maharen ‘ram’, pl. *meheruin > meheryn; mahar- < *mas-ₑro- ‘male’: Lat. mās, suff. § 153 (5), + oen § 65 ii (2);—*adwoen (written adwaen but rh. with hoen, poen b.b. 70) > adwaen, adwen ‘I know’;—brenhinoet b.b. 53 > brenhineẟ, but ‑oeẟ remains in N. W. and Mn. Lit. W.;—so cefnderweẟ, ewythreẟ. The change seems to be due to unrounding by dissimilation with a labial in the word (teyrneẟ followed the synonymous brenhineẟ). Later examples are Cawlw͡yd, Mawddw͡y now sounded Cowlɥd, Mowddɥ; cf. also a(w)w͡yr > aw̯ɥr, etc. § 38 x.
(2) After a labial O. W. oi > Ml. W. ae; as O. W. guoilaut b.s.ch. 6 > Ml. gw̯aelawt, Mn. gw̯aelod;—W. gw̯ae ‘woe’ for *gw̯oe < *u̯ai: Lat. vae, Goth. wai;—W. gwaeẟ ‘cry’ for *gw̯oeẟ, Ir. fāed < *u̯aid‑: Lith. waidi ‘lamentation’;—baeẟ ‘boar’ < *boeẟ (written baeẟ but rh. with oeẟ b.t. 26, l. 17).
After g‑, oi (oe, oy) became w̯ay, w̯ae as in gw̯ayw̯ ‘spear’ for *goyw̯ § 75 vii (3) written gvaev but rhyming with gloev (gloyw̯) b.b. 72;—gwaed ‘blood’ for *goed = Bret. goad, Leon he c’hoad ‘his blood’ (c’h < g); see gwaet rh. with coet, eirẏoet r.p. 1046.
(3) In the penult oi (oe) became ae before w͡y in aelwyd ‘hearth’: Corn. oilet, Bret. oaled § 104 iv (3);—Aethw͡y< *Oethwy § 76 v (3).
iii. ‑w͡y, or rather Early W. ‑ui, was liable when unaccented to be weakened to oü > Ml. W. eu; thus eu ‘their’ for *wy from *eisṓm § 160 iv;—meu, teu § 75 viii (2), § 161 iv;—pi-eu ‘whose is?’ with eu for *wy < *eset § 179 ix (3), § 192;—asseu, Corneu, Guitneu, Iudnou 76 v (4), (5); neu § 219 i (2).
iv. (1) ui (w͡y) finally or before a vowel was liable to be metathesized to yw; as in yw ‘is’ for *wy § 179 ix (3);—yw ‘to his, to her’ for *w͡y § 160 iv (2);—nyw ‘who…​not…​him’ for earlier nuy § 160 ii (2).—After a dental it became iw, § 77 v, as in Ml. W. ydiw ‘is’ for *yd-wy;—W. niwed ‘harm’ for *nw͡yet § 76 iv (4).—In Bret. and Corn. this metathesis was carried further: Bret. piou, Corn. pyw, pew: W. pwy ‘who’, etc.
(2) This might happen before a consonant also; but in that case *yw became ü; thus *dw͡yw̯ ‘god’ > *dyw‑w̯ > duw; the form *dwyw is attested in b.t. 10, where, though spelt duw, it rhymes with plwyw (= plwyf?); and it remained in all derivatives, as O. W. duiutit ‘divinity’, Ml. W. dwywes ‘goddess’, dwywawl, Mn. W. dwyfol ‘divine’; the forms duwies ‘goddess’, duwiol ‘pious’ etc. are late deductions from duw;—similarly Early Ml.W. verbal noun deweduyt a.l. i 146, 152, etc. gwedy dywedwyd w. 15a ‘after saying’ > Ml. W. dywedut ‘to say’; the w͡y remains in dywedwydat w.m. 63, r.m. 45 ‘saying’, dywedwydẏat s.g. 171 ‘babbler’.
v. In the penult oe, ae, ei tend to become o, a, e respectively before two consonants, more especially in Mn. W.; thus otva r.p. 1208, s.g. 303, ​Mn. W. odfa for oedfa ‘appointment, meeting’; Mn. W. addfed ‘ripe’ for aeddfed, Ml. W. aeẟvet w.m. 73, Ỻ.A. 166, r.b.b. 175; Mn. W. glendid for Ml. W. gleindit ‘cleanliness, beauty’. (Dial. gwergloẟ for gweirgloẟ, cosnoth sgernoth for coesnoeth esgeirnoeth.)
ae > a in aeth- § 108 iv (2).
vi. In the ult. ae sometimes became e § 31.
§ 79. i. (1) Old and Ml. W. ei appears as ai and ei in Mn. W. With some exceptions, § 81 iii (1), ai appears in the ultima and in monosyllables, and ei (pronounced əi § 29 iii) in other syllables. Thus Mn. W. ai stands in the syllable generally accented in O. W., and ei in the syllable then unaccented. The natural inference is that the Mn. mutation ei/ai is an exaggeration of a difference in the pronunciation of ei going back to O. W.
(2) O. W. ei was originally e̦i with open e̦, § 69 vii. But in unaccented syllables it came to be sounded ẹi to avoid lowering the tongue to e̦ and raising it again to i in the short time available. The same thing took place in accented syllables ending in a group of consonants, as beirẟ, since the time required to pronounce the consonants left less time to sound the diphthong. But in accented syllables with a simple or no consonantal ending the e̦i remained. Ml. W. ei therefore represented ẹi and e̦i; the former gave Mn. W. ei, sounded əi; the latter gave ai. The old distinction is reflected in the Gwynedd pronunciation of a preceding guttural: ceiniog, ceirch are sounded k̑əini̯og k̑əirch; but caib, cais are qaib, qais; the velar and palatal alternate in the same word: qaib, k̑əibio; it may be added that before ordinary ỿ (≡ ə) the consonant is the velar, thus cybyẟ, cynnar are qəbɥẟ, qənnar. It is seen therefore that the first element of əi must be from close ẹ, for it differed from that of ai which comes from open e̦, and also from the old ỿ (≡ ə). The present sound əi seems to be as old as the 16th cent., for rhəir contracted for rhỿ-hir (rhə-hir) is written rheir in g.r. 101. The present sound ai is at least as old as the 14th cent.: gwnai (< gwnaei) is rhymed with delei in r.p. 1271 by M.D., and with divei r.p. 1293 by G.V. The oldest appearance of the spelling ai seems to occur in the Red Book: benn r͑aith r.p. 1194, diwair do. 1200, kain 1205, arynaic 1227, kain, main 1318; but Norman scribes heard the e̦i as ai much earlier, to judge by such a form as Trefwalkemay in the Extent of Anglesey dated 1294 (Seebohm, Trib. Sys. ¹App. 10), Ml. W. Gwalchmei, Mn. W. Gwalchmai.
ii. O. W. ou (≡ oü) has a somewhat similar history. The o was probably close in unaccented and open in accented syllables. In Ml. W. it was unrounded in both cases, giving a close ə and an open ə, both written e, so that the two sounds of the diphthong were written eu. The close ə remains in Mn. W. eu, sounded əu; the open ə gave a in Mn. W. au. That the former was a close ə and not a close e̦ is shown by the fact that in Gwynedd ceunant, ceulo are sounded qəunant qəulo. The two sounds eu and au occur in the same positions in the word as ei and ai respectively; see § 81.
Vowel variation in Modern Welsh
§ 80. The above are the changes that have taken place in vowel sounds. Many of them depend upon accentuation or the influence of neighbouring sounds; hence in the Mn. language a vowel may have its original sound in one form of a word, and a changed sound in another, or two different changes of an original vowel may appear in two different forms of a word. It will be convenient now to bring together the more important variations of the same originals that occur in Mn. W.
Vowel Mutation.
§ 81. i. Vowel mutation is the regular alternation of vowels and diphthongs according to their position in a word. Certain sounds occurring in the ultima and in monosyllables are regularly modified in other positions.
The following is a table of the vowel mutations (numbered for reference). The numbers in the last column indicate the sections where the changes resulting in the mutation are dealt with.
| No. | In final, and mono-, syllables. | In other syllables. | Examples. | § |
| 1 | ai | ei | adail, adeilad; caib, ceibio | 79 i. |
| 2 | au | eu | haul, heulog; aur euraid | 79 ii. |
| 3 | aw | o | tlawd, tlodion, tlodi, tlotaf | 71 i. |
| 4 | w | ỿ | trwm, trỿmnion, trỿmach | 66 i. |
| 5 | ɥ | ỿ | bɥr, bỿrion, bỿrder | 66 i. |
| 6 | uw | u | buwch, buchod, buches | 77 x. |
As a general rule the respective forms appear only in the positions indicated. The exceptions are noted below.
ii. There is no exception to the rule that ai and au appear as ei and eu in the penult. Such forms as daiar, graian, haiarn, rhaiadr, traian, cauad, cauodd, gauaf, cynhauaf are not exceptions but misspellings of daear, graean, haearn, rhaeadr, traean, caead t caeodd, gaeaf, cynhaeaf, the diphthong ae (also written ay § 29 ii) being one which does not undergo mutation in Lit. W., but re​mains the same in all positions (unless affected § 70 iii). See dayar r.m. 4, 5, 73, 78, etc., w.m. 100, 456, 459, daear b.b. 70, w.m. 107, r.m. 97, gaeaf r.b.b. 277, r.p. 1269, kynhaeaf w.m. 73, r.m. 53, r.b.b. 271, p 14/11 r., kynhayaf b.t. 8, haearn r.m. 118, hayarn 119, r͑aeadɏr r.p. 1255. The sound is attested in cynghanedd lusg:
    Cyfled i chae â daear.—D.G. 205.
‘Her demesne is as wide as the earth.’
    Ba le mae’r gorsied gaead?—L.G.C. 372; cf. 28, l. 1.
‘Where is the closed gorget?’
The spelling ai, as in daiar, used by Salesbury and in the early Bibles, is a mistranscription of Ml. W. ay, due to the fact that Ml. W. y sometimes represents i̯, § 25 iii. (Salesbury has dayar also, and gayaf always.) gauaf is phonetically correct now that u has come to be sounded ɥ, so that the error is only an orthographic one exactly similar to writing dun for dɥn ‘man’. In cauodd etc. the error was suggested by the fact that the verbal noun is cau ‘to shut’, a contraction of cay|u or cae|u § 33 iv. Such spellings as the latter-day traithawd for the usual and correct traethawd are due to bungling etymological theories. Pedersen, Gr. i 67, imagines from these false spellings that the difference between aɥ and ai is small in diphthongs and vanishes where the second element is heterosyllabic. It is not heterosyllabic in these diphthongs, see § 54 iv; and ɥ and i are perfectly distinct wherever the dialect distinguishes between ɥ and i as vowels. The possible forms in the penult are ae, eu, ei, now sounded in Powys aɥ, əɥ, əi, and in Gwynedd əɥ, əɥ, əi. No one in Powys or Gwynedd sounds an i in daear.
iii. The exceptions to the general rule are the following (‘ultima’ being understood to include ‘monosyllable’):
(1) ei occurs in the ultima when followed by two consonants, or by l for lᵹ, r for rr, thus beirdd ‘bards’, teifl ‘throws’, eithr ‘except’, gweheirdd D.G. 20 ‘forbids’, meirw̯ pl. of marw ‘dead’, deil ‘holds’ for *deilᵹ, ceir ‘cars’, pl. of carr. Before l usage varies: lleill ‘others’, y naill ‘the one’, ereill or eraill ‘others’. In polysyllables it sometimes occurs before m or ch; dychleim Gr.O. 90 ‘leaps up’, myneich ‘monks’. But ai appears before nc, nt, sg, as cainc ‘branch’, maint ‘size’, henaint ‘old age’, braisg ‘thick’; also in Aifft, enghraifft, aillt.
As a contraction of e-i the diphthong is now written and spoken ei (that is əi̯), as ceir, gwneir; but ai was common formerly, as cair, gwnair.
eu is now commonly written, when absolutely final, in polysyllables, except when it is a plural or pronominal ending; as goreu, goleu, dechreu for gorau, golau, dechrau. It survived from Ml. W. under the ​influence of dialectal ‑e, and its use was extended in the 19th cent. because of an idea that ‑au suggested the pl. ending.
In Ml. W. ei and eu appear in all positions, so that the mutation is not represented in writing, § 79. But ‑é-u, ‑á-u were distinct, as are contracted ‑éu, ‑áu now: diléu, parháu, § 33 iv.
(2) The mutation aw: o is not of general application. The penultimate o does not come from the ultimate aw, but both come from ɔ; see § 71 i. Hence when aw is an original diphthong < Brit. or Lat. ou or au, it remains aw in the penult, as in awdur < Lat. au(c)tōrem; so cawgiau pl. of cawg < late Lat. caucus; awydd, etc. § 76 iii; canawon, athrawon, § 36 iii. This shows nawn which gives prynhawnol, prynhawngweith, etc., to be from *nouna § 76 iii as opposed to awr which gives oriau, oriog, etc., and is from *(h)ō̦ra § 71 ii (3). In late formations aw < ā is unmutated as in mawrion § 144 iii (1), ardderchawgrwydd beside ardderchogrwydd. Before a consonant, penultimate aw is sounded əw, and sometimes written ow, as cowgiau D. 40, ardderchowgrwydd.
Where Ml. W. aw in the unaccented ult. has become o, § 71, the mutation of course disappears; thus it appears in Ml. W. pechawt, pechodeu, but is lost in Mn. W. pechod, pechodau. Where at the same time the aw represents a Brit. diphthong, as in gwrando, gwrandawaf, the rule of mutation is reversed. So in final ‑o for affected au, in athro, athrawon § 76 v (5).
(3) w appears in the penult in some words; see § 66 ii, iii. For other exceptions to mutations 4 and 5 see § 82.
(4) The mutation uw: u occurs only before ch, § 77 x. In late formations it is neglected; thus beside lluwch ‘(snow)drift’, we have the old lluchio ‘to hurl’, and the new lluwchio ‘to drive (dust or snow)’. For the derivatives of duw see § 78 iv (2).
(5) On unmutated forms in loose compounds see § 45 ii (2).
82. i. From the table in the above section it is seen that the use of the two sounds of y is regulated by the law of vowel mutation. The general rule in its special application to these sounds may be stated as follows:
y has the ɥ sound in monosyllables and final syllables, and the ỿ sound in all syllables not final; as edrɥch, edrỿchwch, brɥn, brỿniau, mỿnɥdd, wỿnỿddoedd, bỿrddau, prɥd, prỿdferth, dỿfod, cỿfỿngder.
ii. The exceptions to the rule are—
(1) A few proclitics, which, though monosyllabic, have the ỿ sound. These are ỿr, ỿ ‘the’, ỿn ‘in’, fỿ ‘my’, dỿ ‘thy’, ỿn ‘our’, ỿch ‘your’, mỿn, ỿm ‘by’ (in oaths).
Pre-verbal yẟ, yr, y (whether the relative, § 162, the affirmative particle, § 219 ii, or the conjunction, § 222 x) is now always sounded ​with ỿ. In b.ch. it is regularly written ed, e (implying ỿẟ, ỿ, § 16 iii); see a.l. i 2, 4, 6, 12, etc. But in the 15th cent. and later it was often written ir, i, as I'r tri oessawl ir a’r teirswyẟ, L.G.C. r.p. 1412, o Vran i deuan do. 1411. J.D.R. and D. regularly write it with y (≡ ɥ); but Dr. Davies later in his D.D. (opp. p. 1) says that the sound is ỿ. The explanation doubtless is that it was originally ɥ and ỿ according to the accent; and both survived, the ɥ becoming i (like the preposition, § 16 ii (3)). It is often non-syllabic after a vowel in poetry; if its vowel is written it must be read as i or ɥ forming a diphthong with the preceding vowel, § 33 v.
    Hen(e)iddio ir wy’, hyn oedd reid.—I.G., p 53/91 r.
    Ac yno y trîc enaid Rrys.—H.D. (auto. ?), p 67/149 r.
But it is most commonly elided, in which case we have to assume that the lost vowel was ỿ, § 44 vii (1).
    Astudio ’dd wyf, was didwyll.—An., p 54/27 r. (15th cent.).
    Meddylio ’r wyf, mau ddolur.—G.C., p 64/122 r. (Auto. S.V.).
    Thomas ddulas, lle ’dd elwyf.—H.D. (auto. ?), p 67/212 r.
    Ac yno ’trîc enaid R(h)ys.—R.C. (auto.), p 68/19 r.
ys as a proclitic is ỿs, as ỿs gwir ‘it is true’, often ’s gwir § 221 iii; when accented it is ŷs ‘there is, people are’.
    Llenwi, dros yr holl ýnɥs,
    Dagrau ar ruddiau yr ŷs.—Gut.O., a 14967/120.
‘Over the whole island, there is a shedding of tears on cheeks.’
(2) The old forms ɥmɥ, ɥttɥ, ɥmi, ɥtti, etc. of imi, iti, etc. had ɥ in the penult, § 212 ii. gɥda also has ɥ; but this is for gɥd â, Ml. W. ẏ gyt a, § 216 ii (2). G.R. writes it gida and J.D.R. gyda (his y ≡ ɥ); both these pronunciations survive.
(3) Non-ultimate y before a vowel is now mostly ɥ; but originally it was ỿ regularly, for it may come from o as in dỿ‑, rhỿ‑, or was followed by ᵹ so that at first there was no hiatus. In many cases the ỿ was assimilated to the following vowel § 16 iv (4), and contraction took place; thus Early Ml. W. deodreven (≡ dỿodrevɏn) a.l. i 80 > doodreven do. 94 > Mn. W. dodrefn ‘furniture’; r͑ỿodres b.a. 5 > r͑ootdres r.b.b. 195 > rhodres ‘pomp’; kỿoeẟ r.p. i 206 > *cooeẟ > coeẟ § 41 v; gwelỿeu > gwelỿau > gwelâu Ps. cxlix 5, Can. vi 2 (1588 and 1620), b.cw. 23 ‘beds’; *cỿd-dỿ-un > Ml. W. cỿt-tu-un > Mn. W. cỿtū́n § 33 iv; dỿlỿed > *dỿleed > dỿlḗd § 199 ii (2). But it also remained unassimilated, as in hundyeu r.m. 4, dylyet do. 5, camlyeu r.p. 1297. In that case it tended to become e § 16 iv (2), thus deun r.p. 1217, deall beside dallt I.D. 12, N.W. dial. dâllt; godreon beside godryon § 65 ii (3); darlleaf § 203 iv (3); or was raised to ɥ, which broke up later into əɥ (written eu); thus godreuon J.D.R. [xxi] for godryon, lletteuodd Gen. xxxii 21, dyleuaf so printed in d.g. 35, beside gwelyeu J.D.R. (whose y ≡ ɥ) [xiv, xix], dhỿlyei [xix, xxi], dhỿlyedic [xvi, xix]. Cf. rhɥ < rhỿ § 65 iv (2). (But hɥawdl is a misspelling of huawdl, Ml.W. ​huawdɏl r.p. 1301.) It is probable that the misspelling boreu for bore § 31 ii 2 sprang from boreuach the debased form of boryach.
(4) yw follows the rule, as bɥw, bỿwɥd, bỿwi̯og; clɥw, clỿwed; llɥw, llỿwɥdd, llỿwi̯o, etc., except in late formations, especially from forms in which ɥw became iw § 77 v, as in amrɥwi̯o (sounded amriwi̯o), distrɥwi̯af (distriwi̯af), etc. J.D.R. writes amrywio (y ≡ ɥ) [xvi], distriwiaw [xix]. So niwli̯og, niwloedd § 37 ii.
(5) The rising diphthong w̯y follows the rule: gw̯ɥrdd, gw̯ỿrddi̯on, etc.; but w̯ỿ generally becomes w § 66 ii. Such a pronunciation as gw̯ɥntoedd is recent; but gw̯ɥwo ‘to wither’ may be old, as the ɥ may have resisted mutation between two w̯’s.
(6) The rule does not apply to the falling diphthong w͡y, in which the y is consonantal. In this y must necessarily be ɥ always, as mŵyn, mw͡ynach, mw͡yni̯on; and the ɥ remains when the w͡y is mispronounced as w̯ɥ § 38 iii, as Gw̯ɥ́nedd for Gw͡ynedd.
iii. (1) In the words sylw, gw̯yry, the final w and y were non-syllabic § 42, § 110 ii; hence the y is ɥ; thus sɥlw (but sỿlw̯i), gw̯ɥrỿ.
(2) With the exceptions mentioned in ii, the sound which is now common to y and u, if it occurs in the penult, is to be written u. Thus we write munud, munudau, papur, papurau. Following this rule the translators of the Bible were misled by the late disyllabic pronunciation of sylw to write it sulw; in late editions this error is corrected.
(3) In a few cases u in the ultima has come to be mistaken for y and mutated to ỿ in the penult; as in ysgrythyrau in the Bible (but ysgrythurau correctly in the 1727 edn.) pl. of ysgrythur (< Lat. scriptūra) regarded as ysgrythyr on the analogy of llythyr ‘letter’. So testynau for testunau, Early Mn. W. testunion, pl. of testun (<Lat. testimōnium) treated as testyn; corynau ‘crowns’, corynfoel b.cw. 33 ‘bald-headed’, from corun r.b.b. 171 (< Lat. corōna) treated as coryn.
Vowel Affection.
§ 83. The following tables show the affected and unaffected forms of vowels as they alternate in Mn. W.
i. Ultimate a-affection, § 68.
| No. | Unaffected. | Affected. | Examples. |
| 1 | ɥ | e | gwɥ̆n, f. gwĕn; crȳf, f. crēf |
| 2 | w | o | trw̆m, f. trŏm; tlw̄s, f. tlōs |
The affected sound occurs in the ultima. It is occasionally found in the penult in compounds, as in cromlech (crwm ‘arched’); and in superlatives, as gwennaf, tromaf § 147 iii. In bychan, f. bechan, the e ​seems to be a variant of y, chosen for the f. on the analogy of the usual f. e caused by affection.
ii. Ultimate i-affection, § 69, § 76 v.
| No. | Unaffected. | Unaffected. | Affected. | Affected. | Examples. | Examples. |
| 1 | a | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | ai or | ei | | brân, brain; bardd, beirdd; dal, deil |
| 1 | a | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | | ɥ | | tafarn, tefeirn or tefɥrn |
| 2 | ae | | ai | | | draen, drain; cỿrraedd, cỿrraidd |
| 3 | e | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | ɥ | | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | angel, engɥl; ateb, etɥb; seren, sŷr |
| 4 | o | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | ɥ | | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | agor, egɥr; ffon, ffɥn |
| 5 | w | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | ɥ | | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | asgwrn, esgɥrn; swrth, sɥrth |
| 6 | oe | | w͡y | | | oen, ŵɥn; croen, crŵɥn |
| 7 | aw | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | au or | eu | | taw, tau; taraw, Ml. W. tereu |
| 7 | aw | $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ | | ɥ | | taraw, Mn. W. terɥ |
The change occurs only in the ultima. a or o in the penult becomes e § 69 vi. Final w, being originally consonantal, does not count as a syllable for the purposes of affection: marw ‘dead’, pl. meirw.
As to the forms ai and ei of No. 1, see § 81 iii (1); the form ɥ occurs only in the unaccented ultima, § 69 ii (3).
The form ɥ of No. 7 is not a phonetic development of eu, but is due to false analogy; when taraw had become taro the 3rd sing. pres. ind. terɥ was formed from the latter on the model of agor: egɥr. See § 173 iv (3).
iii. Penultimate affection, § 70. The affecting sound is usually preserved in the ultima, but has in some cases disappeared, § 70 iv.
| No. | Unaffected | before | is affected to | Examples. |
| 1 | a | i̥ | ei | mab, meibion; cym-ar, ‑heiri̯aid |
| 2 | e | i̥ | ei | gorwedd, gorweiddi̯og |
| 3 | a | i or ɥ | e | truan, trueni; plant, plentɥn |
| 4 | ae | i or i̯ | ei | gwaedd, gweiddi; draen, dreini̯og |
| 5 | ae | ɥ | eɥ | caer, ceɥrɥdd; saeth, seɥthɥdd |
| 6 | ae | u | eu | aeth, euthum |
| 7 | aw | i or ɥ | ew | taw, tewi, tewɥch; cawr, cewri |
Note 1.—No. 1 occurs only in old formations; ‑i̯ad denoting the agent affects, ‑i̯ad abstract does not, § 143 iii (18), iv (5).—No. 2, though common as a fixed affection, is comparatively rare in inflexion. No. 3 is usual in inflexion, but rare in composition, e.g. rhán-dir ‘allotment’, háf-ddɥdd ‘summer’s day’, cán-ddrɥll ‘shattered’, á-dɥn ‘wretch’, ád-fyd ‘adversity’, tán-llɥd ‘fiery’, hád-ɥd ‘seed’ (had + ɥd, but héd-ɥn ‘a seed’).—No. 4 is only written in old combinations, as gweiẟi r.m. 174, seiri; it is rare before i̯, see § 144 iii (2).—Nos. 5 and 6 also occur only in set forms, and eɥ is now wrongly written eu, as meusydd.
Note 2.—In Ml. W. a in preceding syllables had become e before ỿ, or before one of the above affections; in Mn. W. the a is generally restored, § 70 i, as enr͑ydeẟ now anrhydedd ‘honour’, gwerendewɥch, now gw̯randewɥch. It occasionally remains as in lleferɥdd ‘speech’ (: llafar id.), and even spreads, as in llefaru for llafaru.
Note 3.—ɥ in the falling diphthong w͡y does not affect: arw͡ydd etc. § 38 vi.
Note 4.—u does not affect a: canu, parchu, etc. But crededun occurs r.p. 1368, 1424, beside credadun do. 1298, 1235.
The Aryan consonants in Keltic and British
§ 84. The Aryan parent language had the following consonant system:
| | Labial. | Dental. | Palatal. | Velar. | Labio- velar. |
| Explosives: | | | | | |
| Tenues | p | t | k̑ | q | q$^{u̯}$ |
| Tenues aspiratae | ph | th | k̑h | qh | q$^{u̯}$h |
| Mediae | b | d | g̑ | ɡ | ɡ$^{u̯}$ |
| Mediae aspiratae | bh | dh | g̑h | ɡh | ɡh$^{u̯}$ |
| Spirants: | | | | | |
| Voiceless | | s, þ | | | |
| Voiced | | z, ð | j | | |
| Sonants: | | | | | |
| Nasals | m | n | | | |
| Liquids | | l, r | | | |
| Semivowels | | | i̯ | [ə̯] | u̯ |
Note 1.—In the aspirated tenues the breath was allowed to escape after the explosion; thus th was probably sounded somewhat like the t in W. tad, or like t before an accented vowel in Eng. or N. German, in all of which breath is heard as an off-glide. Aryan t on the other hand was sounded like French or South German t with no escape of breath between the explosion and the vowel.
The exact pronunciation of the aspirated mediae bh, etc., is not known. The conventional European pronunciation is b + h, etc., as in Eng. abhor, adhere. In India the element represented by h is a voiced throat spirant. But the sounds were undoubtedly simple like the aspirated tenues, and were probably voiced forms of the latter.
Note 2.—It is generally held that there were as above three series of gutturals. The palatals were sounded on the hard palate like W. c in ci or E. k in king. The labiovelars were sounded between the root of the tongue and the soft palate, so far back that the lips were naturally rounded, as in the formation of the vowel u, W. w, E. u in full. These two series are established by such equations as Skr. s̑ = Lat. c < Ar. k̑, and Skr. k, c = Lat. qu < Ar. q$^{u̯}$. But another equation often occurs: Skr. k, c = Lat. c, which points to Ar. q intermediate between the two others, too far back to give Skr. s̑ and too far forward to give the labialized Lat. qu. In the Western languages Kelt., Ital., Germanic, Greek, there is no difference between Ar. k̑ and q; both give k which is generally accommodated to the following vowel; thus Ar. k̑m̥tom gives W. cant pronounced qant, not *k̑ant. Where a guttural occurs in a form only found in Western languages, we can only write it k, g, etc., with no diacritic mark. In the Eastern languages (except Tocharish) the palatals became sibilants, thus k̑ > Skr. s̑ (an sh sound); but the velars remain, or became tch sounds (as in fetch) before front vowels, thus q > Skr. k, or c (a tch sound), the latter before an Ar. front vowel.—Meillet, Intr.² 63 ff., admits only two series, k̑ and q$^{u̯}$, and regards Skr. k = Lat. c as a special treatment of Ar. k̑ in Skr. and the Eastern group. He points out that the supposed q occurs chiefly before r, before a, and after s.
The frequent alternation of k̑ and q § 101 iv (1) makes it probable that originally, at any rate, the two are the same. A recent advance from q to k̑ has taken place in Eng. before ă, now sounded æ̆; thus old borrowings in W. have q, as in the Anglesey dial. qap ‘cap’, qaban ‘cabin’, qari̯o ‘to carry’, but later borrowings have k̑ as k̑ab ‘cab’, k̑ábinet ‘cabinet’, k̑arej ‘carriage’, the a being the same, but the k̑ with a perceptible i̯ glide. The example shows how q may become k̑ before a forward vowel, and how the k̑, once introduced, may remain before a back vowel. The same processes might have taken place in Ar., and it is quite possible that k̑ and q represent an original neutral k.
Note 3.—The “sonants” play a special part in Ar. phonology; they occupy an intermediate position between consonants and vowels, and in R-grades become vocalic; see § 63.
​It is usual to include in the Ar. nasals ŋ̑, occurring only before k̑, g̑, k̑h, g̑h, and ŋ occurring only before q ɡ, etc. These are secondary sounds due to the assimilation of m, n to gutturals; and it is not certain that such assimilation had taken place in Ar. We find e.g. mt in *k̑m̥tóm still remaining in Lith. szim̃tas, § 62 i.
The Explosives.
§ 85. In Pr. Kelt. the aspirated explosives fell together with the unaspirated, thus th and dh are treated as t and d respectively; there is one exception § 92 iii. The velars fell together with the palatals, thus q, like k̑, gave k. Hence, g̑, g̑h, ɡ, ɡh all appear as g in Kelt.
§ 86. i. Ar. p (Lat. p; Gk. π; Germ. f; Skr. p) and Ar. ph (Skr. ph; Gk. φ) disappeared in Kelt. (1) initially before a vowel, (2) initially before a sonant, (3) between vowels, (4) between a vowel and a sonant, (5) between a sonant and a vowel, (6) between sonants.
Examples: (1) Ar. *pib- > Skr. píbāmi ‘I drink’, Lat. bibo (< *pibō): Ir. ibim ‘I drink’, O. W. iben juv. sk. ‘we drink’, W. yfaf ‘I drink’.—Ar. √pet- ‘fly’ > Lat. penna < *petsnā: O. W. etn, Mn. W. edn ‘bird’ < *petno‑.—Ir. athir ‘father’ < *pətēr, W. edryd ‘parentage, descent’ < *pətr̥‑t‑, edrydd ‘patrimony’ (e.g. m.a. i 247) < *pətrii̯o‑, edryf id. < *pətr̥‑m‑: Lat. pater, Gk. πατήρ, etc., Skr. pitr̥tvá‑m ‘paternity’, pítriyaḥ ‘paternal, ancestral’, Gk. πάτριος, etc.—Ir. air‑, W. ar- ‘fore‑’, Gaul. are- < *pₑri‑: Gk. παρά.—Ar. *pr̥t- > Lat. portus: O. W. rit, W. rhyd ‘ford’, § 61 i.—Ar. *pl̥̄n- > W. llawn, § 63 vii (2).
(2) Ar. *pro > Lat. pro‑, Gk. πρό, Skr. prá: Ir. ro‑, O. W. ro‑, W. rhy‑.—Ar. *plār- > O. E. flōr: Ir. lār, W. llawr ‘floor’, § 63 vii (2).—Ar. *prii̯os > Goth. freis, O. E. frēo, E. free: W. rhydd ‘free’.—W. lliaws § 75 ii (2).—W. llydan § 63 viii (1).
(3) Ar. *nepōt- > Skr. nápāt‑, Lat. nepōs: Ir. niæ, Ml. W. nei ‘nephew’, § 75 vii (2).—Ar. *upo- > Pr. Kelt. *u̯o- > Gaul. u̯o‑, Ir. fo‑, W. gw̯o‑, go‑.—W. twymn ‘hot’, twymyn ‘fever’ < *tepes-men‑, § 75 vii (2).
(4) Ir. tene ‘fire’ < *tepnet‑, W. tân id. < *tₑp‑n‑: Lat. tepeo, Skr. tápas ‘heat’.—Ir. solam, W. hylaw ‘handy’ < Pr. Kelt. *su-lām-os < Ar. *pl̥̄‑, § 63 vii (2).—W. dyro ‘give’ < ​*do-pro‑d‑, *√dō‑, § 63 vi (1).—*mpl- *mpr- > *aml‑, *amr- > W. af‑l‑, af‑r‑, as af-les ‘harm’, Ir. am-less thus af- spread for an- < *n̥- (neg. prefix) before l and r, see § 156 i (5).
(5) Ir. col, Bret. col, W. cŵl ‘fault’: Lat. culpa, O. Lat. colpa.—Ir. cilornn gl. urceus, O. W. cilurnn (≡ cỿlwrnn) gl. urnam, W. celwrn, Bret. kelorn: Lat. calpar, Calpurnius, Gk. κάλπη, Skr. karpara‑ḥ ‘shell’ (Kelt. ĭ or ĕ in first syll. unexplained).—W. crydd ‘shoemaker’ (for *cerydd § 40 iii (3)), Bret. kere < *karpíi̯ō, Ir. cairem < *karpimo‑: Lat. carpisculum, Gk. κρηπίς: √qerāˣp- ‘shoe’. *mp > *m > W. f or w: W. tywydd ‘weather’ for *tyw̯w͡yẟ < *tempes-edō: Lat. tempestas.
The view that rp, contrary to every analogy, gives rr is based upon one or two examples in which the group may have been rps or even rs, as Ir. serr, W. serr ‘bill-hook’ (: Lat. sarpo), which may be < *serp‑s- or *ser‑s- (cf., without p, Skr. sr̥ṇī́ ‘sickle’), and upon such an equation as W. gwarr ‘the back between the shoulders’ and Lith. várpa ‘ear of corn’.
(6) *mpl, *mpr gave *ml, *mr, W. fl, fr, as cyflawn ‘full’ < *kom-pl̥̄n‑, cyfran ‘share’ < *kom-prət-snā § 63 vii (2).
ii. (1) Before t, Ar. p became q$^{u̯}$ > k (§ 89 ii) in Pr. Kelt. Thus Ar. *septm̥ > Pr. Kelt. *sektm̥ > Ir. secht n‑, W. saith: Lat. septem, Gk. ἑπτά, etc.—Ar. *qap-tos > Pr. Kelt. *kaktos > Ir. cacht, W. caeth ‘serf’: Lat. captus.—Ar. *neptís > Pr. Kelt. *nektís > Ir. necht, W. nith ‘niece’: Lat. neptis.—W. llithro ‘to slip’ < *sliktr- < *slip‑tr‑, *√slei‑b- extension of √slei‑: E. slip, etc., § 95 i.
Before or after s also, p was liable to become q$^{u̯}$ in Kelt., § 96 iv; also before n, see iv below.
(2) Initially in anticipation of medial q$^{u̯}$, Ar. p became q$^{u̯}$ in Italo-Keltic; as Ar. *penq$^{u̯}$e ‘five’ > Skr. pañca, Gk. πέντε: Lat. quinque, Pr. Kelt. *q$^{u̯}$eŋq$^{u̯}$e > O. W. pimp, Ml. W. pymp, pump, Ir. cōic, Gaul. πεμπε‑.—Ar. *peq$^{u̯}$‑, *poq$^{u̯}$- > Gk. πέπων, πόπανον: Lat. coquo (< *quequō), coctus, Bret. pibi, W. pobi ‘to bake’ (< *q$^{u̯}$oq$^{u̯}$‑), poeth ‘hot’ (< *q$^{u̯}$oq$^{u̯}$‑t‑).
(3) In anticipation of k or q, Ar. p- seems in some cases to have become t‑; thus Ir. torc (beside orc), W. twrch ‘boar’: Lat. porcus; see turio § 101 iii (1);—W. tanc ‘peace’: Lat. pax, pango, √pāk̑/g̑‑;—W. teg ‘fair’, Gaul. Tecos: O. E. fægr, E. fair, √pē̆k‑;—W. gwar- ​theg ‘cattle’: Lat. pecus, Lith. pėkus, Skr. pás̑u ‘cattle’; W. talch ‘flake’: Lat. plancus, E. flag-stone, flake, √pelāq‑;—W. twll ‘hole’ < *tuk-slo‑s, tyllu ‘to pierce’: Lat. pungo, punctum, √peuk̑/g̑‑. It seems also as if p at the end of a root or stem beginning with a guttural sometimes became t, as W. pryd ‘personal appearance’, Ir. cruth: Lat. corpus, Skr. kr̥p- ‘aspect’ < *q$^{u̯}$r̥p‑;—W. cawad ‘shower’: Ar. *qeuēp- § 63 vii (3);—W. caled ‘hard’, as a noun ‘difficulty’ b.b. 65: ? Gk. χαλεπός (χ- < qh‑).
iii. Ar. p, before disappearing in Kelt., doubtless first became a bilabial f, then h. When the stop of the p was beginning to be loosened, any reaction in favour of the explosive articulation would naturally take the form of transferring the stop, that is, of substituting for the loosening labial p, the labiovelar q$^{u̯}$; or, where the word had a guttural already, the dental t. Before s, both the substitution and the regular development took place; the former, ‑q$^{u̯}$s‑, attested later as ‑x- in Gaul. Crixos, gives W. ‑ch‑; the latter, ‑fs‑, gives W. ‑ff‑. Before t, I have assumed the former, as the substitution of q$^{u̯}$ for p, known to occur, seems more likely than that of χ for f, so that pt > q$^{u̯}$t > χt is more probable than pt > ft > χt.
iv. Before s, p > q$^{u̯}$ > $^{u̯}$k after a rounded vowel; thus *upsel- > *u$^{u̯}$ksel- > *ouksel- > W. uchel, Ir. ūasal; *lopsq- > *lo$^{u̯}$ksk- > W. llusgo § 96 iii (5);—similarly before n; *supn- > *supn- > W. hun ‘sleep’, Ir. sūan, § 63 viii (1); *n̥-u̯o-dup‑n- > W. an-o-ẟun ‘bottomless’, cf. annwfn § 102 iv (2), √dheup/b‑; so possibly before t; W. tuth ‘trot’ < *tupt‑: O. Bulg. tŭpati ‘palpitare’, tŭpŭtati ‘palpitare, calcare’, Gk. τύπτω. Original q$^{u̯}$ before t had become k earlier (in It.-Kelt.), and develops as k, as in poeth above. m before p prevents the diphthongization: W. llost < *lompst- § 96 ii (3).
§ 87. i. Ar. t (Lat. t; Gk. τ; Germ. þ, ð; Lith. t; Skr. t) and Ar. th (Gk. θ; Skr. th) appear in Pr. Kelt, as t. Thus Ar. *tauros > Lat. taurus, Gk. ταῦρος: Ir. tarb, W. tarw;—Ar. *tep‑: W. tes, twymn, tân § 86;—Ar. *trei̯es > Skr. tráyas, Gk. τρεῖς, Lat. trēs: W. tri, Ir. trī, ‘three’.—Ar. *arətrom > W. aradr ‘plough’: Gk. ἅροτρον.—Ar. *pl̥thə- > Gk. πλάτανος, Gaul. ‑λιτανος, O. W. litan, W. llydan ‘broad’, § 63 viii (1).
ii. In Ar. the first t in the group tt had become an affricative; this stage is represented thus tˢt; in Skr. it went back to tt (just as tst, with original s, gave tt in Skr.), in Gk. it became στ, in Germ. ss, in Lat. ss, in Pr. Kelt. ss, appearing in W. generally as s. Example: base meleit- ‘honey’: FR *melit-tos ‘honeyed’ ​> W. melys ‘sweet’, Ir. milis. As dt became tt, § 93 i, the same result followed; thus Ar. √u̯eid- ‘see, know’, gave *u̯id‑t- > *u̯itt- > *u̯itˢt- > W. gwŷs ‘it is known’ § 63 iv: Skr. vitta‑ḥ ‘known’;—Ar. √(s)k̑heid‑/​(s)qheid‑: R-grade nasalized > Lat. scindo, F-grade *keid‑t- > *keitˢt- > W. cŵys ‘furrow’, Ir. cēis.—So W. cas ‘hate’ < *k̑əd‑t‑, √k̑ād‑: E. hate; F-grade, W. cawdd ‘insult’: Gk. κῆδος. Similarly Ar. dd > dᶻd > zd, § 91 ii.
§ 88. Ar. k̑ (Lat. c; Gk. κ; Germ. h, ‑g‑; Lith. sz; Skr. s̑), Ar. k̑h (Gk. χ), Ar. q (Lat. c; Gk. κ; Germ. h, ‑g‑; Lith. k; Skr. k, c), Ar. qh (Gk. χ, Skr. kh) appear in Kelt. as k. Examples: Ar. *k̑m̥tóm ‘100’ > Lat. centum, Gk. ἑ-κατόν, O. E. hund, Lith. szim̃tas. Skr. s̑atá‑m: Ir. cēt, W. cant < Pr. Kelt. *kn̥tom.—Ar. √qā‑, F-grade Lat. cārus, Skr. kā́yamāna‑ḥ ‘fond’, R-grade W. caraf ‘I love’.—Ar. *qap- > Lat. capio: W. cael § 188 iv—Ar. *qrek̑t > Ir. crecht, W. craith ‘scar’ < Pr. Kelt. *krekt‑: Skr. karjati ‘injures’ < *qerg̑‑, √qereg̑‑.—Ar. *ₑreqt- > Pr. Kelt. *arekt- > W. araith ‘speech’ § 63 iii.
§ 89. i. Ar. q$^{u̯}$ (Lat. qu; Gk. π, but τ before ε or η, and κ before or after υ; Germ. hw, ‑f‑, ‑w‑, ‑g‑; Lith. k; Skr. k, c) and probably Ar. q$^{u̯}$h (Skr. kh; Gk. φ, θ?) were q$^{u̯}$ in Pr. Kelt. This remains as q$^{u̯}$ in the ogam inscriptions, but became c in Ir.; in Gaul. and Brit. it appears as p.—Examples: Ar. *q$^{u̯}$etu̯er- (in various grades § 63 vii (4)) > Lat. quattuor, Skr. catvā́raḥ: W. pedwar, Ir. cethir.—Ar. √q$^{u̯}$elāˣ‑/​q$^{u̯}$ēl- > W. pell ‘far’ (< *q$^{u̯}$el-s-o‑): Gk. τῆλε.—Ar. √seq$^{u̯}$‑: Lat. inquam < *insquām: Ml. W. hep, heb ‘says’.—W. prynaf < I buy § 201 i (4); Ar. √leiq$^{u̯}$- > Gk. λείπω: W. llwyb‑r ‘track’: Lat. linquo (n-infix).
ii. (1) Before t, s and prob. n, Ar. q$^{u̯}$ became k in Kelt. Thus Ar. *poq$^{u̯}$t- > *q$^{u̯}$oq$^{u̯}$t- > *q$^{u̯}$okt- > W. poeth, § 86 ii (2).—Ar. *noq$^{u̯}$t- (√noɡ$^{u̯}$‑) > Kelt. *nokt- > Ir. nocht, W. noeth ‘naked’: Lat. nūdus < *noɡ$^{u̯}$edhos.—W. gw̯lyb, O. W. gulip ‘wet’ < *u̯liq$^{u̯}$‑: Lat. liqueo; W. gw̯lith ‘dew’ < *u̯likt- < *u̯liq$^{u̯}$t‑; gw̯lych ‘liquid’ (such as gravy, etc.) < *u̯lik‑n- or u̯lik‑s‑: *√u̯eleiq$^{u̯}$‑.
For Ar. sq$^{u̯}$, q$^{u̯}$s, see § 96 iii.
(2) After l or r also (but not l̥, r̥), we have k for Ar. q$^{u̯}$; thus W. golch ‘slops’, golchi ‘to wash’ (Ir. folcaim) < *u̯olk- < *u̯olq$^{u̯}$- § 100 ii (2): *u̯liq$^{u̯}$‑, as above.—W. cynnyrch ‘crop, produce’ < ​*kon-derq$^{u̯}$‑, √dereq$^{u̯}$‑: Gk. δρέπω ‘I mow, reap’, δρεπάνη ‘sickle’. Except in compounds, where the initial of the second element is treated as an initial, as gorffwys, § 75 vi (4).
(3) Before u it appears as k, as in Ml. W. cw ‘where?’ < the Ar. interrog. stem *q$^{u̯}$u‑, § 163 i (7), vi.
iii. Ar. k̑u̯ or qu̯, like q$^{u̯}$, gives p in Brit. and Gaul.: W. prys ‘brushwood’ < k̑u̯rist‑: O. H. G. hrīs ‘twig’, hurst, E. hurst, O. Bulg. chvrastŭ ‘brushwood’, √k̑u̯ereis‑.—W. pair ‘caldron’ < *qu̯ori̯ó‑) Ir. coire id.: O. N. hverna (‘pot’ < *qu̯er‑: Lat. scrīnium.—Ar. *ek̑u̯o‑s > Lat. equus, Gk. ἵππος (ι < ₑ?), Skr. ás̑vaḥ: Ir. ech, Gaul. Epo‑, W. ebol ‘colt’.—W. penn ‘head’, Gaul. Πεννο‑, Ir. cenn < *qu̯enno- < *qu̯ept-sno‑: Goth. haubiþ, E. head, Germ. Haupt, base *qau̯epet- met. for *qapeu̯et- (Sütterlin IF. xxix 123) whence Lat. caput (< *qapu̯et‑).—In later formations: Ar. √māk̑- ‘grow’: R *mək̑- > Gk. μακρός: W. mag-u ‘to nurture’; *mak-u̯o‑s > W. mab ‘son, youth’, Ir. macc, ogam gen. maq$^{u̯}$q$^{u̯}$i.—W. epil ‘offspring’ < *eb-hil < *ek-u̯o-sīl‑, √sē- § 63 vi (1), cf. W. gwe-hil-i̯on 1 Bren. xiii 33 < *u̯o-sīl‑.
But before u it gives k, as in W. ci ‘dog’ < *kū < *ku̯ū< *k̑u̯ō = Skr. s̑vā́; cf. ii (3) above.
In the Roman period, therefore, there was no Brit. q$^{u̯}$ or qu̯, and Lat. qu gives k; as in carawys, garawys ‘lent’ < quadragēsima; W. cegin ‘kitchen’ < coquīna.
iv. It was clearly possible to distinguish in Ar. between q$^{u̯}$ and qu̯; probably the rounding in the latter was much more pronounced. But qu̯ was also felt as a double consonant, and gives ‑ππ- in Gk., whereas q$^{u̯}$ gives ‑π- only.
§ 90. Ar. bh (Lat. f, ‑b‑; Gk. φ; Germ. b; Lith. b; Skr. bh) and the rarer Ar. b (Lat. b; Gk. β; Germ. p; Lith. b; Skr. b) both appear as b in Pr. Kelt. Examples: bh: Ar. √bher- > Lat. fero, Gk. φέρω, E. bear, Skr. bhárati ‘bears’: Ir. berimm ‘I bear’, W. cymeraf ‘I take’ < *kom-ber‑.—Ar. *bhrātēr, *bhrāter- > Lat. frāter, Gk. φρᾱ́τωρ ‘member of a clan’, E. brother, Skr. bhrā́tar‑: Ir. brāthir, W. brawd ‘brother’.—Ar. √bhereu̯- > Lat. ferveo: W. berwi § 63 vii (4).—Ar. *bhu- > W. bod, § 63 vii (3).—Ar. √enebh‑: VF *nebh- > Gk. νέφος, νεφέλη, Lat. nebula: Ir. nēl ‘cloud’ < *neblo‑, Ml. W. nywl ‘fog’ < *nebli̯o‑; see § 37 ii.— — b: Ar. √breg̑h- ‘short’: Lat. brevis, Gk. βραχύς: Ir. ​berr, W. byrr ‘short’, see § 101 ii (2).—Ar. √dheub- > Goth. diups ‘deep’: R *dhub- > Gaul. Dubno-, W. dwfn ‘deep’, Gaul. dubron, W. dwfr ‘water’.
§ 91. i. Ar. dh (Lat. f-, -d-, -b-; Gk. θ; Germ. d; Lith. d; Skr. dh) and Ar. d (Lat. d; Gk. δ; Germ. t; Lith. d; Skr. d) appear as d in Kelt. Examples: dh: Ar. *dhu̯or-: *dhur- > Lat. foris, Gk. θύρᾱ, E. door: W. dôr < *dhur-ā, drws ‘door’ < *dhru-st- < *dhu̯r̥- § 63 viii (1), Ir. dorus (intrusive o?).—Ar. *dhub- > W. dwfn § 90.—Ar. √ereudh- > Lat. ruber, Gk. ἐρυθρός: W. rhudd ‘red’ < Kelt. *roud-. — — d: Ar. √demā-: F°R *domə- > Lat. domi-tus: W. dof ‘tame’; RR *dₑmə- > Gk. ἀ-δάματος: W. dafad ‘sheep’.—Ar. *dék̑m̥ > Lat. decem, Gk. δέκα, Goth. taíhun, Lith. dẽszimt, Skr. dás̑a: Ir. deich n-, W. deg ‘ten’.—Ar. √dei̯eu̯- > W. duw, dydd, § 63 vii (4).—Ar. √u̯erō̆d-: R² u̯r̥̄d- > Lat. rādīx; VR *u̯r̥d- > Gk. ῥάδαμνος, Lat. rădius: W. gw̯raidd ‘roots’; RV *u̯r̥d- > Ir. frēm ‘root’ < *u̯r̥d-mā, W. greddf ‘instinct’ for *gw̯reẟf § 102 iii (2) < *u̯r̥d-mā, § 63 vii (3).
ii. Ar. d or t + d(h) became dᶻd(h), which gave zd in Kelt., and fell together with Ar. zd, giving Ir. t (tt), and W. th § 97 ii. Thus W. peth ‘some, a certain quantity of, something, thing’, beth ‘what?’, Ir. cuit ‘part, share’ < *q$^{u̯}$id-dm̥: cf. Lat. quid-dam.—W. rhathu ‘to scrape, smooth’ < *rəd-dh- (or *rəd-zdh-): Lat. rādo, § 63 ix.—W. meth ‘miss, failure’ < *mit-dh-: Ir. mis-, mith- ‘miss-’, E. miss, √meit-: Lat. mūto.
§ 92. i. Ar. g̑ (Lat. g; Gk. γ; Germ. k; Lith. ž; Skr. j), Ar. g̑h (Lat. h; Gk. χ; Germ. g; Lith. ž; Skr. h), Ar. ɡ (Lat. g; Gk. γ; Germ. k; Lith. g; Skr. g, j), Ar. ɡh (Lat. h; Gk. χ; Germ. g; Lith. g; Skr. gh, h) all appear in Kelt. as g. Examples: g̑: Ar. g̑r̯̄n- > Lat. grānum, Goth. kaúrn, Lith. žírnis, Skr. jīrṇá-ḥ: Ir. grān, W. grawn § 61 ii.—Ar. √g̑enē- > Lat. genitor, Gk. γένεσις, Skr. jánati ‘begets’: W. geni ‘give birth’.—Ar. √areg̑- > Lat. argentum, Gk. ἅργυρος, Skr. rajatá-m ‘silver’: W. ariant, Ir. airget ‘silver’ < Pr. Kelt. *argn̥t-. — — g̑h: Ar. *g̑hei-em- > Lat. hiems, Gk. χεῖμα: W. gaeaf, § 75 vi (1).—Ar. √seg̑h- > Gk. ἕχω (< *seg̑hō), Skr. sáhate ‘vanquishes’: W. hy ‘bold’ < *seg-os, Gaul. Sego-; hael ‘generous’ < *sag-lo- < *sₑg̑h-lo-; haer ‘impor​tunate’ < *sag-ro‑. – – ɡ: Ar. √ɡlei̯- ‘sticky, liquid’: Lat. glūs *< gloi‑s, Gk. γλοιός < *γλοιϝος: O.W. gloiu gl. liquidum, W. gloyw̯ ‘shiny’, gloyw̯-ẟu ‘glossy black’ < *ɡloi-u̯o‑s § 75 ii (1), Ir. glē, glae ‘bright’ < *ɡlei-uos, *ɡloi-uos, O. Corn. digluiuhit ox. 2 gl. eliqua, W. gloywi ‘to drain (after boiling), to clarify, to polish’; R *ɡli- > Lat. gli‑s, Gk. γλί-νη, Lith. gli-tùs ‘smooth, sticky’, Ir. glenim, W. glynaf ‘I adhere’.—Ar. √(s)theɡ- > Lat. tego, Gk. στέγος, τέγος, Skr. sthágati ‘covers’: Ir. tech, teg, O. W. tig, W. ty ‘house’ < *tegos; F° *(s)thoɡ- > Lat. toga, W. to ‘roof’, § 104 ii (2). – – ɡh: Ar. √ɡhabh- > Lat. habeo, Lith. gabanà ‘armful’: W. gafael ‘to take hold’, Ir. gabim ‘I take’. Ar. √leɡh- ‘lie’ > Lat. lectus, Gk. λέχος: W. lle ‘place’, Ir. lige ‘bed’, W. gwe-ly ‘bed’; L *lēɡh- > Lith. pãlėgis ‘confinement to bed’; F° *loɡh- § 58 v.
ii. Ar. ɡ$^{u̯}$ (Lat. v, gu after n, g before cons. and u; Gk. β, δ before ε or η, γ before or after ν; Germ. kw; Lith. g; Skr. g, j) gave Pr. Kelt. b. Thus Ar. √ɡ$^{u̯}$ei̯ē- > Lat. vīvo, Gk. βίος: W. byw, etc., § 63 vii (3).—Ar. *ɡ$^{u̯}$ōus > Lat. bōs (Umbr.-Samn. form for true Lat. *vōs), Gk. βοῦς: Ir. bō, W. biw, pl. bu.
iii. But Ar. ɡ$^{u̯}$h (Lat. f‑, ‑v‑, ‑b‑, gu after n; Gk. φ, θ; Germ. w, g; Lith. g; Skr. gh, h) forms an exception to the general rule, § 85, and does not fall together with the unaspirated consonant. It remained a rounded guttural in Pr. Kelt., and gave g in Ir. with loss of rounding; but the rounding was retained in Brit., and we have in W. initially gw̯, medially f (≡ v) between vowels. Thus Ar. √ɡ$^{u̯}$hen- > Gk. θείνω, φόνος, Lat. dē-fen-do: Ir. gonim ‘I wound’, W. gwanu ‘to stab’ < *gw̯on- § 65 v, gw̯anaf ‘swathe’ (hay cut at one sweep).—Ar. √g$^{u̯}$her- > Lat. formus, Gk. θερμός, E. warm: Ir. gorim ‘I warm’, W. gori (< *gw̯ori § 36 iii), Bret. gori, gwiri ‘to incubate’, W. gori ‘to suppurate’, gôr ‘pus’, W. gw̯rēs ‘heat’, § 95 iii (1).—Ar. √ɡ$^{u̯}$helē- ‘green, yellow’ > Lat. flāvus: W. gw̯elw̯ ‘pale’, gw̯ellt ‘straw, grass’, Ir. gelim ‘I graze’, gelt- ‘fodder’; the doublet *g̑helē- > Skr. hári‑ḥ ‘yellow, greenish’, Gk. χλόη ‘verdure, grass’, χλόος ‘green’: W. gledd ‘turf’, glas ‘green’, glas-wellt ‘grass’, § 101 iv (1).—Ar. √ɡ$^{u̯}$hedh- > Gk. ποθέω, θέσσασθαι: Ir. guidim ‘I pray’, W. gw̯eddi ‘prayer’.—Medially: Ar. √sneiɡ$^{u̯}$h- > Lat. ninguit, nix, nivis, Gk. νίφα: Ir. snigid ‘rains’, snechta ‘snow’, W. nyf ​‘snow’.—Ar. √dheɡ$^{u̯}$h- > Lat. foveo, Gk. τέφρα: Ml. Ir. daig ‘fire’, W. deifio ‘to singe’.
iv. Unlike ku̯, which is treated as q$^{u̯}$ in Kelt., Ar. gu̯ (g̑u̯, ɡu̯) does not fall together with ɡ$^{u̯}$. The change q$^{u̯}$ > p is Gaul.-Brit. but not Goidelic, while the change ɡ$^{u̯}$ > b is Pankeltic, and therefore much earlier. The double consonant gu̯ remained, and gives medially W. w, Ir. g, as in W. tew ‘thick’ < *tegu̯os, Ir. tiug: E. thick § 76 viii.—Ar. ghu̯ develops like g$^{u̯}$h, giving initially W. gw̯‑, Ir. g‑; thus Ar. *g̑hu̯el‑t- > W. gw̯yllt, Ir. geilt ‘wild’: Goth. wilþeis, E. wild, parallel to Ar.g̑hu̯er- > Lat. ferus, Gk. θήρ.
v. When the guttural follows a nasal we have the following results:
nɡ$^{u̯}$ > W. m (for mm), Ir. mb; as Ar. *n̥ɡ$^{u̯}$en- > Ir. imb, W. ymen-yn ‘butter’: Lat. unguen.
nɡ$^{u̯}$h > W. ng (≡ ŋŋ), Ir. ng; as W. llyngyr ‘lumbrici’: Lat. lumbrīcus.—W. angerdd ‘heat’ < *n̥-ɡ$^{u̯}$her‑d‑; angar ‘heat’ < *n̥-ɡ$^{u̯}$hₑr‑, √ɡ$^{u̯}$her‑, see iii; ager ‘steam’ § 99 vi (1).
nɡhu̯ > W. w, Ir. ng; as W. ewin ‘nail’, Ir. ingen < *n̥ɡhu̯‑, √onoqh/gh‑: Skr. nakhá‑ḥ ‘nail’, Gk. ὄνυξ, Lat. unguis.
ng̑hu̯ > W. f, Ir. ng; as W. tafod ‘tongue’, Ir. tenge: O. Lat. dingua (Lat. lingua), E. tongue < Ar. *dn̥g̑hu̯ā.—W. llyfu ‘to lick’ < *ling̑h‑u̯‑: Ir. līgim, Gk. λείχω, λιχνεύω Lat. lingo, √leig̑h‑.
The first two groups contain two consonants each; ɡ$^{u̯}$ > b, and consequently the nasal became m; but ɡ$^{u̯}$h remained a guttural so that the nasal became ŋ, and the group became ŋŋ$^{u̯}$, which was unrounded in W. as in Ir. The other groups contain three consonants; in Ir. the u̯ dropped as usual, leaving ŋŋ; but in W. the u̯ remained, ŋŋ > ŋ before a consonant, and ŋ dropped, § 106 ii (1).
§ 93. i. In Ar., when two explosives came together, a tenuis before a media became a media, and a media before a tenuis became a tenuis; thus p + d > bd, and b + t > pt. Only the second could be aspirated, and the aspiration, if any, of the first was transferred to it; thus bh + d > bdh. In this case if the second was a tenuis it became an aspirated media, thus bh + t > bdh; this however only survives in Indo-Iran.; elsewhere we have two tenues; thus Gk. has κτ from gh + t, as in εὐκτός: εὔχομαι, Meillet, Intr.² 106. So in Italic and ​Keltic; thus Lat. lectus, Ir. lecht ‘grave’, √leɡh‑; W. gwaith, Ir. fecht < Pr. Kelt. *u̯ekt‑, √u̯eg̑h- § 100 i (2).
ii. (1) Ar. ‑pt‑, ‑kt‑, ‑qt‑, ‑q$^{u̯}$t‑, all gave ‑kt- in Pr. Kelt., §§ 86 ii, 88, 89 ii; this appears in Ir. as ‑cht, in W. as ‑i̯th, etc. § 108 iv (1).
(2) In other groups of dissimilar explosives the first was assimilated to the second in Pr. Kelt.; thus tk > kk > Ir. cc, W. ch; as W. achas ‘hated’, Ir. accais ‘curse’ < *akkass- <*ad-kəd‑t- § 87 ii.—W. achar ‘loves’ < *akkar- < *ad-qər‑: Lat. cārus § 88. Lat. ‑pt- was introduced too late to become ‑kt- as above, and so became tt, as the habit of assimilation persisted in Brit.; this gives W. th; as pregeth ‘sermon’ < pre̦ceptum, ysgrythur < scriptūra.
(3) When the group consisted of mediae, the double media became a single tenuis in Brit., giving a media in W.; thus dg > gg > Brit. c > W. g; it gives Ir. c or cc sounded gg, Mn. Ir. g. Examples: Ir. acarb, W. agarw̯ ‘rough, rocky, unfertile’ w.m. 180 < *aggaru̯- < *ad-g̑hₑr’su̯‑: Ir. garb, W. garw ‘rough’ < *g̑hₑr’su̯‑: Gk. χέρσος, Skr. hr̥ṣitáḥ ‘bristling’, Av. zarštva- ‘stone’, Lat. horreo, hirsūtus, √g̑heres‑, § 95 iv (3).—W. aber, O. W. aper ‘confluence’, aberth ‘sacrifice’ < *abber- < *ad-bher‑, √bher‑.
There seems no good reason to suppose that gd, db could give ᵹẟ, ẟf in W. W. gŵydd ‘goose’ cannot come from Stokes’s *gegda (if g were not assimilated, eg would give ei, not w͡y, in W.), and Pedersen’s breuddwyd < *brogd- (Gr. i 109) is not convincing. W. ẟf can only come from zb, or zg § 97 iii, iv, or from dm; words like addfwyn, addfain come from ad‑m- (mwyn ‘gentle’, main ‘slender’), not from *ad‑b‑. ¶ Two soft spirants coming together, where no vowel has fallen out between them, can only occur when the first was already the spirant ẟ < z in Brit., or when the second was the sonant m.
iii. (1) Ar. tt became tˢt, and Ar. dd(h) became dᶻd(h), § 87 ii, § 91 ii, giving W. s (ss) and th respectively. But when d + t or t + t came together in Kelt., they became tt, which, like Lat. tt, appears in W. as th; thus W. athech ‘skulking’ < *ad-teg‑s‑: W. techu ‘to skulk, lie hidden’, √(s)theg- § 92 i.—W. saeth ‘arrow’ < Lat. sagitta.—For tt + liquid see § 99 v (4).
Similarly d‑d when they came together in Kelt. > Brit. t > W. d; as in edifar ‘repentant’ < *ad-dī-bar‑: W. bâr ‘indigna​tion’, Ir. bara: Lat. ferio.—W. credaf ‘I believe’, Ir. cretim (t ≡ d‑d) < *kred d‑: Skr. s̑rad dhā- ‘confide, believe’.
Ar. *k̑red dhē- lit. ‘set (one’s) heart (on)’ was not a fast compound (cf. Skr. s̑rád asmāi dhatta ‘believe in him’); thus the W. credaf is explained by the d‑d coming permanently together in Kelt. (for Ar. d‑dh > W. th § 91 ii), Brugmann² I 670, 691. Lat. crēdo is also irregular, as if *dō ‘give’ had been substituted for *dhē ‘put’, Sommer 251.
When d‑d came together later in Brit., they seem to have been simplified to d giving W. ẟ, as in aẟysg ‘education’ < Lat. addisc‑; so W. aẟef ‘home’ < *ad-dem‑, √demā- § 91 i.
(2) The change of the first t in tt to the affricative tˢ was perhaps due to the tendency in Ar. to avoid double consonants, which in other cases seem to have been simplified. Gemination however was a special characteristic of diminutives and hypocoristic or pet names, and of child-language, which was in a sense a language apart ; and in these even tt remained unchanged. Thus Gk. Νικοττώ (for Νικοτέλεια), Δικκώ, Θεοκκώ, Φίλλιος, Κρίττις, Σθέννις, O. H. G. Sicco (for Sigerīch or Sigbertus), Lat. Varrō (beside Vārus), Brit. Commios (beside Comux, Gaul. Comus), W. Iol-lo (with double l in Ml. W. § 22 ii, for Iorwerth), Gutto (for Gruffuẟ);—Gk. ἄττα, Lat. atta ‘papa’; Skr. akkā ‘mama’, Gk. Ἀκκώ, Lat. Acca Lārentia (: W. y nawfed ach ‘the ninth degree of consanguinity’, lit. ‘the ninth *mother’, cf. “the 4th mother” § 123 v; ach ac edryd ‘descent’, lit. ‘*mat- and pat-ernity’; achoedd, achau ‘lineage’). As the above examples show, the habit of doubling in such forms persisted in new creations, and may account for the q$^{u̯}$q$^{u̯}$ in the ogam maq$^{u̯}$q$^{u̯}$i, and for the tt in Brit. *genettā > W. geneth r.p. 1359 ‘girl’. So in tribal names: Brittones beside Britannī; Gallī beside Γαλάται. Also in names of animals: Lat. vacca; W. bwch ‘buck’ (ch < kk), Skr. bukkas id.; Gaul. cattos, W. cath; Ml. W. buch ‘cow’ < *boukkā; W. mochyn ‘pig’, Ir. mucc, Germ. dial. mocke ‘sow’; Ir. socc, W. hwch ‘pig, sow’; O. E. dogga ‘dog’; Persson, IP. xxvi 68.
The Spirants.
§ 94. i. Ar. s was of very frequent occurrence. It remained generally in Pr. Kelt. Initially Ar. s before a vowel (Lat. s, Gk. ῾, Germ. s, Lith. s, Skr. s) appears in Ir. as s‑, in W. gene​rally as h‑, sometimes as s‑. Examples: Ir. samail ‘likeness’, W. hafal ‘like’ < *sₑmₑl‑: Lat. similis, Gk. ὁμαλός, √sem- ‘one’.—Ir. sam, W. haf ‘summer’: O. H. G. sumar, E. summer, Skr. sámā ‘year’.—Ir. sen, W. hên ‘old’: Lat. senex, Gk. ἕνος, Skr. sána‑ḥ ‘old’, Lith. sẽnas ‘old’.—W. had: Lat. satus § 63 vi (1).—W. hun ‘sleep’: Lat. somnus, Gk. ὕπνος, § 63 viii (1).—W. hynt ‘way’, Ir. sēt, § 65 iii.—W. hîr ‘long’, Ir. sīr: Lat. sērus, § 72.— — Ir. secht n‑, W. saith ‘seven’: Lat. septem, Gk. ἑπτά, etc. < Ar. *septm̥ § 86 ii (1).—W. sīl ‘progeny, seed’, beside hīl < *sē‑l‑, √sē- § 63 vi (1).—W. serr, Ir. serr, § 86 i (5).—W. saer, Ir. sāer < *sapero‑?: Lat. sapio.—W. sugnaf, Ir. sūgim ‘I suck’: Lat. sūcus, sūgo, O. E. sūgan, sūcan ‘suck’.
ii. Medially between vowels Ar. s remained after the separation of the P and Q divisions; and is found in Gaulish, as in Isarno‑. In Ir. and W. it became h, and generally disappeared, except where it became initial by metathesis, as in W. haearn, though it is in some cases still written in Ml. W.; thus W. eog, Ml. W. ehawc, Ir. eo, gen. iach < Kelt. *esāk- < *esōk‑, Lat. esox < Kelt. The reduction of vowel-flanked s gave rise to new diphthongs in Brit., which developed largely like original diphthongs; see § 75 i, ii, vi, vii, § 76 ii (3).
iii. The change of s to h differs from the soft mutation; in the latter a voiceless consonant becomes voiced, thus t > d; the corresponding change of s would be to z. But s did not become voiced; it remained voiceless, but was pronounced loosely, and ultimately became h. It must have been loosened already in the Roman period, for Lat. intervocalic s introduced at that period remains, as in caws < cāseus. Now Lat. explosives undergo the soft mutation; the loosening of Brit. s is therefore earlier, and so the interchange s/h does not enter into that system. Before such a system of interchanges was organized it was natural to choose one or the other sound for the same word; and the postvocalic reduced s was chosen for most in Brit., the postconsonantal full s for others. It is quite possible that the two forms persisted in many words for a considerable period, so that we have e.g. W. Hafren beside Brit. (‑Lat.) Sabrĭna. There is only one certain example of Lat. initial s- giving h‑; that is hestawr < sextarius; this either was a trade term borrowed early, or has followed the analogy of words like Hafren. Possibly a transition stage is represented by Ixarninus, Isxarninus beside Isarninus Rhys LWPh.² 418. (The Ir. reduction of s is independent, and is included in the Ir. system of initial mutation.)
​iv. Ar. su̯- remained in Pr. Kelt., and gives s in Ir., chw̯‑, hw̯- in W., § 26 vi. Thus Ar. *s̯uesōr > Ir. siur, W. chw̯aer ‘sister’ § 75 vii (2).—Ar. *su̯id‑t- > *su̯itˢt- > W. chw̯ŷs ‘sweat’: Skr. svídyati ‘sweats’: Lat. sūdor < *su̯oid‑: E. sweat.—Ar. *su̯ek̑s > W. chw̯ech, Ir. sē: Gk. ῾ϝέξ, § 101 ii (2).—Ar. *su̯ek̑(u)r- > W. chw̯egrwn ‘father-in-law’, chw̯egr ‘mother-in-law’: Lat. socer, socrus, Gk. ἑκυρός, ἑκυρᾱ́, Skr. s̑vás̑uraḥ, s̑vas̑rū́ḥ.—W. chwi ‘you’ < *s‑u̯es: Lat. vōs § 159 iv. Before ɔ from ā it was unrounded to h, as in hawdd < *su̯ād- § 148 i (6).
Medial ‑u̯s- > h$^{u̯}$ > W. w̯ § 76 ii (3).
§ 95. i. Ar. sm‑, sn‑, sl‑, sr- remained in Pr. Kelt, and appear in Ir. unchanged, in W. as m‑, n‑, ll‑, rh‑. Thus, sm‑: Ir. smēr ‘blackberry’, W. mwyar ‘blackberries’ § 75 vi (2).—Ir. smir gen. smera ‘marrow’, W. mêr id.: Gk. σμυρίζω, μυρίζω ‘I anoint’, E. smear, Lith. smarsas ‘fat’.—sn‑: Ir. snechta, W. nyf ‘snow’: Lat. ninguit, O. H. G. snēo, E. snow § 92 iii.—Ir. snāim ‘I swim’, W. nawf ‘swimming’: Lat. nāre, Skr. snā́ti ‘bathes’.—Ar. √senē(i̯)- ‘thread’: Ir. snīim, W. nyddaf ‘I spin’, Ir. snāthat, W. nodwydd ‘needle’: Lat. nēre, E. snare, Skt. snā́yu ‘bowstring’.—sl‑: Ir. slemun, W. llyfn ‘smooth’: Lat. lūbricus < *sloibricos, E. slip.—Ir. slūag, W. llu ‘retinue’: O. Bulg. sluga ‘servant’.—sr‑: Ar. *sreu̯‑: Ir. sruth ‘stream’, W. rhwd ‘dung-water’ (rhwd tomydd I.G. 238), rhewyn ‘gutter’: Lith. srutà ‘dung-water’, Gk. ῥυτός, ῥεῦμα, etc. § 58 vi, § 76 iv (1).—Ir. srōn ‘nose’ < *srokn‑, W. rhoch ‘snore’ < *srokn- § 99 vi (3): Gk. ῥέγχω, ῥέγκω ‘I snore’, ῥόγχος ‘snoring’, ῥύγχος ‘pig’s snout’, § 97 v (3).
As s- before a vowel sometimes remains in W., so a few examples occur of s- before a sonant, as (y)snoden ‘band, lace’, Ir. snāthe gl. filum < *sn̥̄t‑, √senē(i̯)‑;—(y)slath beside llath ‘lath’, Ir. slat: E. ‘lath’, O. H.G. latta without s‑. The N.W. dial. slyw̯en ‘eel’ is prob. for *sỿllỿwen: Corn. selyas, syllyes ‘eels’, Bret. silienn (stlaoñenn) ‘eel’; the Mn. lit. W. llỿsỿwen, S. W. dial. llỿsw̄́en, seems to be a metathesized form; prob. √selei‑: Lat. līmax. The second element is perhaps ‑onɡhu̯‑: Ir. esc-ung ‘eel’: Gk. ἔγχελυς ‘eel’ (the root has many forms, see Walde² s.v. anguis).
ii. (1) Medial ‑sm‑, ‑sn‑, ‑sl‑, ‑sr- probably remained in Pr. Kelt., but became ‑mm‑, ‑nn‑, ‑ll‑, ‑rr- in both Ir. and W. (In W. ‑mm- is written ‑m-, and ll is now the voiceless ƚƚ, ​properly double ƚƚ § 54 i (2)). Examples: sm: W. twymyn ‘fever’ < *tepes-men- § 86 i (3).—W. ym ‘we are’, Ir. ammi < Kelt. *ésmesi § 179 ix (3).—sn: W. onn-en ‘ash’, Ir. huinn-ius < *os‑n‑: Lat. ornus < *osinus, O. H. G. as‑k, E. ash.—W. bronn ‘breast’, Ir. bruinne id. < *brus‑n‑: O. H. G. brus‑t ‘breast’.—sl: W. coll ‘hazel’, Ir. coll < *qos‑l‑: Lat. corulus < *cosulus, O. H. G. hasal, E. hazel, Lith. kasulas ‘spear’.—sr: W. fferru ‘to congeal’ < *spis‑r‑: Lat. spissus ‘thick’. After a long vowel or diphthong n or r is simplified, as in ffūn ‘breath’ < *spois‑n- § 96 iv (1);—gw̯awr ‘dawn’ < *u̯ōs‑r‑: Lat. vēr ‘spring’ < *u̯ēs‑r, √eu̯es‑. But the simplification took place too late to give *f, *l for m, ll in twymyn, pwyll, etc.; and ‑m, ‑ll remained double after simple vowels and shortened them, as in drŭm § 100 v, dŭll (2) below.
(2) An explosive before one of the above groups simply disappears; thus *prə-t-snā > W. rhann § 63 vii (2);—*tuk-slo‑s > W. twll § 86 ii (3);—*dr̥k-smā > W. drem ‘sight’, √derk̑- § 61 i;—W. rhwym ‘band’ < *reig-smen > √reig̑‑: Lat. corrigia;—W. pwyll, Ir. cīall ‘thought’ < *q$^{u̯}$eit‑sl‑: Skr. cit-tá‑m ‘thought’, caityaḥ ‘soul’;—W. dull ‘manner, appearance’ < *doik‑sl‑, √deik̑‑: Gk. δείκνυμι.
(3) But a sonant in the above position remains. Examples: W. garm ‘shout’, Ir. gairm < *g̑ar-smn̥, √g̑ā̆r‑: Lat. garrio;—W. telm ‘snare’, Ir. tailm, gen. telma < *tel‑sm‑: Gk. τελαμών ‘thong’;—Ml. W. anmyneẟ (now amynedd), Ir. ainmne ‘patience’ < *n̥-smenii̯ā, √menēi̯ ‘thought’, pref. n̥- ‘in’;—W. mymryn ‘a little bit’, Ir. mīr ‘a bit of flesh’ < *mēmsro‑m (ī shortened in Brit., m lost in Ir.): Lat. membrum < *mēmsrom, Gk. μηρός < *mēmsros or *mēsros, Skr. mās ‘flesh’;—W. cern ‘back of cheek’ < *k̑ersn‑: Lat. cernuus < *k̑ersn‑, Gk. κάρηνον < *k̑ₑrasnom) Lat. cerebrum < *k̑erasrom; W. carr yr ên ‘jawbone’ either < *k̑ₑr’s‑r- (: cf. Lat. cerebrum) or simply *k̑ₑr’s‑;—W. amnaid ‘nod’ (for *anmeid), O. W. pl. enmeituou, O. Bret. enmetiam gl. innuo < *en-smet‑: Ir. smētim ‘I nod’ < *sment‑. It is to be observed that m in these groups = mm, and is not mutated to f.
iii. (1) Ar. ‑ms‑, ‑ns- became ‑ss- in Pr. Kelt., and appear so in Gaul., Ir., and W. Thus Gaul. esseda ‘war-chariot’ < *en-sed-ā § 63 ii; and acc. pl. ‑ass in artuass (like Lat. ‑ās) < *‑āns. In ​W., where ‑ss- became final by loss of the ending, it became ‑s early; but medially it is still double, though now written ‑s- § 54 i (2). Examples: W. crasu, Ml. W. crassu ‘to bake’, crās ‘baked’ < *krams- < *qrm̥‑s‑, √qerem‑: Lat. cremo, Gk. κέραμος, W. cramwyth ‘pancake’ < *kram-pok-tī;—W. mīs ‘month’, Ir. mī gen. mīs < *mēnsis: Lat. mensis, Gk. μήν, Lith. mė́nů, mė́nesis ‘moon, month’;—W. gw̯rēs ‘heat’ < *ɡ$^{u̯}$hrens-os) √ɡ$^{u̯}$her‑, § 92 iii: Skr. ghrąsáḥ ‘heat of the sun’ < *ɡ$^{u̯}$hrens-ós;—Ml. W. cysseẟ ‘sitting together’ < *kon-sed‑.
(2) The same change takes place before an explosive; thus nst > st; nsq$^{u̯}$ > sp; as W. cystadl, cystal ‘as good’ § 96 ii (3); cosp < *konsq$^{u̯}$- § 96 iii (5).
(3) The nasal also disappears when an explosive came between it and the s, as in W. cysefin ‘primitive’, Ml. W. cyssefin < *kint’samīnos, beside cyntaf ‘first’ § 106 iii (3), cyntefin ‘Spring’ < *kintu-samīno‑.
iv. (1) Ar. ‑ls‑, ‑rs- probably became ‑ll‑, ‑rr- in Pr. Kelt. Examples of the former are uncertain in W., because ‑ln‑, ´‑li̯- also give W. ll; perhaps W. pell ‘far’ < *q$^{u̯}$el‑s‑: Gk. τέλος.—W. carr, Ir. carr, Gaul. carr-(us) < *qₑr’sos § 63 iii; W. twrr ‘crowd’ (b. b. 44, 45), ‘heap’ < *tur’‑s‑, ur < u̯ₑr § 63 viii, √tu̯er‑: Lat. turba, turma (W. torf < Lat.).
(2) An explosive between the two sounds disappears, giving the same result; probably the majority of W. rr’s come from such groups as ‑rks‑, ‑rts‑. Examples: W. gyrr ‘a drove’ (of cattle) < *gerks- < *gerg‑s‑: Gk. γέργερα· πολλά Hes., Lat. grex, W. gre;—W. torri ‘to break, cut’ < *torq‑s‑, √tereq‑: Lat. truncus< *tronqos, W. trwch ‘broken, cut’ < *tronqos;—W. carreg ‘stone’ < *k̑ₑr’q-s-ikā, √k̑ereq‑: Skr. s̑árkaraḥ ‘pebble’, Gk. κροκάλη ‘pebble’, W. crogen ‘shell’, craig ‘rock’ < *k̑roqi̯‑;—W. torr ‘belly’ (generally of an animal), torrog ‘pregnant’, Ir. torrach ‘pregnant’ < *torks‑: Lat. tergus ‘body of an animal, hide’;—W. gwarr ‘upper part of back’, gwarr hëol g. 300 ‘ridge of the roadway’ < *u̯ort‑s‑: Lat. vortex, W. gwarthaf ‘summit’ < *u̯ortₑmo‑;—W. corr ‘dwarf’ < *qort‑s‑: Lat. curtus, Ir. cert ‘little’, √(s)qer‑.—Possibly we have ll from ‑lks- in W. callestr ‘flint’ < *qel’qs‑: Lat. calx, Gk. χάλιξ, √q(h)eleiq- parallel to √k̑ereq- above.
​(3) An explosive following the group remains, and the s disappears; thus W. torth ‘loaf’, Ir. tort < *torst- ‘baked’: Lat. tostus < *tors(i)tos: torreo < *torseiō; W. tarth ‘vapour, mist’ (tarth mwg Act. ii 19 ‘vapour of smoke’, tan twym tarth b.t. 38 ‘hot scorching fire’) < *tₑr’s‑t‑: Gk. τερσαίνω, √teres- ‘dry up’;—W. garth ‘promontory, hill’, Ir. gart < *g̑hₑr’st‑: Gk. χέρσος, √g̑heres- § 93 ii (3) (not to be confused with garth ‘enclosure’: Lat. hortus § 99 vi (1), § 76 vi (2)).
§ 96. i. Ar. s + tenuis remained in Pr. Kelt. In Brit. the group either remained or became a double spirant; thus sk gave either (1) sk or (2) χχ; and st gave either (1) st or (2) a sound between þþ and ss, which became ss. It is probable that form (1) occurred after a consonant, and form (2) after a vowel, being caused by a loose pronunciation of the s. Both forms occur initially and medially, and in the latter case form (1) can be shown in a large number of cases to have followed a consonant now vanished. In Ir. st gave ss, initially s‑, and the other groups remained unchanged.
Tenuis + s also became a double spirant in Brit. A media before s had become a tenuis in Ar., and gives the same result. An aspirated media before s changed it to z in Ar., thus dhs > dhz (dzh); the group became tenuis + s in Kelt., with the same result.
When s is combined with two explosives in any order it is the first explosive that drops: thus llost < *lompst- ii (3); asgwrn < *ast-korn- ii (4); nos < *nots< *noq$^{u̯}$ts ii (5). The same simplification took place later in words borrowed from Lat.: W. estron ‘stranger’ < extrāneus, astrus < abstrūsus, etc., § 103 i (5).
ii. (1) Ar. st- became s- in Ir., st- or s- in Bret., Corn., and W. Examples: Ir. sāl, W. sawdl, Bret. seul ‘heel’ < *stā‑tl- 63 vi (1); Bret. steren, Corn. steren, W. seren ‘star’: Lat. stella < *ster-lā, Gk. ἀστήρ, O. H. G. sterno, E. star: Ar. *stē̆r‑;—Bret. staon ‘palate’, W. safn ‘mouth’: Gk. στόμα;—Ir. sere, W. serch ‘love’, Bret. serc’h ‘concubine’: Gk. στέργω: Ar. *sterk/g‑;—W. (y)starn, Bret. starn, stern ‘harness’ beside W. sarn ‘causeway’ 63 vii (2), √sterō- ‘spread out’. It is not to be supposed that st- became s- in W. in seren etc. after the separation of W. and Corn., since Lat. st- generally remains (not always; swmbwl ​§ 66 ii (1)); but rather that st- and s- existed side by side, and one form or the other prevailed; cf. § 94 iii. The lisped form þ- is attested in Gaul. in the name Đirona, also spelt Sirona (? star-goddess, < *stēr‑).
(2) Medial ‑st- gave Ir. ss, Bret., Corn., W. ss. When ss became final in W. it was simplified early; but it remained double medially, and is still double after the accent, though now written s § 54 i (2). Examples: Ir. ross ‘promontory, forest’, W. rhos ‘mountain meadow’ (Richards), ‘moor’ < *pro‑sth‑: Skr. prasthaḥ ‘table-land on a mountain, plain’, √sthā- ‘stand’;—Ir. cas-achtach ‘cough’, W. pas ‘whooping-cough’, Bret. pas ‘cough’ < *q$^{u̯}$əst‑: O. E. hwōsta, Germ. Husten ‘cough’: Lith. kósėti ‘to cough’, Skr. kā́sate ‘coughs’;—Ir. foss ‘servant’, W. gwas ‘servant’, gwasanaeth ‘service’ < *upo-sthā-n-ā́kt- § 203 i (4): Skr. upa-sthā́-na‑m ‘attendance, service’;—W. gwas b.t. 4 ‘abode’, Ir. foss ‘rest, stay’ < *u̯ost‑: Gk. ἄστυ < ϝάστυ, Skr. vā́stu ‘dwelling-place, homestead’.—The alternative lisped form þþ is attested in Brit. Aθθedomaros beside gen. Assedomari CIL. iii 5291 (Rhys CB.² 277), W. Gwynn-assed b.b. 67, with aθθ‑, ass- perhaps < *ast‑: Gk. ὀστέον, Skr. ásthi ‘bone’, W. asen ‘rib’, ais ‘breast’.
(3) When ‑st- is preceded by a nasal or explosive or both, the whole group gives W. st. Examples: W. cystal, older cystadl ‘as good’ < *kom-sthə-dhlo- ‘standing together’: Lat. stabulum < *sthə-dhlo‑m;—W. trwst ‘tumult’ < *trum‑st- (ru < u̯r̥ § 63 viii (1)), √tu̯er‑: Lat. turma, turba, Gk. σύρβη, Att. τύρβη;—Ir. loss, los (i. erball) ‘tail’, Bret. lost ‘tail’, lostenn ‘petticoat’, lostek ‘tailed, trailing’, W. llost ‘tail’ in llost-lydan ‘beaver’, arllost ‘the butt end of a spear’ < *lomp‑st‑, √leb- ‘hang down’: Skr. lámbate ‘hangs down’, Lat. limbus ‘hem of a garment’ < *lembos, E. lop in lop-eared, lop-sided: W. llusgo ‘to trail, drag behind’ < *lop‑sq‑;—W. cynllwst ‘kennel’ < *kuno-loq‑st‑, √leɡh- ‘lie’;—W. gast ‘bitch’ < *ganst- for *kan‑st- § 101 iii (2) < *k̑(u̯)ₑn- ‘dog’ § 76 v (1);—W. clust ‘ear’, Ir. cluass < *kleut‑st‑, a Kelt. formation < Ar. *k̑léutom ‘hearing’: Av. sraotə‑m, Goth. hliuþ.—(For the group after a liquid, see § 95 iv (3).)
After a prefix both forms occur: W. gwa-sarn ‘litter’, √sterō‑; gwa-stad ‘level’, √sthā- ‘stand’; di-serch ‘unlovely’, √sterk/g- (1) ​above; di-stadl ‘insignificant’, lit. ‘without standing’, cf. cystadl above.
We have perhaps to assume *u̯os- (cf. Lat. sus‑) beside u̯o- and *dēs- beside *dē‑, giving *‑sst- beside *‑st‑, resulting in ‑st- beside ‑s‑. It is however to be borne in mind that forms with prefixes were not originally fast compounds; and thus the form after a prefix may represent the old initial.
(4) Before r or l, Ar. st remains in all positions in W. Thus W. ystrad < *strə‑t‑, √sterō- § 63 vii (2);—W. ystrew, trew ‘sneeze’ < *streus- § 76 ii (2), √pstereu‑: Lat. sternuo, Gk. πτάρνυμι;—W. ystlys ‘side’, Ir. sliss ‘side’ < *stl̥t‑s‑: Lat. latus < *stlət-os, √stel(ā)‑;—W. arwestr ‘band, (apron‑)​string’ < *are-u̯est-rā: Gk. Dor. ϝέστρᾱ (γέστρα· στολή Hes.), Lat. vestis;—W. rhwystr ‘obstacle’ < *reig-s-tro- ‘*snare’: W. rhwym § 95 ii (2);—W. bustl ‘gall’ (u for y § 77 vii (2)), Corn. bistel, Bret. bestl < *bis‑tl‑: Lat. bīlis < *bis-lis (different suffixes ‑tl‑: ‑l‑);—W. destl ‘neat, trim’, di-ddestl ‘clumsy, unskilful’ D.G. 196, 240 < *deks‑tl‑: Lat. dexter, Gk. δεξιός, W. dehau ‘right’, etc. It is seen that a consonant before the group drops.
On the other hand when st came before an explosive the t dropped; thus stk > sk, as in W. asgwrn, Ml. ascwrn ‘bone’ < *ast-korn: Gk. ὀστέον, see (2) above (initial a/o altern. § 63 v (2)); and llosgwrn ‘tail’ similarly formed from *lompst‑, see (3);—W. gwisg ‘dress’ < *u̯ēst‑q‑, di-osg ‘to undress’ < *dē-u̯ost‑q‑, √u̯es‑: Lat. vestis, etc.
(5) Ar. ts gives ss in Ir. and W. Original ds and dhz became ts, giving the same result.—W. blys ‘strong desire’ < *mlit‑s‑, noun in ‑s- beside melys ‘sweet’ participle in ‑t- § 87 ii, base *meleit‑;—W. llys ‘court’, Ml. Bret. les, Ir. liss, less < *(p)l̥t‑’s‑. with an ‑s- suffix which lost its vowel, added to *pl̥th- § 63 viii (1);—W. aswy, Ml.W. asswy, asseu ‘left (hand)’ < *at-soui̯ó‑s < *ad-seu̯i̯ós: Skr. savyáḥ ‘left’.—An explosive before the group drops; thus W. nos ‘night’ < nom. *not‑s < *noq$^{u̯}$t‑s beside noeth in trannoeth ‘the following day’, heno, O. W. henoid (≡ henoyth) ‘to-night’ from oblique cases *nokt‑; so glas- ‘milk’ < *gləkt‑s § 63 vii (3); tes ‘heat’ < *tekts < *tep‑t‑s: Lat. tepeo, etc. A nasal before the group drops, § 95 iii (3); but a liquid remains, and the group becomes ll or rr, § 95 iv (2).
iii. (1) Ar. sk̑- appears as sc- in Ir., as sc- or h- (< χ) in W. ​In W. sc has become sg, and initially ysg‑, § 23 ii. Thus W. ysgḯen, Ir. scīan ‘knife’, √sk̑hē(i̯)‑: Skr. chyáti ‘cuts off’;—Ml. W. isgaud b.b. 35 ‘darkness’, Ir. scāth ‘shadow’ < *skāt‑: Goth. skadus, E. shade, Gk. σκότος, Skr. chādáyati ‘covers’;—W. hegl ‘shank’ < *skek‑l‑: E. shank √sk̑eq/ɡ‑: W. ysgogi ‘stir, shake’, E. shake, Lith. szókti ‘to leap, dance’.
After a prefix: W. cysgod, gwasgod ‘shade’ < *skāt‑, as above.
(2) Ar. sq- gives Ir. sc‑, W. sc- (ysg‑) or chw̯- (or before a round vowel h‑). Thus W. ysgwyd ‘shield’, Ir. scīath < *sqeit-om: Lat. scūtum < *sqoit-om, O. Bulg. štitŭ ‘shield’ < *sqeit-om;—W. ysgar ‘to separate’, Ir. scaraim, √sqer‑: Lith. skìrti ‘to separate’;—W. chwith ‘left (hand)’ < *sqī‑tn‑, chwidr ‘perverse, fickle’ < *sqī‑tr‑, Mn. Ir. ciotach ‘left-handed’ <*sqi‑tn‑, W. ysgoewan f. ‘fickle one’ < *sqai‑u̯‑, all R-grades of *sqēi̯- ‘left, oblique’: Lat. scaevus, Gk. σκαι(ϝ)ός, E. shy;—W. chwalu ‘to scatter’, Bret. skula, Ir. scāilim ‘I scatter’, √sqel- § 101 iv (2): hollt ‘split’ iv (1) (β).
With a prefix: W. gwa-sgar-af ‘I scatter’, √sqer- § 101 iv (2);—cy-chw̯ynn-af ‘I rise, start’, Ir. scendim: Lat. scando, Skr. skándati ‘leaps, bounds’, √sqend‑;—W. osgo ‘slant’, nyt osco-es b.t. 25 ‘he swerved not’ < *op-sqaiu̯‑; Ml. W. amry-scoyw̯, Mn. W. amrosgo ‘diagonal, awkward’ < *sqaiu̯‑: Lat. scaevus, see above;—W. cy-huddo ‘to accuse’: Icel. skúta ‘a taunt’, § 156 i (9).
skl‑, skr‑, where they remained in Brit., survived in W., now ysgl- ysgr‑, as ysglyfaeth § 101 iv (2), ysgrafell ‘rasp’: E. scrape, iv (3). But these were mostly reduced early to *sl‑, sr‑, § 101 ii (3). Medially we may have ‑chl‑, ‑chr‑, § 156 i (11), (13).
(3) Ar. sq$^{u̯}$- gives Ir. sc‑, W. chw̯‑. Thus Ir. scēl, W. chw̯edl, Corn. whethl ‘news, a tale’ < *sq$^{u̯}$-e-tlo- > √seq$^{u̯}$- ‘say’. With a prefix: Ml. W. ky-chwedɏl b.t. 38 ‘news’ = Ml. Bret. quehezl, Bret. kel;—W. dym-chwel-af ‘I overthrow’: Gk. σφάλλω, Skr. skhálati ‘stumbles’, √sq$^{u̯}$hel‑;—W. dy-chwel-af ‘I return’ < *do-sq$^{u̯}$el‑, √q$^{u̯}$el- ‘turn’, § 101 iv (2).—sp in the old compound cosp, see (5).
(4) Medially between vowels Ar. ‑sk̑- > W. ch, but is hardly to be found except in old compounds like gochel ‘to guard (against)’, ym-ochel ‘to take shelter’ < *upo-s-k̑el‑, √k̑el- § 63 iii.—Ar. ‑sq‑, ‑sq$^{u̯}$- gave χ$^{u̯}$, generally unrounded to ch; in Ir. all appear as ss. ​Thus Ar. verbal suffix *‑sqe- (: Skr. ‑ccha‑, Gk. ‑σκω, Lat. ‑sco), appears as ch in W. chwenychaf; finally ‑wch < *‑y$^{u̯}$χ < *‑i‑sq- (: Gk. ‑ι-σκω) § 201 iii (2);—Ml. W. amkawẟ w.m. 453 ‘replied’ < *am-χ$^{u̯}$‑awẟ § 156 i (4) < *m̥bi‑sq$^{u̯}$‑, √seq$^{u̯}$‑ ‘say’; suffix § 182 iii.
(5) After an explosive or nasal, however, Ar. ‑sk̑‑, ‑sq‑ > W. ‑sc‑ (‑sg‑), and Ar. ‑sq$^{u̯}$‑ > W. ‑sp‑; in Ir. ‑sc‑. Thus W. mysgu, cymysgu ‘to mix’, Ir. mescaim ‘I mix’ < *mik̑‑sq‑: Lat. misceo, Gk. μίγνυμι, Skr. mis̑rá‑ḥ ‘mixed’, √meik̑/g̑‑;—W. llusgo ‘to drag’ < *lop‑sq- ii (3) above;—W. hesg ‘sedges’, Ir. sescenn ‘swamp’ < *seq‑sq‑: E. sedge, O. E. secg √seq/ɡ- ‘cut’: Lat. seco etc.;—W. llesg ‘languid, infirm, sluggish’, Ir. lesc ‘slothful’ < *leq‑sq‑, √(s)lē̆g‑: Skr. laŋga‑ḥ ‘lame’ < *lenɡ‑, Lat. langueo < *lənɡ‑, Gk. λαγαρός;—W. gw̯rysg ‘twigs’ < *u̯r̥d‑sq‑: Lat. rāmus < *u̯r̥̄d-mo‑s, √u̯erō̆d- § 91;—W. diaspad f. ‘a cry’ < *dē-ad-sq$^{u̯}$‑ətā, √seq$^{u̯}$‑, suff. § 143 iii (18); W. cosp ‘punishment’, Ir. cosc ‘correction, reprimand’ < *kon‑sq$^{u̯}$‑ ‘talk with’.
As the group ‑sku̯- or ‑squ̯- contains three distinct consonants, it gives ‑sp- in W. (not ‑ch‑); thus W. hysp ‘dry’ (without milk), di-hysb-yddu ‘to bail’ (a boat, a well, etc.), di-hysb-ydd ‘inexhaustible’ < *sisq-u̯o- redupl. of √seiq- ‘dry’: Avest. hišku- f. hiškvī‑, Lat. siccus < *sīcos (W. sych, Ir. secc < Lat. ?).
(6) Ar. ‑ks‑, ‑qs‑, ‑q$^{u̯}$s‑ give Ir. ss, W. Bret. Corn. ‑ch- or ‑h‑. Thus Ir. dess ‘right (hand)’ < *dek̑s‑, W. deheu ‘right, south’ < *deksou̯i̯os, Gaul. Dexsiva dea: Lat. dexter, Gk. δεξιός, Goth. taihswa, O. H. G. zësawa;—Ir. ess‑, W. eh‑, ech- § 156 i (15): Lat. ex, Gk. ἐξ;—W. ych ‘ox’ (Ml. Ir. oss) < *uqsō: Skr. ukṣā, O. H. G. ohso, § 69 v.—So finally: W. chw̯ech ‘six’, Ir. sē, sess- < *su̯eks: Av. xšvaš, Gk. ἕξ (῾ϝεξ), Lat. sex, Goth. saihs, E. six < Ar. *su̯ek̑s, *sek̑s § 101 ii (2).
As before ts, an explosive or nasal before the group dropped; but in that case ‑ks- probably, like ‑sk‑, did not become χ, but remained and developed like Lat. ‑x‑; so perhaps trais ‘oppression’ < *treks- < *trenk‑s‑: W. trenn, Ger. streng § 148 i (13). A liquid before the group remains, § 95 iv (2); ‑ksl‑, ‑ksm‑ etc., § 95 ii (2).
iv. After s, Ar. p in Kelt. either (α) became *f as usual; or (β) was altered to q$^{u̯}$ and developed accordingly.
​(1) (α) Ar. sp(h)‑ > W. ff‑, Ir. s- (mutated to f‑). Thus W. ffun ‘breath’ < *spois‑n‑: Lat. spīro < *speis-ō;—W. ffêr ‘ankle’, Ir. seir ‘heel’ (acc. du. di pherid) < *sper‑: Gk. σφυρόν ‘ankle, heel’ < *sphu̯ₑr‑: Lat. perna, Gk. πτέρνα < *pu̯er‑n- (Jacobsohn, KZ. xlii 275), √sphu̯erē- see (2) below;—W. ffonn ‘stick’, Ir. sonn ‘stake’ < *spondh‑: E. spoon, O. E. spōn ‘chip of wood’, Icel. spānn, spōnn ‘chip’, Gk. σπάθη ‘spatula’, σφήν ‘wedge’, √sp(h)ē-, spend- ‘hew’. — — Similarly before a liquid: W. ffraeth ‘eloquent, witty’ < *sphrəkt‑, √spherē̆ɡ‑: Germ. sprechen, O. E. sprecan; E. speak, see § 97 v (3);—W. ffrwst ‘haste’ < *sprut-st-: Goth. sprautō ‘quickly’, W. ffrwd § 101 ii (3);—W. fflochen ‘splinter’ < *sphloq‑n‑: Skr. phálakam ‘board, plank’, √sp(h)el‑: Germ. spalten, E. split, cf. W. talch § 86 ii (3).
(β) sp(h)- > Kelt. sq$^{u̯}$ > W. chw̯- (h‑) or sp‑, Ir. sc‑. Thus W. chw̯ynn ‘weeds’ (prob. originally ‘furze’, as E. whin which comes from it) < *sq$^{u̯}$inn- < *spid‑sn-: Lat. pinna < *pid-snā; Ir. scē gen. pl. sciad, W. yspyddad ‘hawthorn’ < *sq$^{u̯}$íi̯-at‑: Lat. spīna, spīca, √spei‑;—W. chw̯ydu ‘to vomit’, chw̯ŷd ‘vomit’ § 100 ii (3), √spei̯eu̯‑: Lat. spuo, E. spew, etc.;—W. hollt ‘split’, hollti ‘to split’, beside (α) Bret. faouta ‘to split’ < *spol‑t‑, √spel- § 101 iv (2);—W. yspar ‘spear’, Bret. sparr: Lat. sparus, O. H. G. spër, E. spear, √sphu̯erē- § 97 v (3);—W. chw̯yrn ‘swift’ < *sphern‑, hwrẟ ‘a violent push’ < *sphuri̯- § 100 iii (2).
(2) Medially, Ar. ‑sp- gives (α) W. ‑ff‑, or (β) W. ‑ch‑, Ir. ‑sc‑. Thus W. dual (α) uffarnau (β) ucharnau ‘ankles’ < *u̯i-sp(u̯)ₑr‑n‑: sg. ffêr, Lat. perna above;—(β) W. ucher ‘evening’, Ir. fescor: Lat. vesper, Gk. ἕσπερος § 66 iii.
After a consonant (α) ‑sp- > W. ff; unlike ‑st‑, ‑sk‑, which preserve the explosive, sp had become ‑sf‑, and there was no explosive to preserve. Thus W. effro ‘awake’ < *eksprog- dissim. from *eks-pro‑gr‑: Lat. expergiscor for *ex-pro-grīscor (Walde, s. v.): Av. fra-γrisəmnō ‘waking’, Skr. járate ‘wakes’, Gk. ἐγείρω, √ɡer‑, ɡerēi̯‑.
(3) Ar. ‑ps- also gives (α) W. ‑ff‑, or (β) W. ‑ch‑, but Ir. ‑ss‑. Thus (α) W. craff ‘sharp, keen’ < *qrap‑s- < *qrab‑s‑: Icel. skarpr, O. E. scearp, E. sharp, E. scrape, W. crafu ‘to scratch’;—W. praff ‘burly’ < q$^{u̯}$rₑp‑s‑: Lat. corpus, etc.;—(β) W. uwch ‘higher’, uchel ‘high’, Ir. ūasal, uassal, Gaul. ​Uxello-dunum < *ups‑, *upsel‑: Lat. sus‑, Gk. ὕψι, ὑψηλός ‘high’, ὑψίων ‘higher’;—W. crych ‘curly’, Gaul. Crixus, Crixsus: Lat. crispus (prob. < *cripsos): Lith. kreĩpti ‘to turn’, √qer- ‘turn’, extd. *qreip‑;—W. llachar ‘bright’, Ir. lassair < *lapsₑr‑: Gk. λάμπω;—W. crach ‘scabs’ < *qrap‑s‑: craff above, see § 101 ii (2). As in the case of ‑ks‑, see iii (6), the *‑ch- may become ‑h‑, as in cah-el beside caff-el < *qap‑s- § 188 iv.
§ 97. i. Before a media or aspirated media, s had become z medially in Pr. Ar. Thus the V-grade of √sed- was ‑zd‑. Ar. z became ẟ in Pr. Kelt. This remained in Brit., and the media following it was reduced later to the corresponding voiced spirant.
ii. Ar. ‑zd- > Kelt. ẟd. In W. this became th, through ẟẟ; in Ir. it appears as t, tt (≡ d‑d), Mn. Ir. d. Thus Ar. *nizdos ‘nest’ > Ir. net, nett, Mn. Ir. nead, W. nyth: Lat. nīdus, O. H. G. nest, E. nest, Skr. nīḍá‑ḥ, √sed- § 63 ii;—W. syth 'upright', sythu ‘set erect’, Ir. seta ‘tall’ < *sizd‑: Lat. sīdo < *sizdō, Skr. sī́dati ‘sits’ for *sīḍati < *sizd‑, Gk. ἵζω < *sizdō, √sed‑, redupl. *sizd‑;—W. gŵyth ‘anger’, ad-wyth ‘hurt, mischief, misfortune’ < *g̑heizd‑, Ml. Ir. goet ‘wound’ < *g̑hoizd‑: Skr. héḍa‑ḥ ‘anger’ < *g̑heizd-os, héḍati ‘angers, vexes, hurts’, Lith. žáizda ‘wound’, žeidžiù ‘I wound’, Av. zōižda- ‘hateful’;—W. brathu ‘to stab, bite’, brath ‘a stab, a bite’ < *bhrazd(h)‑: Russ. brozdá ‘bit, bridle’ < *bhrazd(h)‑, O. Bulg. brŭzda id. < *bhr̥zd(h)‑: with ‑st‑, Skr. bhr̥ṣṭí‑ḥ ‘tooth, point’, Lat. fastīgium for *farsti- (< *frasti‑?), √bhera‑s‑? Walde² 275, extension of √bher- ‘prick’: W. bêr ‘spear, spit’;—‑d- presents: W. chw̯ythaf ‘I blow’ < *su̯iz‑d‑, Ir. sētim id. < *su̯eiz‑d‑: Skr. kṣveḍati ‘utters an inarticulate sound, hisses, hums’ < *ksu̯eiz‑d‑: with ‑t‑, O. Bulg. svistati ‘sibilare’.
After a consonant the result is the same, for the consonant had dropped in Brit., and though st of that period remains (e.g. Lat. ‑st‑), the mutation d > ẟ is later, so that Brit. ‑ẟd > ẟẟ > th. Thus the prefix *eks- + d- gave *e(g)zd- > *eẟd- > eth- as in ethol ‘to elect’ < *egz-dol-: E. tale, Ger. Zahl ‘number’, W. didoli ‘to segregate’, Skr. dálam ‘piece’, Lith. dalìs ‘part’, √dē̆l- ‘divide’.
iii. Ar. ‑zg̑(h)‑, ‑zg(h)- > Kelt. ‑ẟg‑; in Ir. it appears as dg (≡ ẟᵹ); in W. *ẟᵹ became i̯ẟ by met.; after w, *ẟᵹ > ẟf. Thus ​W. maidd ‘whey’ < *meᵹ̑ẟ‑, met. for *meẟᵹ‑, Ir. medg ‘whey’, Gallo-Lat. mesga (s for ẟ? cf. § 96 ii (1)): Lat. mergo, Lith. mazgóti ‘to wash’, Skr. majjati ‘sinks’ < *mezɡ‑;—W. haidd ‘barley’ < *se‑zg‑, redupl. of *seg‑: Lat. seges;—perhaps W. twddf ‘a swelling’ for *tuẟᵹ- < *tuzg‑, s-stem of √teu̯ā- (: Goth. þūs‑) + ‑g- suff.: Lat. turgeo (Walde² rejects his first suggestion that this is from *tuzg- in favour of Solmsen’s *tūrigo, IF. xxvi 112ff., with ‑igo (: ago), though this is usually 1st conj., as navigāre).
W. gwẟf ‘throat’, N. W. dial. gwẟw, pl. gyẟfe, gyẟfa, S. W. dial. gwẟwg, pl. gyẟge, gythce, Bret. gouzoug, with ‑g for ‑ᵹ, § 111 vii (4), seems to require *guzg‑; ? g̑hu‑s‑, √g̑hēu‑, (: Lat. fauces) + ‑g‑, as in mwn‑g ‘mane’.
iv. Ar. ‑zb(h)- > Kelt. ẟb > Ir. db, W. ẟf. Thus W. oddf ‘knag, knot, nodule’, Ir. odb: Gk. ὀσφύς (< *ost-bhu‑?).
v. (1) The above groups are found only medially. Initially Ar. s- did not become z‑, but changed a following media to a tenuis ; thus sb- > sp‑, *sbh- > sph, etc., Siebs, KZ. xxxvii 277 fF. Hence the initial alternations b‑: sp- and dh‑: sth‑, etc., as in Germ. dumm, E. dumb < *dh‑: Germ. stumm, W. di-staw < sth‑, § 156 i (11).
(2) As s- could be prefixed or dropped in Ar. and for a long time after the dispersion, § 101 ii (1), Siebs l. c. holds that the above explains the initial alternation of a media and tenuis. In a large number of cases it undoubtedly does so. Where the media is general and the tenuis exceptional, it affords a satisfactory explanation, as in the case of the Kelt. t- in tafod ‘tongue’ corresponding to d- elsewhere (O. Lat. dingua), which is parallel to the t in taw! ‘be silent’ (s still kept in di-staw) corresponding to the *dh- which gives the d- of E. dumb. But it hardly explains the alternation when the tenuis is general and the media exceptional, as in W. craidd, Lat. cord‑, Lith. szirdìs, E. heart, Gk. καρδία < *k̑‑: Skr. hŕ̥d‑, Av. zərədā < *g̑h‑, since k̑ < sk̑h, without a trace of the s- in the whole of Europe, is improbable. But whatever the explanation may be, the fact of the alternation can hardly be called in question.
(3) As an example of the variety of forms produced by variable s‑, we may take √bhu̯erē‑, extd. *bhu̯erē̆‑ɡ‑/​‑ɡh‑/​‑q‑, orig. meaning 1. ‘hurl’, 2. ‘smite’; hence from 1. ‘sprinkle, cast (seed); roar, snore; rattle ; talk’; from 2. ‘break; crash, break out, burst; smell’. bh‑: W. bwrw ‘hurl, smite’, bwrw glaw ‘to rain’, bwrw had ‘to cast seed’ < *bhur’ɡ- (ur < u̯ₑr); Lat. frango < *bhrənɡ‑, frāgor < *bhr̥̄ɡ‑, frā- ​grāre, E. break, burst, W. brych, brith ‘speckled’;—sph‑: W. hwrẟ § 100 iii (2), chw̯yrn ‘swift’ § 90 iv (1), chw̯yrnu ‘to roar, snore’; Skr. sphuráti ‘spurns, darts, bounds’, sphū́rjati ‘rumbles, roars, rattles, crashes’ < *sphu̯r̯̄ɡ‑; Lat. sperno, spargo; E. spurn, sprinkle; Gk. σφάραγος; W. ffraeth § 96 iv (1), ffroen < *sphruɡ-nā (ru < u̯r̥);—p(h)‑: W. erch ‘speckled’, Gk. περκνός; W. arch-fa ‘stench’ < *phₑr’q‑; arogleu ‘a smell’, compound pₑroqo-prāɡ‑?—(p…​ɡ > t…​ɡ § 86 ii (3)) trywyẟ ‘scent’, trwyn ‘nose’ < *pruɡ-no‑, trawaf ‘I strike’ < *prug- (ru < u̯r̥);—spr > sr § 101 ii (3): W. rhuo ‘roar, talk loudly’ < *srogi̯‑, Gk. ῥέγχω, ῥέγκω, ῥόγχος, ῥύγχος, W. rhoch ‘snore’.
§ 98. i. (1) In Gk. and Kelt, a dental explosive sometimes appears after a guttural where the other languages have s; this is explained by the supposition that Ar. possessed after gutturals another spirant, similar to E. th in think, W. th, which is written þ. After an aspirated media, as s became z, § 96 i, so þ became ð; thus ghþ > ghð (gðh). Brugmann² I 790 ff.
(2) Ar. k̑þ- (Lat. s‑, Gk. κτ‑, Skr. kṣ‑) gave Kelt. t‑. Thus W. tydwet, tydwed b.b. 20, 36 ‘soil, land’ < *tit‑: Lat. situs ‘site’, Gk. κτίσις ‘settlement’, κτίζω ‘I found’, Skr. kṣití‑ḥ ‘abode, earth, land’: √k̑þei̯- ‘earth’, see (3) below.
Ar. ‑k̑þ- (Lat. ‑x‑, Gk. ‑κτ‑, Skr. ‑kṣ‑) gave Kelt. ‑kt‑. Thus W. arth ‘bear’, Ir. art < *artos < *arktos: Gk. ἄρκτος, Lat. ursus < *urcsos, Skr. ŕ̥kṣaḥ: Ar. *ark̑þos, *r̥k̑þos § 63 v (2).
(3) Ar. g̑hð- (Lat. h‑, Gk. χθ‑, Skr. h‑, Germ. g‑, Lith. ž‑) gave Kelt. d‑. Thus Ir. indhe, W. doe ‘yesterday’ < *desī = Lat. heri: Gk. χθές, Skr. hyáḥ, § 75 vii (2); this occurs medially in W. neithi̯w͡yr ‘last night’ 78 i (2) for *neith-ẟi̯w͡yr < *nokti di̯eserāi (assuming the case to be loc.): O. H. G. gestaron, E. yester‑, Lat. hesternus: Ar. *g̑hði̯es‑, suff. *‑ero‑/​‑tero‑.—W. ty-ẟyn ‘a measure of land, a small farm’ lit. ‘*house-land’, tref-ẟyn b.t. 14, gwely-ẟyn (gwelitin b.b. 64), Ml. pl. tyẟynneu for *‑ẟy̆́ni̯eu < *domi̯‑: Lat. humus, Gk. χθών: Ar. *g̑hðem- ‘earth’; allied to this as meaning ‘terrestrial’ are the names for ‘man’: W. dyn, Ir. duine < *doni̯o- < *g̑hðomi̯‑: Lat. homo, Lith. žmů̃, žmo-gùs pl. žmónės, Goth, guma pl. gumans: Ar. *g̑hðem‑. This may be for *g̑hði̯em- as Pedersen suggests, Gr. i 89–90; in that case the root must be *g̑hðei̯‑, which therefore must be the same as ​√k̑þei̯- above, with Ar. alternation k̑‑/​g̑h‑; hence W. daear ‘earth’ < *g̑hðii̯-ₑrā, √g̑hðei̯‑.
(4) ɡ$^{u̯}$hð- (Gk. φθ‑) gave Kelt. d‑. Thus W. dar-fod ‘to waste away, perish’, dar-fodedigaeth ‘phthisis’ < *dar- < *ɡ$^{u̯}$hðₑr‑: Gk. φθείρω < *ɡ$^{u̯}$ðer‑; W. dyddfu ‘to pine, waste away’ < *di‑d‑m- redupl., ‑m- suff.: Gk. φθῑ́ω, ἀπο-φθίθω; in Skr. with *q$^{u̯}$þ‑, as kṣárati ‘flows, passes away, perishes’, kṣī́yate ‘decreases, wanes’.
ii. In Gk. we sometimes find ζ- where the other languages have i̯‑. This equation is held to imply an Ar. palatal spirant j (the sound which is written ᵹ̑, i. e. palatal ᵹ, in other connexions in this book; it differs from i̯ in being pronounced with more friction of the breath). Examples are W. i̯au ‘yoke’, Lat. jugum, Skt. yugá‑m, Gk. ζυγόν, all < Ar. *jugóm;—W. i̯ās ‘a seething’, Skr. yásyati ‘seethes, bubbles’, Gk. ζέω: Ar. √jes‑;—W. uwd ‘porridge’, Ml. W. i̯wt § 37 ii, Bret. iot, Lat. jūs, Skr. yūṣa‑m ‘broth’, Gk. ζῡ́μη: Ar. √jēu‑; W. i̯wrch, O. Corn. yorch: Gk. ζόρξ § 65 iii (2);—W. i̯oli: Gk. ζῆλος § 201 iii (2).
The Sonants.
§ 99. i. Initially before vowels, and medially between vowels, Ar. l, r, m, n (so in most of the languages, but r- > ἐρ- in Gk.) remained unchanged in Pr. Kelt. In W. initial l- and r- became ll- and rh‑, §&nsp;103 i (4). Many examples occur in the above sections; as W. llost < *lompst- § 96 ii (3); W. halen ‘salt’ § 58 ii; W. rhwym, √reig̑- § 95 ii (2); W. adferaf, √bher- § 58 iii; W. mis ‘month’ § 95 iii (1); W. haf, Ir. sam ‘summer’ § 94 i; W. naw ‘nine’ § 76 iii (1); W. ychen ‘oxen’ § 69 v. The treatment of these sonants in combination with s has been discussed in § 95, and in combination with s and an explosive in § 96. There remains the combination of sonants with one another and with explosives.
ii. (1) Ar. ml‑, mr- remained in Pr. Kelt., but in Brit. they became bl‑, br- and appear so in W.; in Ir. both m- and b- appear. Thus W. blys < *mlit‑s- § 96 ii (5);—W. bro ‘region’, Ir. mruig ‘boundary’ < *mrog‑: Lat. margo, O. H. G. marka, O. E. mearc, E. march § 65 ii (1);—W. brag ‘malt’, Ir. mraich ​< *mrəq‑, W. braenu ‘to rot’ < *mrəq‑n‑, √merāˣq- ‘decay’: Lat. fracēs ‘oil-dregs’, Gk. ἀμόργη (< *ἀμόρκᾱ, whence Lat. amurca Walde² 464).—Similarly Ar. m- before l̥ or r̥, short or long: W. blith ‘milk, milch’, Ir. mlicht, blicht < *ml̥k̑t‑, § 61 i; W. blawd ‘flour’ < *ml̥̄t- § 61 ii.—The same change probably took place medially also; in that position both m and b would now appear as f, but in O. W. ṽ from m is written m, while v from b appears as b; and such a form as amcibret ox. < *m̥bi-kom-(p)ro-ret- § 156 i (9) implies v < b; so Brit. Sabrina probably contains *sam‑. In the Coligny calendar tio-cobrextio very probably contains *kom-rekt- = W. cyfraith, Rhys CG. 16. But. W. cyṽ- < *kom- persisted by analogy: cymreith (m ≡ v) l.l. 120; cf. § 16 iv (3). (Lat. m…​l became mb…​l in cumulus, stimulus § 66 ii (1).)
(2) Ar. medial ‑lm‑, ‑rm- remained in Pr. Kelt., and ‑lmp‑, ‑rmp- became ‑lm‑, ‑rm‑; they appear so in Ir.; in W. the m appears as f or w̯. Thus W. celfydd ‘skilful’, celfyddyd ‘craft’, O. Bret. celmed gl. efficax, Ir. calma ‘doughty’ < *qₑl’mp‑: Lat. scalpo, Lith. sklempiù ‘I polish’, Skr. kalpanā ‘fashioning, invention’, kl̥ptáḥ ‘arranged, trimmed, cut’: E. skill, Goth. skilja ‘butcher’; √(s)qel‑, extd. *(s)qelep‑;—W. cwrf, cwrw̯, Ml. W. kwrɏf, coll. cwrw for cwrwf or cwrw ‘beer’, Ir. cuirm, Gaul. κοῦρμι, < *korm‑: Lat. cremor ‘thick juice obtained from vegetables’; lit. ‘*decoction’, √qerem- § 95 iii (1);—W. serfyll ‘prostrate’ < *stₑrm‑: Lat. strāmen, Gk. στρῶμα, Skr. stárīman- ‘strewing’, √sterō- § 63 vii (2).—So in old compounds: W. gorfynt ‘envy’, Bret. gourvent, Ir. format < *u̯er-ment‑: Lat. gen. mentis, E. mind: Gk. ὑπερ-μεν-ής with same pref. and root: √men‑; but later compounds may have rm, as gor-moẟ ‘too much’.
Probably the m was already somewhat loose in Brit., as Gaul. ceruesia ‘beer’ beside κοῦρμι shows it to have been in Gaul. Hence new formations with a new m might be treated differently. Thus, in Lat. loanwords, while we have usually lf, rf, as in palf < palma, terfyn < terminus, we may have lm, rm, as in Garmon < Germānus, salm < psalmus, prob. borrowed later.
iii. (1) Ar. ‑nl‑, ‑nr- became ‑ll‑, ‑rr- respectively in Pr. Kelt. Thus W. gwall ‘want, defect’, gwallus Ỻ.A. 154 ‘negligent’, now ‘faulty’, Bret. gwall ‘defect’ < *u̯an-lo‑, √u̯ā̆n‑: Lat. vānus, ​E. want;—W. garr ‘knee’, Bret. garr ‘jambe’ < *gan‑r- § 63 vii (4). But in compounds in which the sounds came together after the Brit. period, the n remains, and the group becomes ‑nll‑, ‑nrh- in W., as in an-llad, an-rheg § 111 i (1).
(2) Ar. ‑ln- also became ‑ll- in Pr. Kelt. Thus W. dall ‘blind’, Ir. dall ‘blind’, cluas-dall ‘deaf’ < *dh(u̯)al’-no‑: Goth. dwals ‘foolish’, O. E. ge-dwelan ‘to err’, √dhu̯elāˣ‑. But ‑rn- remained, as in W. chw̯yrn ‘swift’ < *sphern- § 96 iv (1); W. carn ‘hoof’, Bret. karn, Galat. κάρνον· τὴν σάλπιγγα, Hes. < *k̑ₑr’n‑, √k̑erāˣu̯‑; W. darn, sarn, etc. § 63 iii; Kelt. suffix *‑arn- < *‑ₑr’n‑, as in W. haearn, cadarn.
iv. (1) Ar. ‑mn‑, ‑nm- remained in Pr. Kelt., and appear so in Ir. (or with an epenthetic vowel); in W. the mutated form f (or w̯ § 102 iii (1)) takes the place of m. Thus W. safn ‘mouth’, Bret. staoñ ‘palate’ < *stom‑n‑: Gk. στόμα § 76 vii (4);—W. cyfnesaf ‘kinsman’ < *kom-nessam‑, § 148 i (1);—Ir. ainm ‘name’, O. W. anu < *an’mn̥ § 63 v (2); W. menw̯-yd ‘mind, pleasure’, Ir. menme ‘mind’ < *men‑m‑: Skr. mánman- ‘mind, thought’;—W. an-fad ‘atrocious’ (: mad ‘good’), Gaul. (Sequ.) anmat… ‘unlucky’ < *n̥-mat‑: Lat. mātūrus orig. ‘in good time’ Walde² 470.
An explosive probably dropped before the group: W. pythefnos, pythewnos ‘fortnight’ lit. ‘15 nights’ for *pymtheṽnoeth (dissim. of nasals) < *pempede(k)m-noktes < Kelt. *q$^{u̯}$eŋq$^{u̯}$edekm̥ noktes.
(2) Ar. ‑rl- and ‑lr- can hardly be traced; we should expect them to give ‑ll- and ‑rr-. Late ‑rl- gave ‑rll- § 111 i (1).
v. (1) A group consisting of l, r, m or n and a single explosive remained in Pr. Kelt. (except that p dropped, § 86, and a nasal assumed the position of a following explosive). The further development of such groups in W. is dealt with in §§ 104–6.
(2) When a liquid came before two explosives the first explosive dropped; thus W. perth ‘bush’ < *pertā < *q$^{u̯}$erq$^{u̯}$‑t‑: Lat. quercus < *perq$^{u̯}$us § 86 ii (2): O. H. G. forha, O. E. furh, E. fir, Skr. parkaṭī ‘ficus religiosa’;—W. cellt ‘flint’ < *qelq‑t‑: Lat. calx § 95 iv (2);—W. arth, Ir. art< *arktos § 98 i (2).
(3) But when a nasal came before two explosives, the nasal dropped; thus W. trwyth ‘wash, lye, urine’ < *tronkt‑: W. trwnc ‘urine’ < *tronq‑: Lith. trenkù ‘I wash’ (W. trochi ‘to bathe’ < ​*tronq‑, see vi (3)) : Lat. stercus, Bret. stroñk ‘excrement’. It is seen that the loss is later than the change onk > unk § 65 iii (1) ; it also takes place in Lat. loanwords, as W. pwyth ‘stitch’ < punctum; but in the later of these the first explosive drops, as in sant < sanctus.
(4) When two explosives came before a liquid or nasal, the group remained in Pr. Kelt.; thus W. eithr ‘except’, Ir. echtar < *ektro‑s: Lat. exterus, extrā, Osc. ehtrad (‑x- for *‑c- is a Lat. innovation, Walde² 263);—W. aethn-en ‘aspen’ < *aktn- < *aptn‑: Lith. apuszė ‘aspen’, O. H. G. apsa, O. E. æps, E. asp: Lat. pōpulus < *ptō̆ptol‑, Gk. πτελέα ‘elm’.
But a double explosive before a sonant was not distinguished in Ar. from a single; thus ettre was not distinct from etre, Meillet, Intr.² 102. In Homer and the Veda the first syllable is metrically long; in Plautus and Aristophanes, short; ordinarily in Gk. and Lat., doubtful. In old Kelt. formations we have one t for two, as in Gaul. Atrebates, W. adref ‘homewards’ < *atreb- < *attr- < *ad‑tr‑. In later formations the double consonant remained, as in W. athrist ‘sad’ < *attrīstis < *ad- + Lat. trīstis. kr, tr may develop as kkr, ttr in W. as in ochr, rhuthr § 104 iii (2). A double media in Brit. is treated regularly as a single tenuis in W., as in edrych ‘to look’ < *etr- < *ed‑dr- < *ad‑dr- or *eg‑dr‑; once as a double tenuis; see l. c.
vi. (1) A group of the form nt or nd, followed immediately or mediately by a liquid or nasal, has tended from an early period in Kelt. to become a double explosive tt or dd with nasalization of the preceding vowel. In Ir. the double consonant was simplified before the sonant; see cēol, abra, cobrith (b ≡ ƀ) below. The change, being a case of dissimilation of the continuants, does not take place regularly, § 102 i; it often exists side by side with the regular development of the group. Thus O.W. ithr ‘between’, Bret, etre, Van. itre, Ir. eter (not *ēt- the regular Ir. for *ent‑) beside Bret. eñtre, Corn. yntre: Lat. inter, Skr. antár;—W. athrugar ‘pitiless’ < *ąttr- beside Ir. ētrōcar < *entr‑, both < *n̥-trougākaros;—W. cathl ‘song’ < *kąttlo‑, Ir. cēol id. < *kęt(t)lo‑, O. W. centhliat, centhiliat (en ≡ ę) gl. canorum, beside Ir. cētal < *kentlo‑, Bret. keñtel ‘lesson’;—W. allwedd f. ‘key’ for *alchwedd, Bret. alc’houez metath. for *achlweẟ < *n̥-ql(ə)u̯-íiā (‘unlocker’, ​cf. agoriad ‘opener’ used instead in N. W.), also allwydd m. < ‑íios: Lat. claudo, clāvis, Gk. κληίς, etc.;—W. achles ‘shelter’ < *n̥-kl̥-stā (n̥- ‘in’), √k̑el- ‘hide’: O. H. G. hulst ‘cover’, W. clyd § 63 iii;—W. achenog ‘needy’, achen ‘need’, beside W. anghenog, angen, Ir. ēcen ‘need’ < *n̥k-en‑: Gk. ἀνάγκη.
Mediae: W. adyn ‘wretch’ < *ąddoni̯os < *n̥-doni̯os ‘not-man’, beside the later annyn ‘wretch’, annynol ‘inhuman’, Mn. Ir. anduine;—W. agor ‘to open’ < *ąggor- < *n̥-ghor- (n̥- negative), beside egor id. < *eggor- (pref. *ek‑), √g̑her- ‘enclose’: Lat. hortus, Gk. χόρτος, W. garth;—W. w͡ybren ‘cloud, sky’, O. Corn. huibren, Ml. Corn. ebron, Bret. Van. ebr, beside Ir. imrim ‘storm’: Lat. imber, § 100 v;—W. hebrwng ‘to accompany, convey’, O. Corn. hebrenchiat, Mn. Corn. hembronk, Ml. Bret. hambrouk < *sem-broŋk‑: Skr. sam- ‘with’, Goth. briggan, E. bring;—Bret. abrant ‘eyebrow’, Corn. abrans < *abbr‑, Ir. abra < *abr‑, beside W. amrant < *am-brant- (n̥- ‘in’): Lat. gen. front-is;—Ir. cobrith ‘help’, beside W. cymryd ‘to take’ < *kom-bhr̥‑t‑. The nasalized vowel sometimes develops a new nasal, resulting in a new nd, etc., which does not become nn; thus W. enderig ‘steer’, O. W. enderic gl. vitulus, beside W. anner ‘heifer’ which contains old nd; Gwyn. dial, ắŋ-gar ‘hot breath, steam’ for lit. W. ager ‘steam’ < *ągger‑, beside angerdd (ng ≡ ŋŋ) < *‑aŋger‑, all < *n̥-ɡ$^{u̯}$her- § 92 v.
Similarly ltr > *ttr > thr in athro § 76 v (5).
(2) It has been conjectured that an explosive + n sometimes became a double explosive in Kelt.; Pedersen, Gr. i 158, suggests that this took place immediately before the accent. Thus Ir. brecc, W. brych ‘speckled’ < *brikkos < *bhr̥knós: Gk. περκνός § 101 iii (2); as ‑cc occurs in Ir., the doubling here is not Brit. r̥kk < r̥k § 61 i (1);—W. crwth a kind of fiddle, croth ‘womb’, Ir. cruit ‘harp, hump’ < *qrutn‑: Lith. krūtìs ‘woman’s breast’, krūtìnė ‘breast’.—But many doublings attributed to this cause are due to other causes; see Thurneysen Gr. 88.
(3) It seems as if n + explosive coming after a sonant might become a double explosive, as in W. rhoch ‘snore’: Gk. ῥόγχος, ῥέγκω § 97 v (3). We have nk > kk > c’h after a nasal in the Bret. mutation after ma ‘my’, nao ‘nine’, as va c’haloun ‘my heart’, nao c’hant ‘900’; but the development is regular in W.
§ 100. i. (1) Ar. i̯- (Lat. j‑, Gk. ῾, Germ. j, Lith. j, Skr. y‑) remained in Pr. Kelt.; it disappears in Ir., but remains in W. Thus W. i̯euanc, Bret. iaouank, Corn. iouenc, Ir. ōac, ōc: Lat. ​juvencus, O. H. G. jung, E. young, Skr. yuvas̑áḥ ‘youthful’ < Ar. i̯uu̯n̥k̑os;—W. i̯aith ‘language’, Bret. iez < *i̯ek‑t‑: O. H. G. jehan ‘to say’; O. W. I̯ud- ‘*warrior’, W. udd ‘lord’ < *i̯eudh‑; i̯ôn, i̯ôr ‘lord’ < Kelt. *i̯ud-nós, i̯ud-rós § 66 v: Gk. ὑσμῑ́νη ‘battle’, Skr. yodháḥ ‘warrior’, yúdh id., yúdhyati ‘fights’; √i̯eudh‑.
(2) Ar. u̯- (Lat. v‑, Gk. ϝ- (lost), Germ. w‑, Lith. v‑, Skr. v‑) remained in Pr. Kelt.; it appears in Ir. as f‑, in W. as gw̯‑. Thus W. gw̯aith f. ‘fois’ (tair gwaith ‘3 times’), Ir. fecht id. < *u̯ekt‑, W. ar-w̯ain ‘to lead’ < *ari-u̯eg‑n- § 203 iv: Lat. veho, Gk. ἔχος Hes., ὄχος, Skr. váhati ‘conveys, draws, leads’, O. H. G. wagan, E. wain, way; √u̯eg̑h‑;—W. gw̯īr ‘true’, Ir. fīr: Lat. vērus, O. H. G. wār; Ar. *u̯ēros;—W. gw̯edd, gw̯ŷs § 63 iv; gw̯all § 99 iii (1).—So before l or r: W. gw̯lyb § 58 iv, gw̯lad § 63 vii (2), gw̯raidd § 91.
Though gw̯r- generally remains, it became gw̯n- in gw̯nā́ ‘make, do’: Bret. gra, Corn. gwra < *u̯rag‑: cf. Corn. gwreans ‘work’, gw̯rear ‘worker’ < *u̯reɡ‑. In the Oldest W. r remains: guragun tagc (≡ gw̯raᵹwn taŋc) b.s.ch. 2 ‘let us make peace‘, wreith b.a. 22 ‘was made’ < *u̯rekt‑; later gwnech l.l. 120, bt. 64 ‘may do’ < *u̯rek‑s‑; Ml. W. goreu ‘did’ < *u̯erāg- < perf. *u̯e-u̯rōɡ-e; √u̯ereg‑: E. work, Gk. ἔργον (ϝέργον). Also in gw̯nī́o ‘to sew’: Bret. gria id., Corn. gwry ‘seam’ < *u̯rēɡ‑, same root; cf. Ir. fracc ‘needle’, fraig ‘osier’: Gk. ῥῆγος, etc. (orig. meaning ‘bend’, hence ‘weave’, hence ‘work’; see Walde s. v. vergo).
When gw̯r- or gw̯l- is followed by a rounded vowel or w̯-diphthong, it may become gr- or gl- by dissimilation: W. grug for gw̯rug § 75 ii; glyw for gw̯lyw § 102 iii (2).
(3) Ar. ‑i̯- and ‑u̯- between vowels remained in Pr. Kelt.; they disappear in Ir., but generally remain in W., though sometimes altered; see §§ 75, 76, and iii (1) below.
ii. (1) After an initial consonant i̯ or u̯ was liable to drop from the earliest period § 101 ii (2); thus W. doe, Lat. heri, Gk. χθές: Skr. hyáḥ § 98 i (3);—W. dall: Goth. dwals § 99 iii (2). But u̯ remained in Brit. after guttural mediae, § 92 iv, and after s- § 94 iv; and i̯ remained in some forms. In W. in this position i̯ generally became i; thus W. dī́eu ‘days’ for di̯eu as in Mn. W. trĭ́di̯au ‘3 days’ (the accentuation implies O. W. di̯‑) < Brit. *di̯ou̯es, < *di̯éu̯es (i̯ou̯ > W. i̯eu § 76 iii (3)). The hesitation between i̯ and i must go back to O. W. when the accent was on the ult. and the i would be unaccented. Lat. i became i̯ early, and ​we have diawl monosyll. § 34 ii < diab(o)lus, but pl. di|ef|yl 3 syll. m.a. i 192a for *di̯efyl < diabolī.
After medial consonants u̯ and i̯ remained, as in W. pedw̯ar ‘four’ 63 vii (4);—W. celwydd ‘lie’ < *kalu̯íi̯o‑: Lat. calumnia < *calu̯omniā;—W. dedwydd ‘happy’ < *do-tu̯íi̯os: Lat. tuēri, tūtus, O. Icel. þȳða ‘friendship’, Goth. þiuþ ‘good’ noun, √teu̯ē(i̯)- (not √teu̯ā- ‘swell, increase’ according to Walde s. v. tueor);—W. pl. ending ‑i̯on § 121 i; verbal suffix ‑i- § 201 iii (6); see also iii (2) below.
(2) Between two consonants u̯ and i̥ had dropped in Brit.; thus W. garr ‘knee’ < *ganr- < *g̑ₑn(u̯)r- § 63 vii (4);—chwann-en < *sqond- < *s‑qon(i̯)d- ib.;—golchi < *u̯olk- < *u̯ol(i̯)q$^{u̯}$- § 89 ii (2).—On ‑w̯- which came later between consonants in W., see § 42.
(3) Between i or i̥ and a consonant, u̥ dropped; as in chw̯ŷd ‘vomit’ < *spi(u̯)t‑, √spei̯eu̯- § 96 iv (1);—W. hoed ‘grief’, Ir. saeth < *sai̯(u̯)t‑: Lat. saevus (orig. ‘sore, sad’, see Walde s.v.);—W. oed ‘age’ < *ai̯(u̯)t‑: Lat. aetas, older aevitas. Hence while W. has final ‑yw, ‑oyw it has no ‑ywd, ‑oywd, ‑ywg, etc.
iii. (1) In Brit., in the diphthong ii̯ (ei̯, ai̯), when accented or following the accent, i̯ became a spirant probably like French j, which became ẟ, and appears so in W. Thus ‑íi̯os > ‑yẟ, ‑íi̯ā > ‑eẟ; ´‑ii̯- > ‑oeẟ § 75 iv. But the change did not take place in oi̯ or īi̯.
(2) The same change took place after l or r following the accent; thus ´li̯ > *lẟ > W. ll; and ´ri̯ > *rẟ ≡ W. rẟ. Examples: li̯: W. gallaf ‘I can’: Lith. galiù ‘I can’;—W. all- in all-fro ‘foreigner’, Gaul. Allo-broges < *ali̯o‑: Lat. alius, Gk. ἄλλος < *álios;—W. gwell ‘better’: Skr. várya‑ḥ ‘eligible’, várīyān ‘better’: O. E. wel, E. well, orig. ‘choice’, √u̯el- ‘wish’.—ri̯: W. arddaf ‘I plough’: Lith. ariù ‘I plough’, Goth. arjan ‘to plough’;—Pr. Kelt. Iu̯ér-i̯on‑, ‑iann- > W. Iwerddon ‘Ireland’, Ir. gen. Ērenn;—W. morddwyd ‘thigh’: O. H. G. muriot ‘thigh’;—W. hwrdd ‘a violent push’ < *spuri̯- (ur < u̯ₑr § 63 viii (1)) √sphu̯erē- ‘hurl, smite’ § 96 iv (1): Lith. spiriù ‘I kick’ (ir < ₑr § 63 iii); also possibly W. g‑ordd fem. ‘mallet’ (g- excrescent § 112 ii (2)), O. W. ord ox. 2, Bret. orz < *púri̯-ā ‘smiter’: Gk. σφῦρα ‘mallet’ < *σφυρι̯ᾱ; in that case Ir. ordd is from British (a not improbable borrowing, cf. Pedersen Gr. i 22–4).
(3) The change of i̯ to *ẟ in the above cases took place before the Roman period, for there is no example of it in any word borrowed from Lat. The alteration was therefore earlier than the period of vowel affection, and the *ẟ could not affect; hence arẟaf, not *eirẟaf, etc.
The fact that the change does not take place initially corroborates the view that it did not happen before an accented vowel. All forms that occur can be explained under this supposition; thus all- < *áli̯o‑, but ail ‘second’ < *ali̯ós, etc.; see § 165 vi.
iv. Ar. ‑mi̯- became ‑ni̯- in Pr. Kelt.; as W. dyn ‘man’, Ir. duine < *g̑hðomi̯o‑, § 98 i (3), § 121 i;—W. myned, ‘to go’, Ml. Bret. monet, Corn. mones < *momi̯- for *mami̯- § 65 v (2), by assim. for *bam‑i̯- < *ɡ$^{u̯}$ₑm‑i̯‑, √ɡ$^{u̯}$em‑: Lat. venio, Gk. βαίνω both < *ɡ$^{u̯}$ₑmi̯ō, Goth. qiman, E. come. The ‑i- disappeared before the ‑e- of the suffix; the suffix may have been ‑at‑, § 203 ii, which following the accent would become ‑et- after i̯, see § 65 vi (1). The i̯ was lost in the compounds an-fon, dan-fon ‘to accompany, send’, prefix § 156 ii (1).
v. In some cases metathesis of i̥ took place in Brit. Thus Ir. suide ‘soot’ comes from *sodi̯o‑, but W. hudd- in huddygl ‘soot’ implies *soi̯d‑; O. E. sōt, Lith. sů́džiai ‘soot’ have L°-grade; so W. suddaf ‘I sink’ < *soi̯d- < *sodi̯- beside W. soddaf ‘I sink’, sawdd ‘subsidence’ < *sōd‑, √sed- § 63 ii.—W. drum ‘ridge’ < *droimm- < *drommi̯- < *dros‑mi‑: Ir. druimm < *drommi- (i-stem): Lat. dorsum < *dr̥s-so‑m, Gk. δειράς < *ders-ad‑, Skr. dr̥ṣ-ád ‘rock, millstone’, √deres‑;—W. turi̯o ‘to delve’ < *toirg- < *torgi̯‑: Lat. porca § 101 iii (1);—W. ar-o-fun ‘intend’, dam-(f)un-aw, dym-un-o ‘desire’, with ‑fun- < *moin- < *moni̯‑: Lat. moneo, √menēi̯‑, extension of √men- ‘mind’;—W. ulw ‘ashes, powder’ < *oi̯lu- < *polu̯i̯‑: Lat. pulvis < *polu̯is;—W. Urien, O. W. Urb-gen § 25 i < *oirbo-gen- < *orbi̯o‑: Gaul. Orbius ‘heir’, Lat. orbus, Gk. ὀρφανός;—W. wyneb ‘face’, in comp. wynab- r.m. 30 < *einep‑, *einap‑ < *eni̯-əq$^{u̯}$- (§ 65 vi (1)): Skr. ánīkam ‘face’ < *eni-əq$^{u̯}$-, √ōq$^{u̯}$‑; the un-metathesized form is seen in O. W. einepp, where ein- is from *en(i̯)- § 70 v, since old ei had then become ui ≡ Mn. wy; O. W. enep, Corn. eneb Bret. enep, Ir. enech show i̯ lost, which occurs before e in Brit., see vi below, and cf. § 35 ii (2), and is usual in Ir., cf. i above;—W. wybr, wybren ‘cloud’ Ỻ.A. 104, 91, ‘sky’, O. Corn. huibren gl. nubes < *eibbr- < *embhri- § 99 vi (1): Lat. imber gen. imbris (i-stem) < *embhri- ​(: Gk. ἀφρός ‘foam’, Ir. imrim ‘storm’); without metathesis and with i̯ lost, Bret. Van. ebr, Corn. ebron, ebbarn; again, with metath., W. nwyf-re ‘sky’ < *neib- < *nebhi̯o‑; the root is *enebh‑, of which *embh- is FV, and *nebh- is VF; with ‑l- suffix, § 90. (W. nef ‘heaven’ is however from √nem- ‘curve’ hence ‘vault’, as shown by Bret. neñv, Ir. nem; also seen in W. nant ‘vale’ < *nm̥‑t‑.)
vi. i̯ drops before i or e, see iv, v, above; cf. § 75 ii (2).
Interchange of consonants
Consonant Alternation.
§ 101. i. Comparison of the derived languages points to certain alternations of consonants in Pr. Aryan; they are mostly the result of dialectal variation, and of the accidents of consonant combination. The same causes produced the same results after the dispersion; and while some of the alternations mentioned below may be primitive, others are certainly later, and some comparatively recent. Three kinds of alternations may be distinguished: (1) the consonant alternates with zero; (2) the manner of articulation varies; (3) the place of articulation varies.
ii. The cases where the consonant alternates with zero are the following:
(1) Initial s- before a consonant is variable; thus Gk. στέγος, Lith. stógas ‘roof’, Skr. sthágati ‘conceals’: Gk. τέγος, Lat. tego, W. to ‘roof’; √(s)theɡ‑,—Ir. scaraim, W. ysgaraf ‘I separate’ Lith. skiriù id.: Lat. caro ‘flesh’, orig. ‘piece (of flesh)’, Gk. κείρω, Skr. kr̥ntáti ‘cuts’: √(s)qer‑;—W. chwech ‘six’ < *su̯ek̑s: Armen. vec̣ < *u̯ek̑s;—Lat. spargo, E. sprinkle: Gk. περκνός, W. erch ‘speckled, grey’ < *perq‑, § 97 v (3). This treatment of s- persisted long after the dispersion; and many of the examples found are undoubtedly cases of the dropping or the adding of s- in the derived languages. In Kelt. s- seems to have been added and dropped with a freedom hardly equalled elsewhere.—As ‑s was an extremely common ending in Ar., it is natural to suppose that ‑s st- would be confused with ‑s t‑, so that it would not always be easy to decide whether the initial had s- or not. But some scholars regard the s- as a “preformative” or more or less meaningless prefix; see Schrijnen KZ. xlii 97 ff.
(2) A consonantal sonant after an initial consonant was sometimes dropped. Thus W. chwech, Gk. ῾ϝεξ < *su̯ek̑s: Lat. sex, Goth. saihs < *sek̑s;—Gk. πλατύς, W. llydan, √plethē- ‘spread out, stretch’: without ‑l‑, Lat. patēre, Gk. πετάννυμι, W. edau ‘thread’;—W. brau ‘brittle’ ​< *bhrāɡ‑, Lat. frango, E. break: Skr. bhanákti ‘breaks’, Ir. com-boing ‘confringit’, Armen. bek ‘broken’;—W. cryg ‘hoarse’ < *qri‑q‑, ysgrech ‘scream’ < *s‑qriq-nā, Gk. κρίζω, κριγή, E. shriek, Lat. crīmen, √qrei‑: without ‑r‑, W. cwyn ‘complaint’ < *qei-no‑, Ir. cōinim ‘I mourn’, Germ. heiser ‘hoarse’, O. E. hās > E. hoarse (intrusive r);—W. craff ‘sharp’, crafu ‘to scratch’, crach ‘scabs’, E. scrape: without ‑r‑, W. cafn ‘trough’ (scooped out), E. scab, shave, shape, Gk. σκάπτω, σκάφος, Lat. scabo, Lith. skabùs ‘sharp’: *sqra‑b‑/​‑bh‑/​‑p‑;—Lat. brevis < *breg̑hu̯is, Gk. βραχύς < *br̥g̑hus: without ‑r‑, Ir. berr, W. byrr, Corn. ber, Bret. berr ‘short’ < *bek’-s-ro‑s (with ‑ro- suff. like W. hīr ‘long’ < *sē-ro-s); Ir. bec(c) ‘small’ < *beggos with dimin. gemination; W. bach ‘small’ < *bₑg̑h(u)so‑; bychan ‘small’, O. W. bichan, Bret., Corn., bichan < *biksogno- < *briks- < *br̥g̑h(u)so‑; bechan < *beg̑h(u)so‑, assumed to be f. in W.—Later examples of lost ‑r- are E. speak: O. E. sprecan, Germ. sprechen;—W. gw̯aith ‘work’: (g)w̯reith § 100 i (2);—Guto (t ≡ tt) hypocoristic form of Gruffudd.
(3) Between initial s- and a sonant, a labial or guttural was liable to drop; thus spr: sr, and sql: sl, etc., Siebs, KZ. xxxvii 285 ff.—W. cleddyf ‘sword’, ar-choll ‘wound’ § 156 i (6), clais ‘bruise’ < *qləd-ti‑, claddu ‘to bury’, √qolād- ‘strike, cut, dig’: W. lladd ‘kill, cut off, mow’, Ir. slaidim ‘I strike, cut’ < *slad- < *sqləd‑;—W. ffrwd ‘stream’, ffrydio ‘to gush’ < *spru‑t‑, Germ. Sprudel ‘fount, gush, flow of water’: W. rhwd, rhewyn, etc., § 95 i, < *sru‑;—W. ffroen f. ‘nostril’, Ir. srōn f. ‘nose’ < *sprugnā; without s- (p…​g > t…​g 86 ii (3)), W. trwyn m. ‘nose’ < *prugno‑s, trywyẟ ‘scent’ < *prugíi̯o‑: Gk. ῥύγχος ‘pig’s snout’ < *srunɡhos § 97 v (3).—So prob. Lat. scaevus, W. chwith § 96 iii (2) < *sq‑, by (2) above for *sql‑: Lat. laevus, Gk. λαιός < *sl‑; by (2) *sl- > *s‑, whence W. asswy < *ad-sou̯i̯‑, Skr. savyáḥ; as sk̑- alternates with sq‑, see iv (1), the simple root is perhaps *k̑lei‑: Lat. clīno, clīvus, W. cledd ‘left (hand)’, go-gledd ‘north’. So perhaps Lat. lact- for *slact- for *sqlact‑: Gk. γάλα, W. glas-dwr § 63 vii (3);—W. ffreu b.b. 37 ‘fruit’ < *sprāg‑: Lat. frāgum < *srāg‑.
(4) A semivowel after a long vowel was often dropped: Skr. aṣṭā́u ‘eight’, Goth. ahtau: Skr. aṣṭā́, Gk. ὀκτώ, Lat. octō. The reduced grade may come from either form ; see √uerē(i̯)- § 63 vii (5).
Other sonants might disappear finally after long vowels, as Gk. κύων: Skr. s̑vā́ ‘dog’, Lith. szů̃, Ir. cū, W. ci;—Gk. μήτηρ: Skr. mātā́.
iii. While the place of articulation remained the same, the mode of articulation might vary.
(1) At the end of a root a tenuis frequently alternated with a media. Thus O. E. dȳfan, E. dive < *dheup‑: W. dwfn ‘deep’, Gaul. dubno‑, Lith. dubùs ‘deep’ < *dhub‑, √dheup/b‑;—Lat. gen. pācis: Lat. pango √pā̆k̑/g̑‑;—Lat. sparg-o: Gk. περκ-νός, W. erch, ii (1) above;—Lat. plancus, W. talch: E. flake, √pelāq/ɡ- § 86 ii (3);—Lat. ​lūceo, Gk. λευκός, W. llug ‘light’: W. go-leu ‘light’, Gaul. Lugu‑, √leuq/ɡ‑—So Lat. porca, W. rhych ‘furrow’ < *pr̯k̑: W. turio ‘to delve’ < *torg̑i̯- (t- for p- § 86 ii (3)); W. tyrchio ‘to delve’ is a late form from twrch = Lat. porcus, prob. allied to the above words despite Armen. herk ‘newly ploughed land’ which implies ‑q‑; (Lith. par̃szas ‘pig’ implies ‑k̑‑); see § iv (1).
In the same position an aspirated media alternated with a media:—W. oen ‘lamb’, O. E. ēanian ‘yean’ < *aɡ$^{u̯}$hn‑: Gk. ἀμνός < *aɡ$^{u̯}$n‑: Lat. agnus ambiguous;—Skr. budhná‑ḥ ‘bottom’, Gk. πυθμήν < *bhudh‑: O. E. botm < *bhud‑: W. bôn ‘bottom’ < Kelt. *budn‑ó- ambiguous.
An aspirated tenuis alternated with an aspirated media:—Skr. nakhá‑ḥ ‘nail’: Ir. ingen, W. ewin, Lat. unguis, Lith. nãgas ‘nail’.
(2) Initially a tenuis alternated with an aspirated media, more rarely with a media. Thus W. craidd, Lat. cord‑, Gk. καρδία, Lith. szirdìs, E. heart, Sk. s̑rad‑, all from k̑‑: Skr. hŕ̥d‑, Av. zərədā, from *g̑h‑;—Ir. cingim ‘I go, stride’, W. rhy-gyngu ‘to amble’, Ir. cēimm ‘stride’, W. cam id. < *k̑n̥ɡh-smen‑: Germ. Gang, E. gang-way, Gk. κοχώνη for *καχώνη < *g̑hn̥ɡh‑, Lith. žengiù ‘I step, stride’ < *g̑henɡh‑; cf. √sk̑eɡ- § 96 iii (1);—Lat. porcus, Ir. orc, torc, W. twrch, O. H. G. far(a)h < *p‑: O. H. G. barah, O. E. bearh < *bh‑;—O.Lat. dingua, O. H. G. zunga, E. tongue < *d‑: Ir. tenge, W. tafod, Corn. tavot, Bret. teod < *t‑, see § 92 v, § 97 v (2);—W. erch ‘grey, speckled’, Gk. περκνός: W. brych, brith ‘speckled’, bwrw ‘cast, sprinkle’, see § 97 v (3). As in the last equation, several examples occur in W. and Ir. of b- for p- pointing to the alternation of p‑: b(h)- before the disappearance of p- in Kelt. Thus Lat. pūs, puter, Gk. πῦον, πῡ́θομαι, Goth. fūls, E. foul, Skr. pū́yati ‘putrefies, stinks’, √peu(āˣ)‑, pēu‑: W. baw ‘dirt’ < *b(h)eu‑, budr ‘dirty’ < *b(h)eu‑tr‑; also with i̯ for u̯, iv (1), Lat. paedor < *pai̯‑d‑, √pēi̯‑: W. baeddu ‘to dirty’ < *b(h)ai‑d- (‑d- present);—Lith. plùskos ‘hair’, O. E. flēos, E. fleece, Ger. Fliess, √pleus‑: W. blew ‘hair’ (mostly of animals, not of man’s head in W., as in Corn, and Bret.) < *b(h)leus‑;—Lat. pasco, Gk. πατέομαι, Goth. fōdjan, E. food, W. yd ‘corn’, Ir. ith id., Skr. pitú‑ḥ ‘food’, √pā(i̯)‑: O. W. bit ‘food’ < *b(h)it‑, Ir. bïad id. < *b(h)ii̯‑, W. bwyd do. < *b(h)ei‑t‑;—Lat. piget, Lith. peĩkti ‘to blame’, O. E. ficol, E. fickle, √peiq/ɡ‑: W. bai ‘blame, fault’ < acc. *b(h)igi̯m̥;—Gk. πέπρωται, ἔπορον, Lat. pars, W. rhan, √perō- § 63 vii (2): W. barn ‘judgement’ < *b(h)ₑr’n‑, brawd id., Ir. brāth id. < *b(h)r̥̄t- (for meaning cf. Germ. Teil ‘part’: Urteil ‘judgement’). The above alternation may be accompanied by a similar alternation medially; thus Lat. caper, Gk. κάπρος, W. caer-i̯wrch ‘roebuck’, all < *qap(e)r‑: W. gafr ‘goat’, Ir. gabor, gabur, Gaul. Gabro- < *g(h)ab(h)r‑;—Lat. capio, Goth. hafjan, W. caffel ‘to get’ < *qap‑: Lat. habeo, W. gaf-el ‘to take hold (of)’ < *ɡhabh‑.
There seems to have been a later tendency to substitute a media for a tenuis initially before a sonant in Brit. and Goidelic; as in Brit. Britan- for *Pritan- § 3 iii;—so W. brig ‘top (of a tree), crest ​(of a wave), hair of the head, border (of a country)’, briger ‘hair of the head’ < *brīk- for *prīk‑, metath. for *krīp- > W. crib ‘comb, crest, ridge (of a roof)’: Ir. crīch ‘boundary of a country’ < *qrī-q-u̯o- broken redupl., √qerēi- ‘separate, divide, cut off’: Lat. crēna ‘notch’, crista ‘crest’, crīnis ‘hair of the head’;—Ir. droch ‘wheel’: W. tro ‘turn’;—Ir. gēc: W. cainc ‘branch’ < *k̑n̥q‑: Skr. s̑ā́khā ‘branch’;—W. gast ‘bitch’: ci ‘dog’ § 96 ii (3).—Cf. W. Grawys, Garawys ‘Lent’ § 138; < Lat. quadragēsima. Still later is the softening of the initial of an adverb, and of a proclitic, as dy ‘thy’; these are regarded as mutated forms, and are not mutated further (except occasionally by false analogy).
(3) Alternations like the above occur also in suffixes; as *‑tro‑: *‑dhro- and *‑tlo‑: *‑dhlo‑.
(4) Though l and r are not mixed indiscriminately, several doublets occur in which they alternate, as √g̑hu̯er- / g̑hu̯el- § 92 iv. These alternations may have originated, as suggested by Meillet, Intr.² 143, in reduplicated forms in which, by dissimilation, r may become l, or even n. Thus √ɡ$^{u̯}$erē- ‘devour’ gives *ɡ$^{u̯}$er-ɡ$^{u̯}$el‑, *ɡ$^{u̯}$ₑn‑ɡ$^{u̯}$r‑, etc., also with ɡ for ɡ$^{u̯}$ by dissim.; thus Gk. βιβρώσκω, Lat. vorāre, W. barus ‘greedy’ < *ɡ$^{u̯}$ₑr‑: (broken redupl.) Gk. ἔβροξε, Ml. H. G. krage, Ir. brāge, W. breuant ‘windpipe’ < *ɡ$^{u̯}$r̥̄ɡ-n̯t‑: (full redupl.) Lat. gurgulio, O. H. G. querechela, Gk. γάγγραινα: Lat. gula.
iv. The place of articulation might vary.
(1) The different gutturals sometimes alternate. Thus, q/​k̑: √leuq/k̑‑: Skr. rócate ‘lights, shines’, roká‑ḥ ‘bright’, Lith. láukti ‘to expect’, with *‑q‑: Skr. rús̑ant- ‘bright, white’, Lith. lúszis ‘lynx’ with *‑k̑‑;—the suffix *‑qo‑: *‑k̑o‑, as Skr. maryaká‑ḥ (márya‑ḥ ‘young man’) with *‑q‑: Skr. yuvas̑á‑ḥ (yúvan- ‘young’) with *‑k̑‑: Lat. juvencus, W. ieuanc ambiguous;—√ak̑‑/​oq- § 63 v (2);—√k̑ei‑: √qōi‑: √q$^{u̯}$ei̯ē‑, see Walde s.v. civis. For a large number of examples see Brugmann² I 545 ff. After s‑, ‑q- predominates, § 84 Note 2; and k̑/​q alternate, as Skr. chinátti ‘cuts, severs’ < *sk̑‑: Lith. skë́dziu ‘I separate’ < *sq‑, √sk̑(h)eid‑/​sq(h)eid‑.
ɡ$^{u̯}$h/​g̑h:—Lat. fī-lum ‘thread’ < *ɡ$^{u̯}$hī‑: W. gī-au ‘nerves, sinews’ < *g̑hī‑;—W. gw̯res, Gk. θερμός, etc. < *ɡ$^{u̯}$h‑, § 92 iii: Lith. žarýjos ‘glowing coals’, Alb. zjar̄ ‘fire’ < *g̑h‑;—W. gw̯elw ‘pale’, Lith. geltas ‘tawny’ < *ɡ$^{u̯}$h‑: Lith. želiù green, W. glas ‘green’ < *g̑h, § 92 iii.
Exactly the same change of position as the last is involved in the alternation of u̯ and i̯, which occurs in some roots, as √g̑hēu‑: √g̑hēi‑ ‘yawn’.
(2) The Ar. consonant series p, t, k, q, q$^{u̯}$ is not a line with p and q$^{u̯}$ as loose ends, but as it were a circle, in which p and q$^{u̯}$ approach one another. q$^{u̯}$ combines the back with the lip position, and the shifting of the stop to the latter position makes it p. It is not surprising therefore that q$^{u̯}$ became p in some languages as W., Osc.-Umb., Gk., or that under certain conditions p > q$^{u̯}$, § 96 iv. Already in Ar. there seem to be some cases of p alternating with q$^{u̯}$, and even ​with q; this takes place before l, and before r when it is a variant of l. Thus we have the parallel roots *pel‑, *q$^{uⁿ}$el‑, *qel- ‘to turn’, also with r, *q$^{u̯}$er. Examples:—*pel‑: Lat. poples ‘bend of knee’, Ir. imb-el, W. ym-yl ‘rim, edge’ < *m̥bi-pel‑, W. cyf-yl ‘border, vicinity’ < *kom-pel‑, ol-wyn ‘wheel’, Gk. πέλομαι < *pel- (since q$^{u̯}$e > τε § 89 i);—*q$^{u̯}$el‑: Lat. colo, incola, Gk. τελέθω, πολεύω, W. dy-chwel-af ‘I return’ < *do-sq$^{u̯}$el‑; redupl. Gk. κύκλος, O. E. hweohl, E. wheel;—*qel‑: Gk. κελλόν· στρεβλόν Hes., Lat. coluber;—qer‑: Lat. curvus, Gk. κορώνη, Ir. cor ‘circle’, W. côr ‘circle, close’, cored ‘round weir’, Ml. W. at-coraf ‘I return’, Ir. cruind, W. crwnn ‘round’.——So the roots *spel‑, *sq$^{u̯}$el‑, *sqel‑, *sqer- ‘to split, separate, scatter’; thus *spel‑: O. H. G. spaltan, E. split, Skr. sphāṭáyati ‘splits’, Bret. faouta ‘to split’, W. ffloehen ‘splinter’, hollti ‘to split’ § 96 iv (1);—*sq$^{u̯}$el‑, *sqel‑: Lith. skeliù ‘I split’, Bret. skula, W. chwalu ‘to scatter’, Ir. scāilim ‘I scatter’;—*sqer‑: Lith. skiriù, W. ysgar, etc. ii. (1); also in the sense of ‘snatching’; with p, Lat. spolium: with q, W. ysglyfio ‘to snatch’, ysglyfaeth ‘prey’ < *sql̥‑m‑.——So Gk. πλεύμων, πνεύμων ‘lung’, Lat. pulmo (for *plumō), O. Bulg. plušta, O. Pruss. plauti ‘lung’, the ‘light’ member (cf. E. lights ‘lungs’), W. lluman ‘banner’ < *pleus-mₑn‑: Skr. klóman- ‘right lung’ < *qleumon‑, W. ysgyfaint dual ‘lungs’ < *s‑qumₑn- (l lost ii (2), see also § 121 iv), Bret. skevent, Ml. Ir. scaman (? < Brit.), Ml. W. yscun b. b. 4 ≡ ysgwn ‘light, soaring’, O. W. scamn‑, W. ysgawn, ysgafn, Bret. skañv ‘light’ < *s‑qumn- § 76 vii (4); W. cwhwfan for *cỿ-chw̯ỿfan ‘to wave in the breeze, flutter’ < *ko-squmon‑, chw̯ŷf ‘waving’ < *squmō: √pleu‑/​(pneu‑) ‘float, waft’.
(3) The change of p to t, which sometimes occurs is doubtless always secondary, as in Skr. ṣṭhī́vati ‘spews’ (: Lat. spuo, E. spew) where the ṭ is due to the following palatal, cf. Gk. πτύω < *pi̯ūi̯ō. In Kelt, p became q$^{u̯}$ before q$^{u̯}$, but sometimes t before a palatal or velar § 86 ii (3), perhaps a compromise between the labial and guttural positions.
Assimilation, Dissimilation and Metathesis.
§ 102. i. Assimilation, dissimilation and metathesis of consonants have taken place at all periods; most of the examples occurring have arisen since the Ar. dispersion. In many cases the change has become a phonetic law; but most of the changes, especially of dissimilation and metathesis, occur only accidentally.
ii. (1) Assimilation of joined consonants: (a) Ar. pd > bd etc. § 93 i; sd > zd § 97; ghþ > ghð § 98.—(b) In most of the derived languages mt > nt, etc. § 84, Note 3.—(c) In Kelt. tk > kk, etc. § 93, ii (2), (3); nl > ll, nr > rr, ln > l § 99 iii; lẟ > ll § 100 iii (2).—(d) In W. nt > nnh etc. § 106, llt > ll § 105; dẟ > d‑d > t § 111 vii (2); lᵹ > l l § 110 ii (2). In Late Mn. W. nff > nth in benthyg < Ml. W. benffic < Lat. beneficium.
​(2) Assimilation of separated consonants: Italo-Kelt. p…​q$^{u̯}$ > q$^{u̯}$…​q$^{u̯}$ § 86 ii (2).—Kelt. b…​m > m…​m in *momi̯at- > W. myned § 100 iv.
iii. (1) Dissimilation of joined consonants: (a) Ar. tt > tˢt § 87 ii.—(b) When two continuants come together there is often a tendency to alter one of them either to an explosive or to a semi-vowel: thus in Brit. ml- > bl‑, mr- > br- § 99 ii (1); in W. nẟ > nd as in bendith ‘blessing’, sẟ > sd, lẟ > ld > lld, llẟ > lld § 111 vii (2); ẟl > dl as in bodlon, ẟr > dr as in cadr § 111 vii (1); mχ > mc as in amcan § 156 i (4); nṽ > nw̯ as in O. W. anu § 99 iv (1), rv > rw̯ as in syberw̯ § 105 ii, fl > wl § 104 v. In many cases the spirant disappeared: fn > n § 110 iii (4), ẟn > n § 104 iv (1).—(c) In W. mni̯ > ml in teimlo ‘to feel’ < *teimni̯o < *tamn- < *tang-smen‑: Lat. tango.
(2) Dissimilation of separated consonants: (a) Already in Ar. r…​r > r…​l etc. § 101 iii (4); and tr…​r > t…​r in *tisores ‘three’ fem. > W. tair, Skr. tisráḥ § 69 iv.—(b) In Kelt. gn…​n > gl…​n in *glūn- > W. glin ‘knee’ § 63 vii (4); l…​l > r…​l in *arali̯os > W. arall ‘other’, Ir. araile.—(c) In W. gw̯…​w̯ > g…​w̯ in glyw ‘lord’ < *gw̯lyw̯ < *u̯li-u̯o‑s, VR of √u̯elē(i)- § 63 vii (2); gw̯…​v > g…​v in greẟf ‘instinct’ (greẟfu ‘to be inbred’) < *u̯r̥d-mā: Ir. frēm § 91; r…​r > r…​l in Chwefrol § 138 i (2); l…​l > l…​r in llefrith ‘new milk’ for *lle-flith < *lo-vlith ‘*calf-milk’; th…​th > t…​th in gwrtaith ‘manure’ < *u̯er-tek‑t, √theg- § 92 i; l…​ẟ > l…​d in late Mn W. machlud for Ml. W. ymachluẟ etc. § 111 vii (3); ẟ…​l > d…​l in pedol ‘horseshoe’ for *peẟawl < Lat. pedālis.
iv. (1) Metathesis of joined consonants: (a) Nasalized stems may be the result of the metathesis in Ar. of the suffix ‑n- with the last consonant of the root; thus *juɡ‑n- > *junɡ- > Lat. jungo, √jeuɡ‑; if so, forms like Skr. yunákti ‘joins’ are analogical formations which arose in imitation of forms with n as part of the root; but the effect is the same as that which would be produced by an Ar. infix ‑ne‑.—(b) In Brit. di̯ > i̯d, etc. § 100 v.—(c) In W. lg > gl in annwyl ‘dear’ < *induglens < Lat. indulgens; chl > lch in allweẟ ‘key’ for *alchweẟ, Bret. alchouez, for *achl- § 99 vi (1); nm > mn in amnaid ‘nod’ < O. W. enmeit § 95 ii (3); dn > nd in andaw ‘listen’ for *adnaw § 76 iii (1), andwyo § 76 iv (4).
(2) Metathesis of separated consonants: (a) Ar. *bhudh/d- ‘bottom’ and *dhub- ‘deep’, if not originally the same, are confused in the derived languages: W. annwfn ‘hell’ < *n̥-dub‑n- for *n̥-bud‑n- ‘bottomless’: Gk. ἄ-βυσσος; cf. O. Bulg. dŭno ‘bottom’ and Armen. andundk῾ “ἄβυσσος” with d…​d for b…​d by assimil.—(b) In Kelt. n…​r > r…​n in Gaul. Taranis ‘Juppiter tonans’, Taranu-, W. taran ‘thunder’, Ir. toran ‘din’, < *taran‑, *toran- for *tₑnər- *tonər‑: Brit. (-Lat.) Tanar-o Chester insc. (re-metath.?), O. E. þunor, E. thunder, Lat. tono, Gk. στένω √(s)tenā‑; b…​g > g…‑b in Ir. goba, W. gof ‘smith’ < Kelt. *gobann- for *bog- < *bhog‑: Gk. φώγω, E. bake < *bhog-, Germ. backen < *bhog‑n-, Lat. focus ​√bhō̆k/g‑; in early Kelt. before the loss of p, k … p > p … k in W. archen ‘shoe’, Bret. archen < *park- for *karp- < *qₑr’p- √qerāˣp- ‘shoe’ § 86 i (5).—(c) In Brit. n … l > l … n in W. telyn f. ‘harp’, Bret. telen, Corn. telein < *telenī for *ten-el-ī, √ten- ‘stretch’: W. tant ‘harpstring’, Lat. tendo, Gk. τείνω, etc.—(d) In W. l … ẟ > ẟ … l in meẟal ‘soft’ for *melaẟ < *meləd‑: Lat. mollis < *moldu̯is, Skr. mr̥dú‑ḥ ‘soft’, etc. √melāˣ‑; and in eiẟil ‘feeble’ for *eiliẟ, § 156 i (2): ymlā́ẟ § 204 i, √lēd- ‘weary, weak’.
British and Latin consonants in Welsh
The Soft Mutation.
§ 103. i. (1) Brit. and Lat. p, t, k, b, d, g, m between vowels became b, d, g, f, ẟ, ᵹ, f respectively in W. Thus W. Cyndaf < Brit. Cunotam(os);—W. saeth ‘arrow’ < *saᵹeth < Lat. sagitta;—W. deg ‘ten’ < Brit. *dekan < Ar. *dek̑m̥;—W. cybydd ‘miser’ < Lat. cupidus;—W. llafur ‘labour’ < Lat. labōrem. Numerous examples occur in the above sections. The change is called the “soft mutation”.
(2) As the same changes took place generally between a vowel and a sonant (see the details § 104), and as every initial consonant must be followed by a vowel or a sonant, it follows that where the preceding word ended in a vowel the initial is changed as above; thus while Brit. *oinos markos gave un march ‘one horse’, Brit. *oinā mammā gave un fam ‘one mother’, not *un mam.
(3) The conditions are, however, not quite the same initially as medially. Medially ‑sk- became ‑χχ- by the reaction of the two sounds on one another before the period of the present changes. But in the case of final ‑s and initial k- no reaction took place in the earlier period, and the sounds came down to later Brit. unchanged. It was then too late for sk to give χχ as shown by the retention of Lat. sc, see (5), and of Brit. medial sk from ksk etc. § 96 iii (5); thus the k- remained, and the final syllable with its ‑s ultimately disappeared. For similar reasons final ‑s preserved an initial media or m- intact. Hence we have the radical consonant after words or classes of words which ended originally in ‑s, such as mas. sg. nouns or adjectives; thus *díi̯ēus dagos > dydd da ‘good day’.
​But when the final syllable of the first word was accented, its ‑s combined with an initial tenuis, which thus became a spirant. For this reason we have the spirant mutation of a tenuis after Ml. W. ɥ ‘her’ (now written ei) < *esi̯ā́s = Skr. asyā́ḥ ‘her’; tri ‘three’ < Brit. *trei̯és (for *tréi̯es would have given *trydd); a ‘with’ and a ‘and’ < Brit. *aggós § 213 iii (1), § 222 i (3). On the mutation after ni, see § 217 iv (1); after chwe § 108 iii.
tair and pedair had the same accentuation, and in Bret. ter, peder, and also pevar (= pedwar), cause the spirant mutation. The radical has been substituted in W., as in the majority of cases where the spirant occurred from the above cause.
(4) After final ‑s initial l and r were unvoiced; cf. sl- > ll‑; sr- > rh‑, § 95 i; but between vowels l and r underwent no change. Thus we have ll and rh now in those positions where the radical occurs of the consonants mentioned in (1) above, and l and r in those positions where the said consonants are softened. Welsh grammarians therefore speak of ll, rh as “radical”, and l, r as “mutated” consonants. Though the reverse is historically the case, it is convenient to retain the old terminology in dealing with the interchange of the sounds in the present language.
Note. The term “soft mutation”, first applied to the change where it occurred initially, is due to Dr. Davies, who called it “forma mollis” D. 26. It has also been called “vocal” and “middle”. The latter name, used by Rowland, owes its origin to the term “forma media” used by Davies as a name for the change of the tenues to the mediae; as applied to the six others it is meaningless. Continental scholars use “Lenition” as a term embracing the Welsh “soft mutation” and the corresponding Irish “aspiration”.
(5) Lat. sp, st, sc remained, as Ml. W. yspeil < spolium § 69 iv (1), ystyr < historia ib., escyn < ascend‑. An explosive before the group dropped in W., as in estron < extrāneus; so after the loss of an intervening vowel, as W. esgob < episcopus, W. esgud ‘active’ < exsecūtus. See further § 111 vi (2). Except where c dropped as above Lat. x > i̯s, 108 v.
ii. (1) Medially between vowels ᵹ, the soft mutation of g, disappeared completely after the O. W. period; as in saeth i (1);—maes < *maᵹes § 29 ii (2): Gaul. ‑magus;—teyrn ‘ruler’ < *tyyrn ​< tigirn‑; also finally, as da ‘good’ < *dag- § 63 v (2);—ty ‘house’ < tigos § 65 ii (3);—bro < *mrog- § 99 ii (1);—bre (prob. f.) ‘hill’, Corn. bre f. < *brigā, Gaul. ‑briga < *bhr̥ɡh‑: Germ. Berg;—bore ‘morning’, O. W. more in b.a. 17 l. 20, Bret. beure < acc. *mārig-an (< *‑m̥): Ir. imbārach, Mn. Ir. mārach < *mārig‑: Kelt. *mārig- < *mōriɡh- L°R₂ of √merē(i)q/ɡh‑: Skr. márīciḥ ‘ray of light’, Goth. maurgins, E. morn.—Already in O. W. we find nertheint (< ‑eᵹint), beside scamnhegint (g ≡ ᵹ).
ig gives y, affected to e, as above; it is often assimilated to the following vowel, as in dylḗd < Ml. W. dylyet < *dliget- § 82 ii (3); Ml. W. breenhin ‘king’ < *brigant-īn‑: Skr. acc. br̥hánt-am, gen. br̥hat-áḥ ‘high, great’ < *bhr̥ɡh-ént‑, ‑n̥t‑. Before ei it was lost, as in braint ‘privilege’, Ml. W. breint < O. W. bryeint l.l. 120 < *briganti̯‑; Ml. W. Seint < *Sigonti̯on ‘Segontium’.—w͡y comes not from ig, but from eig, as in mod-rwy ‘ring’ < F-grade *reig‑, as in rhwym § 95 ii (2); mor-dwy ‘sea-voyage’ < *teig‑, Ir. tīagu ‘I go’: Gk. στείχω; so canhorthwy ‘assistance’ < *kanta-u̯er-teig-, lit. ‘*go over with’.—āg gave eu, au, § 71 iii.
Initially ᵹ disappeared completely; but as the initial of the second element of a compound it often became ᵹ̑ > i̯ after a dental (d, ẟ, n, l, r), as Llwyd-i̯arth < *leito-garto- § 95 iv (3); Pen-i̯arth < *penno-garto‑, mil-i̯ast D.G. 278 beside mil-ast ‘greyhound bitch’; arw-floedd-i̯ast § 157 ii (1); Mor-i̯en, O.W. Mor-gen *‘sea-born’; Ur-i̯en, O. W. Urb-gen § 100 v.
For ᵹ before and after sonants see § 104 ii, § 105 ii, § 110 ii.
(2) The soft mutation of m was originally the nasalized spirant ṽ. The nasalization generally remains medially in Bret., but disappeared in W. towards the end of the O. W. period. As f was thereafter the soft mutation of both b and m, there has always been the possibility of its being referred to the wrong radical. This probably accounts for the substitution in some cases of one for the other, as in bawd ‘thumb’, O. W. maut f. (y fawd ‘the thumb’), still with m- in mod-rwy orig. ‘thumb-ring’. In a few cases m- and b- interchange, as bath and math (y fath ‘the kind of’), baeddu and maeddu ‘to dirty’.
    Nid adwaen, iawn yw dwedyd,
    Weithian i bath yn y byd.—G.I.H.
‘I know not, it is right to say it, her like now in the world.’ ​
    Och imi! pe marw chwemwy,
    O bydd i math mewn bedd mwy.—D. N., f.n. 90, c.c. 267.
‘Woe is me! though six times more died, [I doubt] if her like will ever more be in a grave.’
In bore for more we may have dissim., as in mr- > br‑.
iii. In O. W. softened consonants were represented by the corresponding radicals; see § 18 i, § 19 i. It would be wrong to conclude from this that the softening had not then taken place, for its occurrence initially is due in almost every case to a vocalic ending which was then already lost. The difference between the radical m in un march and the soft f in un fam cannot be accounted for if assumed to have taken place since the O. W. period when ‘one’ was un; it must be referred to the Brit. m. *oinos, f. *oinā. The O. W. spelling was doubtless a survival from the time when the mutated consonant could still be regarded as a debased pronunciation of the radical. On the Ml. final tenues see § 111 v.
§ 104. i. The mutable consonants, p, t, k, b, d, g, m normally underwent the soft mutation between a vowel and a sonant; thus pr > br in W. Ebrill < Lat. Aprīlis; W. go-bryn-af ‘I merit’ < Brit. *u̯o-prinami, √q$^{u̯}$rei̯ā- § 201 i (4);—pl > bl in W. pobl < Lat. pop’lus;—tn > dn in W. edn ‘bird’ < *pet-no- § 86 i;—tu̯ > dw in W. pedwar < Brit. *petu̯ares § 63 vii (4);—kr > gr in W. gogr, gwagr ‘sieve’ < *u̯o‑kr‑, √qerēi̯‑: Lat. crībrum;—br > fr in W. dwfr ‘water’ § 90;—bn > fn in W. dwfn ‘deep’ ib.; W. cefn ‘back’ < *kebn‑: Gaul. Cebenna ‘les Cévennes’ (*qeb- allied to *qamb/p- § 106 ii (1));—dm > ẟf, see iv (2).
ii. (1) g before l, r, n gave ᵹ̑, which became i̯ forming a diphthong with the preceding vowel. The Mn. developments are as follows: ag > ae; eg > ei or ai; ig > i; og > oe; ug > w͡y; āg > eu or au; īg > i. Thus W. aer ‘battle’, Ir. ār ‘slaughter’ < *agr‑: Gk. ἄγρᾱ;—W. draen ‘thorn’ < *dragn- < *dhrₑghn‑: Gk. τρέχνος;—W. tail ‘manure’ < *tegl- § 35 ii (3), √(s)theɡ- ‘cover’ § 92 i, cf. gwrtaith ‘manure’ < *u̯er-tekt‑;—W. oen ‘lamb’, Ir. ūan < *ognos § 65 ii (2); W. oer ‘cold’, Ir. ūar < *ogr‑: Gaul. (Seq.) Ogron… name of a month;—W. annwyl § 102 iv (1);—W. ​ceulo < *cāgl- § 71 iii. Examples of gm are uncertain. On swyn < Lat. signum see § 72 ii.
Following the accent, g after a became ᵹ and disappeared; as in the suffix ‑agno‑, < *´‑o-gno- (*‑o- is the stem vowel, which becomes a in Ir., and when unacc. before g in Brit.), as seen in Brit.-Lat. Maglagni, Corbagni, Broccagni giving W. Maelan, Carfan, Brychan; Ir. -ān as Broccān; so O. W. bichan, W. bychan, Ir. becān.
For the affected forms of the above groups see §§ 69, 70.
(2) gi̯ > ᵹ̑ > i̯; thus W. cae ‘enclosure, field’ < *kagi̯o‑, Gaul. 5th cent. caium, whence Fr. quai, √kagh‑/​kogh‑: Lat. cohus, E. hedge, Germ. Hecke;—Ml. W. daeoni ‘goodness’ < *dag-i̯ono-gnīm- (re-formed as da-ioni in Mn. W.). It is seen that the vowel is not affected by the i̯, but it may be by a following ī < ō; thus W. llai, Ml. W. llei ‘less’, Ir. laigin, both < *lagi̯ōs < *lₑɡh(u̯)i̯ōs: Lat. levis, Gk. ἐλαχύς;—W. ‑(h)ai, Ml. ‑(h)ei < *‑sagi̯ō § 121 i, § 201 iii (4).—So igi̯ affected by a gave egi̯ becoming ‑ei, ‑ai, as W. tai, Ml. tei ‘houses’ < *tigi̯a < *tigesa, pl. of *tigos ‘house’;—W. carrai ‘lace’ < Lat. corrigia. When unaffected, igi̯ gave ii̯ > ī; as in brī ‘honour’ < *brigi̯o‑: brenin, braint § 103 ii (1); and llī́on in Ml. W. Kaer-llion < *ligi̯ŏnos, Brit. gen. for Lat. legiōnis.
Similarly ogi̯ > oe > ‑o, § 78 i (1), in to ‘root’ < *togi̯o‑: Ir. tuige gl. stramen, and amdo ‘shroud’ < *m̥bi-togi̯o‑: Ir. im-thuige ‘clothing’: Lat. toga, √(s)theɡ‑.—ugi̯ > w͡y > -w, § 78 i (2), in llw ‘oath’ < *lugi̯on: Ir. luige, lugae < *lugii̯on. (Ml. W. pl. llyeu, llyein, Mn. llwon, dial. llyfon are all analogical formations.)
(3) gu̯ > ᵹ$^{u̯}$ > w: W. tew ‘thick’ < *tegu̯- § 76 viii (2).—og$^{u̯}$i̯, > ou̯i̯ > eu in euod ‘worms in sheep’ < *og$^{u̯}$i̯- < Ar. *oɡ$^{u̯}$hi̯‑: Gk. ὄφις, Skr. áhiḥ ‘snake’.
iii. (1) Before n Brit. k > χ̑ > i̯, so that kn gives the same result as gn; thus W. dwyn ‘to bring’ < *duk‑n- § 203 iv (3);—braenu ‘to rot’ < *brakn- < *mrəq‑n- § 99 ii (1);—croen ‘hide, rind’ < *krokn‑, Bret. croc’hen, Ir. crocenn < *krokn- (kn > kk) < *qroq‑, VF° of *qereq- broken redupl. of √qer- ‘divide, rip’: Lat. corium, cortex, O. Bulg. (s)kora ‘rind’, korĭcĭ a kind of vessel, W. cwrwgl ‘coracle’;—W. gwaun < *u̯ākn- < *u̯o-akn‑: W. ochr see below;—W. tīn ‘buttock’ < *tīknā < *tūqnā, Ir. tōn < *tūknā: E. thigh O. H. G. dioh. This may be due to gemination of k, ​see (2) below; in many cases kn > gn regularly; thus W. sugno ‘to suck’ < *seuk‑n‑, √seuq/ɡ‑: Lat. sūcus, sūgo, E. suck, etc.;—W. dygn ‘grievous’ < *dikn- < *deŋgn‑: Ir. dingim ‘I press down’, O. E. tengan ‘to press’;—W. rhygnu ‘to rub’ < *rukn‑: Gk. ῥυκάνη;—W. dogn ‘portion, dose’ < *dok‑n‑, √dek̑‑: Gk. δέκομαι, δοκάνη· θήκη.
(2) Before r, k, t give g, d regularly, as in gogr i above;—chwegr < *su̯ekr- § 94 iv;—W. deigr ‘tear’ < *dakrū § 120 iii (1);—W. aradr < Ar. *arətrom § 87 i;—W. modryb § 69 ii (4); etc.
But W. ochr ‘edge, side’ beside Ir. ochar < *okr‑, √ak̑‑/oq‑, W. rhuthr ‘rush’ beside Ir. rūathar < *reu-tro‑, √reu̯‑: Lat. ruo, imply kkr, ttr for kr, tr § 99 v (4). Compounds like go-chrwm: crwm ‘bent’ may owe their ch to this, or to s before k.
An example of k < gg giving the same result is Ml. W. achreawdɏr b.t. 9 ‘gathering’ < Lat. aggregātio, with excrescent ‑r; cf. cyngreawdr < congregātio in Cyngreawdɏr Fynydd (‘Mount of Assembly’) ‘The Great Orme’. Similarly g before r may be treated as gg and give g, as in llygru ‘to injure, violate, corrupt’: Gk. λυγρός, Lat. lugeo, Skr. rujáti ‘breaks’, Lith. lúžti ‘to break’, √leuɡ/g̑‑.
iv. (1) Brit. dn > W. n (not *nn); as in W. bôn ‘stem’ < *bud-nó‑, bonedd ‘nobility’ < *budníi̯ā: Ar. *bhudh- ‘bottom’ § 102 iv (2);—W. blynedd < *blidníi̯ās § 125 v (i).
(2) Brit. dm > W. ẟf; as W. greddf ‘instinct’ § 102 iii (2);—W. deddf ‘law’ < *dedmā < *dhedh-mā, √dhē‑: Gk. τεθμός, θεθμός < *dhedh-mos;—W. add-fwyn etc. § 93 ii (3), q. v.
(3) Brit. dl, dr after a back vowel became ẟl, ẟr; the ẟ remained after the accent, and was provected to d, as hadl, cadr § 111 vii (1), and disappeared before the accent, as in iôr < *i̯ud-rós § 66 v. After a front vowel dl, dr > gl, gr, and developed accordingly, ii (1); thus W. cadair, Ml. kadeir < Lat. cat(h)edra;—W. eirif ‘number’ < *ed-rīm- < *ad-rim‑: Ir. āram;—W. i waered ‘downwards’ < *di woiret < *do upo-ped-ret‑; gwael ‘base’ < *upo-ped-los, √ped- ‘foot’;—W. aelwyd ‘hearth’, Bret. oaled, O. Corn. oilet < *aidh-l-eti̯‑: Gk. αἴθαλος ‘soot’, Lat. aedes, √aidh- ‘burn’, cf. § 78 ii (3).
v. bl > fl or w̯l, as in gafl ‘fork’: Ir. gabul, Lat. gabalus ​< Kelt.; Ml. W. nywl § 90, di̯awl § 100 ii (1).—ml, mr § 99 ii.—mn § 76 vii, § 99 iv.
Other groups of explosive + sonant are regular.
§ 105. i. After r Brit. and Lat. p, t, k become respectively ff, th, ch; thus W. corff < Lat. corpus;—W. gorffwys § 89 ii (2);—W. porth < Lat. portus;—W. archaf § 63 iii, etc.
lk > lch, as W. golchi § 89 ii (2);—W. calch < Lat. calc-em.—lp > lff, as W. Elffin < Gallo-Lat. Alpīnus.—lt > llt, as in Ml. W. kyfeillt ‘friend’ = Ir. comalte ‘foster-brother’ < *kom-alt(i)i̯os; W. allt ‘declivity; grove’ < *alt‑, √al- ‘grow, nourish’: Lat. alo, altus; medially it becomes ll as in W. cyllell ‘knife’ < Lat. cultellus; W. di-wylli̯o ‘to cultivate’: gwyllt ‘wild’ § 92 iv; except in re-formations, as in hollti ‘to split’ from hollt § 96 iv (1); the t is sometimes lost finally in an unstressed syllable, as in Mn. W. cyfaill, Ml. and Mn. deall § 75 vi (4).
ii. rb > rf, as in W. barf ‘beard’ < Lat. barba; also rw̯, as in sýberw̯ ‘proud’ < Lat. superbus.—rd > rẟ, as in bardd < Brit. *bardos (βαρδοί· ἀοιδοὶ παρὰ Γαλάταις, Hesych.).—Medially rg > ri̯ as in ari̯an ‘silver’ = Ir. airget < Kelt. *argn̥t-om: Lat. argentum, Skr. rajatá‑m: Gk. ἄργυρος, √areg̑‑. Finally rg > ‑r, ‑rỿ, ‑ra, ‑rw̯ § 110 ii.
lb > lf, as in gylfin ‘beak’, O. W. gilbin: Ir. gulban id. < Kelt. *gulb‑.—Medially lg > li̯, as in dali̯af § 110 ii (2); for final lg see ib.—Medially ld > ll as in callawr ‘caldron’ < Lat. ´caldārium;—finally llt as in swllt ‘money, shilling’ < Lat. sol’dus.
iii. rm > rf or rw̯ § 99 ii (2);—lm > lf, ib.;—nm > nf or nw̯ § 99 iv (1).
The Nasal Mutation.
§ 106. i. (1) A nasal before an explosive was assimilated to it in position where it differed; thus Ar. k̑m̥tóm ‘100’ > Brit. *kanton; Ar. *penq$^{u̯}$e ‘5’ > Kelt. *q$^{u̯}$eŋq$^{u̯}$e > Brit. *pempe. This may be assumed to have taken place in Late Brit. when the nasal ended one word and the explosive began the next if the syntactical connexion was a close one. Subsequently a media, or (later) a tenuis, was assimilated to the nasal, becoming itself a nasal. This is called the “nasal mutation” of the explosive.
​The order of the changes was the following: yn ‘in’ + Bangor first became ym Bangor, and then ym Mangor. The recent spelling yn Mangor is therefore not only a misrepresentation of the present sound, but a falsification of its history.
(2) There is a sporadic assimilation of n to i in the groups ĭn or ein, the n becoming ŋ̑; thus pringhaf r.p. 1278, spv. of prĭn ‘scarce’ ib. 1280 (< *q$^{u̯}$rīt-sno‑s: prid ‘precious’, √q$^{u̯}$reiā- ‘buy’); meithring (‑iŋ̑) D.G. 69 for meithrin ‘to nourish’; Einion is often written Eingion or Eingnion ≡ eiŋ̑on, which has become eŋŋan in Gwynedd, e.g. Llan-engan near Pwllheli.
ii. (1) Brit. mb, nd, ŋg became respectively mm, nn, ŋŋ: they remain so in W., mm being generally written m; nn finally written -n (but -nn in monosyllables in Ml. W.); ŋŋ written ng (and Ml. W. gg or g); see § 51 iv, § 54 i (2). Thus W. cwm ‘valley’ < Brit. *kumbo-, √qeub/p- ‘curve’: Lat. cūpa, ‑cumbo, Gk. κύμβος, etc.;—W. cam ‘bent, crooked’ < Brit. *kambo-: Gaul. Cambo-dūnum, Gallo-Lat. cambiāre: Lat. campus (orig. ‘vale’), Gk. καμπή, κάμπτω, √qamb/p- ‘curve’;—W. twnn ‘bruised, broken’ f. tonn < Brit. *tund-os, -ā: Lat. tundo, Skr. tundate ‘strikes’, √(s)teu‑d‑;—W. tonn ‘wave’ < Brit. *tundā < *tum-dā: Lat. tumeo, W. tyfu, √teu̯āˣ- ‘swell’;—W. cann ‘white’, cannu ‘to whiten’, llóer-gan ‘moon-lit’ < *qand‑: Lat. candeo, Gk. κάνδαρος < *qand‑, beside W. cynneu ‘to kindle’, cynne ‘a burning’, cynnud ‘firewood’, Ir. condud < *qond‑: Skr. cand‑, s̑cand‑ ‘shine’ < *(s)qend‑: √sqand‑/​sqend‑;—W. llong ‘ship’ < Lat. longa;—W. angel < Lat. angelus.—So before a sonant, as Cymro pl. Cymry < Brit. *kom-brog-os, ‑ī;—W. amrwd ‘raw’: brwd § 63 vii (4);—Cyngreawdr § 104 iii (2);—except where the nasal has become a media § 99 vi (1).—The double nasal was simplified after an unaccented syllable § 27 ii, and before a sonant § 54 i (3).
Kelt. ng$^{u̯}$ (< Ar. nɡ$^{u̯}$h) was unrounded and gave ŋŋ, as in llyngyr, angerdd § 92 v. When ŋŋ came before a sonant, including u̯, it was first simplified to ŋ and then lost, as in ewin, tafod, see ib. So we have nawraẟ r.p. 1331, g.r. [372] ‘nine degrees’ < Brit. *nou̯aŋ-grad- (navg̃raẟ b.b. 42 may have old ŋ, but is prob. analogical);—W. cyni (one n) ‘trouble’ < *koŋnīm- < *kon-gnī-mu- § 203 vii (4);—W. aren ‘kidney’, Ir. āru < *aŋr- < Kelt. *aŋg$^{u̯}$r- < *anɡ$^{u̯}$hr-, √aneɡ$^{u̯}$h‑: Gk. νεφρός, Lat. Praenest. nefrōnēs, Lanuv. nebrundinēs ​(: Lat. inguen with g$^{u̯}$, Walde s.v.). But after e or i and before r or l, the ŋ became ŋ̑ and gave ḭ, as in eirin Deut. xxiii 1 for *eiryn, § 77 iii, < *eŋryn pl. of aren above;—W. cilydd ‘mate’ < *ciŋ̑lyẟ (ii̯ > W. i not y, cf. § 104 ii (2)) < *keŋglii̯os (§ 65 iii (1)) = Ir. cēle < *keŋglii̯os: Ir. cingim ‘I go’, W. cam ‘stride’, see § 101 iii (2); for meaning, cf. Ml. W. keimat ‘mate’ < cam. The rule only applies to old formations where the ŋŋ already existed in Brit.; in newer formations, and Lat. derivatives ŋ remains, as Cyngreawdr above.
(2) The above changes took place before the loss of Brit. syllables, for nd coming together after the loss of a syllable remains, as in trindod < Lat. trīnitāt-em. Initial mediae were assimilated to final nasals before the latter were lost; e.g. naw mlynedd ‘nine years’ < *nou̯am mlidníi̯as < *neu̯n̥ bl‑.
Every Brit. nd became nn, so we have no words ending in nd except where a vowel has been lost in the Mn. period between the sounds, as in ond etc. § 44 vi; see iii (4).
iii. (1) Brit. mp, nt, ŋk remained finally as in W. pump, pymp < Brit. *pempe; W. cant < Brit. *kanton; W. ieuanc < Brit. *i̯ouaŋkos § 100 i (1). For exceptions see (2). Medially they became mmh, nnh, ŋŋh respectively, as in Ml. W. ymherawdɏr < Lat. imperātor; W. cynhesu ‘to warm’ < Brit. *kon-tess‑, √tep‑, § 96 ii (5); W. angheuol ‘deadly’ < Brit. *aŋkou̯‑, √anek̑‑: Lat. neco, Gk. νέκυς, νεκρός, etc. After an unaccented vowel the nasal is simplified as in the above examples, § 27 ii; after an accented vowel the aspiration was lost, as in cynnes ­‘warm’, angeu (≡ aŋŋeu) ‘death’ § 48 ii, iv.
(2) Final nt, mp are mutated in gan ‘with’ ≡ gann § 211 iv (1); in cant ‘100’, pump ‘5’ which appear as cann, pum before nouns; in ugeint ‘20’ which appears as ugeẏn as early as a.l. ms. a. see i 4, 8, 12, etc., and is ugain in Mn. W.; in arẏant a.l. i 6, now ari̯an ‘silver’; in diffrint (i ≡ y) b.b. 91 ‘vale’ ( < *dyfr-hynt ‘water-way’),already diffrin in b.b. 74, Mn. W. dỿffrɥn; in cymaint sometimes, especially in the phrase cymain un Eph. v 33; and often in poetry, as always in the spoken language, in the 3rd pl. of verbs and prepositions § 173 x, § 208 iii (2). It is seen in these examples that the h of the nasal mutations of t and p is lost finally; this is because it follows the accent of the word, see (1) above. But the aspirate was often retained before a word beginning with an accented vowel, as kymein hun Ỻ.A. 116 ‘every one’; can hwr w.m. 136 ‘100 men’; Pum heryr ‘5 eagles’ G.Gl. m 1/606.
    Gwledd echdoe a doe’n i dy,
    Gwledd cann hannedd cyn hynny.—G.Gl. m 146/278.
‘A feast yesterday and the day before in his house, the feast of a hundred dwellings before that.’
    Llyfr Ofydd a fydd i ferch,
    Ag yn hwn ugain hannerch.—B.Br., Ỻ.H. ii 99.
‘The maid shall have a book of Ovid, and in it a hundred greetings.’
Final ‑ŋc was often mutated in Ml. W. where the tenuis was generally retained, and survives in Mn. W.; e.g. ceing w.m. 108, Mn. W. cainc ‘branch’. ŋc is often written ngc (cf. § 18 iii), but nc is adequate and unambiguous, as nk in Eng. bank.
(3) Medial nt, etc. remain when originally followed by h as in cyntedd ‘porch’ for *cynt-heẟ < *kintu-sed- § 63 ii; cyntaf ‘first’ < *cynt-haf < *kint-isamos; and in newer formations, as plentyn ‘child’ from plant, llanciau ‘lads’, sg. llanc. Some vocables, with mutation in Ml. W., are re-formed without mutation in Mn. W., as amranneu w.m. 41, amrantau Job xvi 16; seinnẏeu § 128 ii, Mn. W. seintiau ‘saints’; gwynnoeẟ Ỻ.A. 5, gwyntoedd Matt. vii 25; heinẏeu Ỻ.A. 123, heintiau Luc xxi 11; ceig̃heu, ceingeu Ỻ.A. 144, ceingciau Can. vii 8.
(4) The nasal mutation of the tenues does not date from the Brit. period, for the nasal endings of *nouan ‘nine’, *dekan ‘ten’, etc., while they mutated initial mediae, did not mutate initial p, t, k; thus naw cant ‘900’, deg pwys ‘10 lbs.’ The mutation of the tenues was caused by nasals which survived the loss of the Brit. endings; it takes place after the prefixes an‑, cyn‑, and in other cases where mp, nt, ŋk occurred medially.
There is no trace in O. W. of an wnmutated media; we find e.g. am- for Mn. W. am- < *m̥bi‑, scribenn m.c. < Lat. scrībend‑, crunn- m.c. ‘round’ (: Ir. cruind), etc., but no mb, nd. But the tenues are found unmutated, as in tantou, Mn. W. tannau, sometimes mutated as in bronannou m.c., pl. of breuant ‘windpipe’. In pimphet ox. ‘fifth’, hanther ox. ‘half’ is perhaps reflected the transition stage in which, as the p and t were disappearing, the h was becoming more noticeable; see § 107 v (1). In any case it is safe to conclude that this mutation came about in the O. W. period.
In Ml. W. the tenuis is mutated, as in breenhin b.b. 75, § 103 ii (1), ag̃heu, ag̃hen b.b. 23, emen etc. § 24 i. Though ​often written unmutated after a prefix and after yn, there is evidence that it was in fact mutated, § 107 iii, v.
iv. The nasal mutation of an explosive does not mean its disappearance, but its conversion into a nasal by the loosening of its stop. In annoeth ‘unwise’ < Brit.-Lat. *an-doct- the d became a continuation of the n, so that nn represents an n which is continued during the time it took to pronounce the original nd. As the W. tenues are really aspirated, that is t ≡ t‑h, see § 84 Note 1, when the stop was loosened the aspirate remained; thus nt, properly nt‑h, became nnh. That Early Ml. W. nh as in synhuir § 48 iv is short for nnh, is proved (1) by such spellings as morcannhuc, brennhin l.l. 120, and (2) by the fact that when it lost its aspirate after the accent it appeared as nn, as synnwyr r.m. 13, w.m. 20, while breenhin in which nn had become n after the long vowel, is brenin (not *brennin), and an original single n + h always gives n, as in glánaf for glánhaf, superlative of glân ‘clean’. It is clear therefore that the mutation of nt is strictly n‑nh, not n‑h.
§ 107. i. While initial mediae are nasalized after several numerals, initial tenues are nasalized only after yn ‘in’ and fy ‘my’, and this mutation is not original after fy.
ii. Taken in conjunction with the following noun, yn ‘in’ ( < Brit. *en) has a secondary accent, but fy ‘my’ (< Brit. *men < Ar. *mene gen. sg. of the 1st pers. pron.) is wholly unaccented—the emphasis when required is thrown on an auxiliary pronoun : ‘my head’ is not *fy mhen, but fy mhen i. This difference between yn and fy is old, for Brit. *en has kept its ‑n, but *men (already a proclitic in Brit. § 113 ii) had lost its ‑n before the O.W. period. This is clearly seen is phrases where the following word began with a vowel or an immutable initial; thus yn: ynn lann l.l. 120, in alld b.b. 64, in llan do. 63, 64, yn amgant do. 66, in llurv do. 65, etc.; but fy: mi-hun m.c., vy argluit b.b. 51, wi-llav-e (≡ fy llaw i) do. 50, vy llen do. 59, 62, etc. Thus yn before a consonant is necessarily a closed syllable, closed by its ‑n, while fy is an open syllable, ending with its vowel. The O.W. ny l.l. 120 ‘in its’ is probably n̥ y, with syllabic n̥ or n̥n, a pronunciation still often heard.
iii. After yn in Early Ml. mss., b and d are generally mutated, ​and probably g is to be read ŋ. Thus in b.b. we find innechreu 29, innvfin (≡ yn nwfn) 87, inyffrin 65, inyganhvy 47, yg godir, ygodir 63; in a.l. ms. a. eniokel (≡ yn niogel) i 46, 50, emon e kolouen (≡ ỿm môn ỿ golofn) i 10. Non-mutation is rarer: ym brin b.b. 33, in diffrin 47, 48. On the other hand p, t, c are rarely mutated, the usual forms being in tyno, im pop b.b. 33, ym pob 87, im pen 42, 57, impell 82, yg coed, 49; en ty e-clochyd a.l. i 52, en-tal e-ueig̃ 72. But examples of mutation also occur, mh, nh, ngh appearing at first as m, n, g 24 i, as ymlith b.b. 20, in hal art do. 49, eghyd (≡ ỿnghɥ̄́d) a.l. i 40, emop lle do. 60. These examples show that the mutation had already taken place, and that the written radical was a survival of O.W. spelling. It is to be noted that the n of yn is in every case assimilated in position to the explosive, even where that is unmutated. So before m, as im mon b.b. 61, im minit eidin do. 95.
iv. Since yn kept its nasal, it is natural that it should mutate tenues as well as mediae; but as fy lost its nasal ending early, we should expect it to mutate the mediae but not the tenues, like naw, which gives naw mlynedd ‘9 years’, but naw pwys ‘9 Ibs.’ In O.W. and Early Ml. W. this is, in fact, the case. Thus in O. W. we have mi-telu ‘my household’, mi coueidid ‘my company’, juv. sk. (9th cent.); and in b.b. we find vy tud 13, vy perchen, vy parch 42, wy clun 49, vy pen, vy crawn 62, vy penhid 81, vy ki 99 ; the form wympechaud 83 is a rare exception, and in no case is the tenuis nasalized. But b and d are generally nasalized in b.b., g being also probably for ŋ; thus vy nruc 24, wy-uragon 51, vi-mrid (≡ fy mryd) 82, wi-nvywron (≡ fy nw͡yfron) 100, wy-nihenit 50, vy martrin 67. The occurrence of a number of examples like vy martrin 67, wy duu 82, vy dewis, vy Devs 42, is probably due to the influence of the regular non-mutation of p, t. We do not seem to meet with such forms as vyn drwc, vym bryd which appear in later mss.; vy is written as an open syllable, and p, t, k are not mutated after it. The later mutation of these is analogical; the mutation caused by fy in the mediae was extended to the tenues in imitation of the complete and consistent system of mutation after yn.
But in spite of the levelling of the mutation after the two ​words, the difference between the words themselves—the closed yn and the open fy—remained, and persists in the ordinary spelling of to-day, as in yn nhy fy nhad ‘in my father’s house’.
v. (1) The representation of the nasal initial mutation after yn and fy has presented considerable difficulty to writers of the language. In Late Ml. W. mss. p, t, k appear unmutated, and fy is treated as fyn; thus yn ty vynntat i Ỻ.A. 35. That this is a conventional spelling is shown by the fact that scribes so rendered forms already mutated in their copies. Thus where a.l. ms. a. has emen i 84, the later ms. b. has em pen. Similarly the r.b. scribe writes down the radical of a consonant mutated in the same passage in the w.b., as vyg̃hof w.m. 104 = vyg̃ cof r.m. 76, vymhechawt w.m. 399 = vym pechawt r.m. 255, etc. Further, the cynghanedd always implies the mutated form; as
    yn-trugareẟ yn r͑ i gwirion,—r.p. 1216;
    o syrth ym-perigɏl swrth a mharawt,—do. 1250;
where ntr is to be read nhr to correspond to nr͑, and mp must be mh to answer mh. In w.m. and w. we sometimes find a survival of the curious transitional form met with in O. W. § 106 iii (4); thus ymphen w.m. 256, vyg̃chret do. 390; vyg̃ khof w. 7b. The last example shows that what is meant is not the voiceless spirant, for χ is never written kh.
(2) The mediae b, d also are frequently written unmutated, especially after yn; thus yn diben w.m. 129 made yn niben in r.m. 202; conversely ymlaen w.m. 54 made ym blaen in r.m. 38; both have ymon colofɏn w.m. 181, r.m. 84. Here again the cynghanedd belies the non-mutation, as in
    yg-karchar yn-daear yn yt,—r.p. 1168,
where we must read yn naear (to give ná/ný as required by the cynghanedd sain). With yn, g is generally doubled, as in yg̃g̃ovot, yg̃g̃wyẟ w.m. 123, but is sometimes single, esp. before w̯, as in yg̃uales w.m. 57; in all cases it is doubtless to be read ŋ. After fy the single nasal is used; thus in w.m. we have vy mot 32, vy marɏf 59, vy mrawt 62, vy-g̃wreic 62, vy ni waradwyẟaw 43; more rarely the nasal and mute, as vym-brawt 51, vyn da 459. It is seen that in spite of inconsistencies, the difference between closed yn and open fy is unconsciously reflected in these spellings.
(3) In mss. of the 15th and 16th cent. the consonant is regularly mutated, and the two words are generally joined; thus in the Report on the Peniarth mss., we find ynghaer llion 50/90, ymyellt, ynghaer 53/126, ymorgannwg 54/37, vymod 54/21, vyngwallt 54/280, ymhob 54/209, vymhennadur 57/27. Sometimes the words are separated; thus yn nef 75/172; ym hob 54/250, 61/18, 67/330; y mendith (’y for fy) 54/78 ; vy nolur 56/72.
(4) Salesbury wrote vi-dew, vi-popul for fy Nuw, fy mhobl, “to saue the word the les maimed,” as he explains (1586 Pb. Preface). G.R. ​mutated the consonants and joined the words, fynhy 41, ynnhy 79; he states that m is double—“ymhob a leissiir ymmhob” 80 (see 54 i (2)). His reason for joining fy appears to be that ng cannot be initial, “canys rhy anoẟ yw sillafu fy ngwaith, fy nghaws” 42. Dr. Morgan separated the words in the case of n and m; as fy nhŷ Job xix 15, yn nhŷ do. i 13, fy mhen xxix 3, ym mha beth vi 24; but he appears to think like G.R. that ng cannot be initial, and writes fyng-halon xxxvii i, yng-hilfach xxxviii 16, thus missing the distinction which he elsewhere observes between yn and fy, and wrongly representing fy as a closed syllable. The prejudice against initial ng was overcome in the 1620 Bible, and fy nghalon was written as freely as fy nhy. That settled the matter as far as fy was concerned.
But the representation of yn in the same combination still presented a difficulty. The ng (≡ ŋ) was part of the preposition yŋ; at the same time ngh or ng was the initial of the noun, and Dr. M.’s hyphen in the middle of the trigraph ngh was absurd ; the 1620 Bible therefore used ynghilfachau, returning to the ms. forms. Here ng does double duty, the inconvenience of which appears when the noun requires a capital initial. Dr. M. wrote yng-Hrist; M.K. has yngHymry p. [iv]; the 1620 Bible ynGhrist 1 Cor. xv 18, 19, 22; so in the Bibles of 1677 and 1690. Later, we find yng Haerlŷdd T.J. title (1688); yn Ghymru rh.b.s. dedic. (1701); Yngroeg S.R. 16 (1728). In all these the capital is misplaced by being either put in the middle of the trigraph or transferred to the preposition. The form yn Ngh- which appears about this time, see b.cw. Ixxv, grew out of yn Gh- because it was felt that the initial was Ngh‑; it is objectionable because n is not accepted as a symbol for ŋ except before k or g. The later form y’ Ngwynedd d.g. 41 (1789) misrepresents the preposition as an open syllable. Pughe adopted yn Ng‑, yn M‑, because, in the teeth of all the facts, he denied that the n of yn was mutable. This unphonetic spelling, which stultifies the history of the nasal mutation, § 106 i, has predominated since his day.
J.J. wrote yng ŋolau p 312/iv/1 r., and Dr. Davies pointed out in 1621 that ynghanol was short for yng-nghanol D. 202; but it was not until about a hundred years later that the form yng Ng(h)- came into regular use. We find yng Nghrist in the 1717 Bible, and subsequently in those of 1727, 1746, 1752, and nearly all later editions. This form has been used and advocated by most of the Welsh scholars of the 19th cent., including Iolo Morgannwg (who denounces “dull ffiaidd Mr Owen Pughe” c.b.y.p. 237), R. I. Prys, T. Stephens, T. Rowland, and Silvan Evans.
(5) Fy being unaccented, the following nasal, though of double origin, is simplified, and belongs to the second syllable § 27 ii, i; thus the syllabic division is fy|núw. As words are separated in modern orthography, the usual spelling fy Nuw is in every way correct. Similarly fy merch, fy ngardd. But yn is accented, and the double consonant remains, extending to both syllables § 27 i; hence ýn|núw, ordinarily and correctly written yn Nuw. In the same way we have ​ym Mangor, yŋ Ŋwynedd. With our present alphabet we have to write the last yng Ngwynedd; so yng Nghadelling. It is objected to this that it is clumsy; but that is the fault of the alphabet. It is the only way of expressing the sound fully and correctly, and is the exact equivalent in modern characters of the Ml. W. yggwyned w.m. 108, yg gadellig w. 90, § 24 i.
(6) There are, however, a number of adverbial and prepositional expressions, in which yn, followed by the nasal mutation, is wholly unaccented. In this case the nasal is single, as after fy; and the preposition is naturally joined to its noun, exactly like the in in the Eng. indeed. These expressions are ynghyd, ynghylch, ynglŷn, yngholl, ynghudd, ymhell, ymhlith, ymysg, ymron, ymlaen, ymhen, yngham, ymhellach, ynghynt, etc. No principle of accentuation is violated in this spelling, as asserted by Silvan Evans, Llythyraeth 50, who recommends yng nghyd etc. See above § 47 ii.
The Spirant Mutation.
§ 108. i. Brit. or Lat. pp, tt, kk gave W. ff, th, ch respectively. Thus W. cyff ‘stem’ < Lat. cippus; Brython < Brit. Brittones; pechod < Lat. peccātum; hwch: Ir. socc, etc., § 93 iii (2). It occurs when an initial tenuis follows an explosive in word-composition, as in achas § 93 ii (2), athech § 93 iii (1), athrist § 99 v (4). This is called the “spirant mutation” of the tenuis.
ii. In Brit. s + tenuis had already become a double spirant § 96 i; and original oxytones ending in ‑s caused the spirant mutation of a following initial tenuis § 103 i (3), as tri chant ‘300’. In this case th- and ph- were chosen as the mutations of t- and p‑, as their relation to the radicals is clearer than that of the alternative forms s, χ$^{u̯}$.
iii. The spirant mutation after chwe ‘six’ is irregular. From Kelt. *su̯eks kantom we should expect *chwe cant, since ksk gives sk, and final ‑s would drop. But the independent form of *su̯eks was already *χ$^{u̯}$eχ in Brit.; and we may assume that this was generalized, so that the ch- in chwe chant comes from ‑χ k‑.
iv. (1) Brit. or Lat. kt > *χ̑t > *χ̑þ > i̯þ; the i̯ forms i-diphthongs § 29 i, cf. § 104 ii (1); thus akt > aeth; okt > oeth; ukt > w͡yth; ekt > eith, Mn. aith; ikt > īth. Thus W. caeth < Brit. *kaktos § 86 ii (1); doeth < Lat. doctus; ffrwyth < Lat. fructus; saith Brit. *sehtan < Ar. *septm̥; perffaith < Lat. perfectus; brith < Brit. *briktos < *bhr̥ktos § 101 iii (2); eithin ​‘furze’ < *ektīn- < *ak-tīn‑, √ak̑‑/oq‑; seithug ‘fruitless’; < *sek-tonk- < *seq$^{u̯}$- ‘without’ + *teu‑q‑, √teu̯āˣ- ‘increase’ ; eithaf ‘extreme’ < *ek-tₑm-os: Lat. extimus.
(2) In Ml. W. there was a tendency to voice this th to ẟ, as in perffeiẟẏaw Ỻ. A. 19 from perffeith, now re-formed as perffeithio ‘to perfect’; arhwaeddont do. 32 ‘they may taste’ (: chweith ‘taste’). The ẟ survives in cynysgaeẟu from cynysgaeth ‘endowment’. In aeth + vb. ‘to be’ forming old perfects and pluperfects, the diphthong was simplified, giving ath‑, affected to eth‑, as ethyw Ỻ.A. 82, more commonly eẟyw ‘went’; so aẟoeẟ ‘had gone’, etc., § 193 vi (3), (5).—Final ẟ so produced disappeared in heno, yna, etc. § 78 i (1).
v. Lat. x >*χ̑s > i̯s; thus ax > aes, etc. ; as W. llaes ‘trailing’ < laxus; pais, Ml. W. peis < pexa (tunica); coes ‘leg’ < coxa. So Saeson < Saxones, Sais < Saxō § 69 ii (2). Similarly Brit. ‑ks- from ‑nks- etc., § 96 iii (6).
Initial Mutation.
§ 109. We have seen that Welsh has nine mutable consonants. Initially the radical and mutated forms exist side by side in the living language. The use of the various mutations is determined by syntactical rules which have sprung from generalizations of prevalent forms. Thus an adjective after a fem. sg. noun has its soft initial because most fem. sg. nouns ended in a vowel.
The following table shows all the mutations of the nine mutable consonants:
| Radical | p | t | c | b | d | g | m | ll | rh |
| Soft | b | d | g | f | dd | — | f | l | r |
| Nasal | mh | nh | ngh | m | n | ng | No change | No change | No change |
| Spirant | ph | th | ch | No change | No change | No change | No change | No change | No change |
The words “No change” in the table mean that the consonants under which they are placed retain their radical forms in those positions where the others undergo the respective mutations. Thus after yn, which nasalizes the explosives, m, ll, and ​rh remain unchanged; and words which cause the tenues to become spirants do not alter the other six. This is always understood when the nasal or spirant mutation is named, and there is no need to particularize except in case of irregularity.
Strictly speaking, of course, words which caused the nasal and spirant mutations changed I, r to II and rh. But for practical purposes it is simpler to treat the changes as above; see § 103 i (4).
Later Consonant Changes. Loss of Voiced Spirants and Sonants.
§ 110. i. The soft mutations of b, d, g, m have all tended to be softened to the vanishing point. Being very soft “buzzes” ẟ and f were liable to be confused; and so we find one substituted for another as in cuddygl (kuẟygɏl w.m. 140, r.m. 211) ‘cell’ for *cufygl < Lat. cubic’lum (prob. influenced by cudd ‘hidden’); Eiẟẏonyẟ r.p. 1287 for Eifionydd (eiwonit b.b. 69) ; Late Mn. W. Caer Dydd for Caer Dyf ‘Cardiff’; or two metathesized, as in clefyẟeu r.m. 182 for cleẟyveu do. 126, and in clefytaud (t ≡ ẟ) b.b. 48 for cleẟyfawd: W. cleddyf, § 76 viii (2) (Ir. claideb ‘sword’ < W.).—S.V. (P.Ỻ. xci) says of the line Kawn vedd rhad kyneddvau Rhys (by H.K., see c.c. 344) that it pleases the ear though it violates the rule. The ear does not notice the inversion v ẟ / ẟ v.
ii. (1) The soft mutation of g has uniformly disappeared as an initial sound. Thus *dy ᵹardd has become dy ardd ‘thy garden’. Medially it disappears or becomes i̯ before a vowel, or before I, r or n § 103 ii (1), § 104 ii. Medial nᵹn > n, as in ynad § 62 ii; cf. § 106 ii (1).
(2) Medially after I or r it appears as i̯, § 105 ii, which is lost before y, as in cŏ́lyn < O.W. colginn § 54 ii. This palatalization of ᵹ to ᵹ̑ > i̯ after a liquid is comparatively late, for it does not take place finally; in that position ᵹ remained dark, and became non-syllabic ỿ, as in Ml. W. daly (1 syll.) ‘to hold’; this was either assimilated to the l as in N. W. dăl (<*dal-l, double I, not ỻ), or was lowered to a and became syllabic, as in S. W. dala; from Brit. *dalg- < *dₑl’gh‑, √delāˣgh‑: Skr. dīrgháḥ ‘long’, Lat. indulgeo, longus. Medially it is i̯ from the same stem, as in dali̯af ‘I hold, maintain, continue’. So we have Ml. W. hely ‘to hunt’, N. W. hĕl ‘collect’, S. W. hela; Ml. W. boly bag, belly ', N. W. bŏl, S. W. bola; Ml. W. gwaly, Mn. W. gwala ‘sufficiency’; Ml. W. eiry 'snow', Mn. W. (N. and S.) eira, and eir in eir-law ‘sleet’, ces-air ‘hail’; Ml. W. llary ‘generous’ < Lat. largus, Mn. W. llari̯aidd. The form ‑a appears in writing as early as the b.b., e.g. llara 7, where, however, the word counts as only one syllable in the metre.
​In the 16th cent. the sound of ‑y in the above Ml. W. forms was not known. J.D.R. writes it y (≡ ɥ), p. 136; but Dr. Davies compares it with Eng. final mute -e, as in take, and writes it ỿ, as bolỿ, helỿ D. 19. The correctness of this transcription is -confirmed by the b.ch., where it appears as e (≡ ỿ, § 16 iii), as dale a.l. i 20 ≡ dalỿ. [ᵹ > ỿ > a forms an interesting parallel to the supposed Pre-Ar. ᵹ giving ə and then mostly a.]
(3) Lat. virgo > W. gw̯yry (1 syll.) D.G. 156, Ỻ.A. 84, 87, 90, etc., whence gwyrdawt r.b.b. 119, though we have also gweryndawt Ỻ.A. 17, 50, 84, b.b. 40, direct from virginitātem. In b.b. 70 occurs the pl. gwirion < Brit. *u̯irgones. Later we find morwyn wyra a.l. i 518; Gwynedd dial. menɥn gw̯ɥrẟ (for *gwɥr-r cf. dal-l) ‘unsalted butter’, Dyfed menyn gw̯ɥra, Rhys CC. 46. We also have gwyrf (1 syll.) D.G. 118, gwyrɏf vireindawl (4 syll.) r.p. 1199, and gweryẟ (2 syll.) r.p. 1200, D.G. 137, pl. gweryẟon (3 syll.) r.p. 1199, b.b. 71. The latter cannot be derived from virgo; no medial syllabic irrational y is known in Early Ml. W.; gweryẟ must be Kelt. and may represent *ɡ$^{u̯}$heríi̯ō, pl. *ɡ$^{u̯}$heríi̯ones: Ir. gerait ‘virgin’, gerait (i. mac bec) ‘little boy’ O’Dav.: redupl., Gk. παρθένος < *ɡ$^{u̯}$hr̥-ɡ$^{u̯}$hén- (not: Skr. pr̥thukaḥ ‘boy, calf’, since *th > Gk. τ), Lat. virgin- < *ɡ$^{u̯}$er-ɡhen‑, dissim. for *ɡ$^{u̯}$her-ɡ$^{u̯}$hen‑, and perhaps W. gwyrf < *ɡ$^{u̯}$herɡ$^{u̯}$hō, which fits exactly, § 92 iii. Dr. Davies wrongly takes Ml. W. gwyryf as a disyllable gwy|ryf, which it may have become dialectally, § 16 v (3). The biblical pl. gwyryfon is formed from the new disyllable.
(4) In bwrw < *burg- § 97 v (3), llwrw < *lurg- < *lorg- § 215 ii (7), the ‑ᵹ was rounded by the preceding w, and became ‑w̯. In derived forms, however, it became i̯ regularly; as Ml. W. bỿrẏaf ‘I cast down’, now bwri̯af.
(5) In hy ‘bold’ (< *hyᵹ < *sig- < *sego‑: § 92 i) a final f is now wrongly written. The f is not pronounced, and there is no evidence of it in Ml. W. or the poets; see hy b.b.b. 265, D.G. 42, 269, 313, etc. It does not occur in old derivatives: kyn-hyet s.g. 277, hy-der, hy-dab. In the dialects, however, f is inserted in new derivatives, as hyf-dra, hyfach, which, like llefydd, brofydd, dial. pl. of lle, bro, are due to false analogy. Other spurious forms like hyf occur in late mss., such as daf, llef, brof for da, lle, bro. In none of these is the f an old substitution for ᵹ; they are sham-literary forms made on the analogy of tref for the spoken tre’.
iii. (1) Final f was lost before the Ml. period after aw, as in llaw ‘hand’ < *llawf < Kelt. *lāmā < Ar. *pl̥̄mā § 63 vii (2);—rhaw ‘spade’ < *rhawf < *rā-mā, √arā- § 63 ix. When a syllable is added and aw is replaced by o § 81 i, the f reappears, as in llof-rudd ‘murderer’, lit. ‘red-handed’, llof-yn D.G. 107 ‘wisp’, lloffa ‘to glean’ < *llof-ha, rhofiau ‘spades’. So praw Ỻ.A. 24, r.p. 1215 ‘proof’ for prawf a back-formation from provi Ỻ.A. 38, 72 < Lat. probo. The re-introduction of f in praw is artificial, and inconsistent with the N.W. pron. prāw, § 52 iii, Exc. (1).
    Na wrthod, ferch, dy berchi;
    Na phraw ymadaw â mi.—D.G. 108; see 238, 240.
‘Refuse not, lady, to be honoured; do not try to leave me.’
It was lost after iw̯ in Rhiwabon ‘Ruabon’ for r͑iw vabon r.b. 1066, and after w in tw ‘growth’, dŵr ‘water’, reappearing in tỿfu ‘to grow’, dỿfroedd ‘waters’, in which w is mutated to ỿ. It disappeared regularly after u, as in plu ‘feathers’ sg. pluen < Lat. plūma;—cu ‘dear’, O.W. cum (m ≡ ṽ), Corn. cuf, Bret. kuñ, kuñv, Ir. cōim < *koi‑m‑, √k̑ei-: Skr. s̑éva‑ḥ ‘dear’ < *k̑ei-u̯‑os, Lat. cīvis;—du ‘black’, Corn. duv, Ir. dub < *dhubh‑, √dheubh‑: Gk. τυφλός;—so in derivatives cu-dab, cu-ed, du-ach, etc.
f being originally bilabial, § 19 ii (4), when it followed w̯, w or u (≡ ü), it was in effect little more than the narrowing of the lip-rounding at the end of the syllable, and so came to be disregarded. For a similar reason, when f followed m, it was also lost or assimilated, as in mámaeth for *mám-faeth ‘foster-mother’; im ’y hun for im fy hun ‘for myself’.
    Ni byddai bwn, heb ddau bâr,
    Im ’y hunan o’m heiniar.—I.D. tr. 138; cf. E.P. 277.
‘Without two pairs [of oxen] there would not be [even] a burden for myself of my crop.’ It remained in cam-fa ‘stile’ (Gwyn. dial. camẟa, Dyfed canfa by dissim.).
(2) Initial f often disappears in fy ‘my’, especially in poetry, the following nasal mutation showing that ’ỿ means ‘my’ not ‘the’; as yg̃korn (≡ ’y nghorn) ym neẟeir b.t. 35 ‘my horn in my hand’; ’Y mam r.m. 194, l. 5 ‘my mother’ (‘the mother’ is y fam); so ’Y myd wen § 136 iii, ’y mun D.G. 17 ‘my girl’, ’y nghefn, ’y mraint, do. 274, etc.—It is lost in vab ‘son’ in patronymics, as Hywel ab Einion; in ychydig for fychydig, rad. bychydig.
    Déuaf—myfi yw d’ ë́os—
    Dïau, ’ỿ nŷn, o daw nos.—D.G. 114.
‘I will come—[for] I am thy nightingale—assuredly, my lady, if night comes.’
(3) Medial f drops after an explosive, when followed by a rounded vowel or a liquid, as in testun ‘text’ for *testfun < Lat. testimōnium. Hence in compounds, where it is the initial of the second element, it is often lost, as in Bod-órgan for *Bod Forgan (‘Morgan’s dwelling’), Bod-ẃrog for *Bod Fwrog, etc.; Bendigéidran § 45 i (2) for Bendigéid-Vran (Bendigeitvran, first written without the v in r.m. 26, and v inserted above the line). Between a consonant and liquid it dropped early in some cases as in yr llynedd, Gwenlliant § 111 i (1) and Hydref do. vii (1). Rarely before an explosive, as in agwyẟawr for *afgwyẟawr § 74 i (1).
(4) Final fn in unaccented syllables is generally reduced to n, especially after rounded vowels, as in eon for eofn ‘fearless’ ​§ 156 i (15); únon Gr. O. 118 for ún-ofn ‘one fear’; annwn for annwfn ‘hell’; dodren in the dialects, and sometimes in the bards, for dodrefn § 82 ii (3); colon for colofn, see example; ysgafn ‘light’ retains its f in N.W. dial.; in S.W. ysgawn or ysgon is used.
    Val Samson wrth golon gynt
    A fu’n rhwym yw fy nhremynt.—G.Gl. p 83/59.
‘Like Samson, who was bound to a column of old, is my condition.’
Final fl gave I in S.W. côl L.G.C. 280, for cofl ‘bosom, embrace.’
(5) Final f began to disappear very early in the spoken language; we already find gwartha for gwarthaf in l.l. 196. Its earliest regular loss (apart from the cases cited in (1) above) occurred after i, as in the v. n. termination ‑i, e.g. moli ‘to praise’ for *molif, O.W. molim juv. sk.; lli for llif ‘flood’; divri r.p. 1149 for difrif ‘serious’; cyfri D.G. 4 for cýf-rif ‘to count’. But in the 14th cent. it had come to be freely dropped after any vowel, as the following rhymes show: ne’/bore G.Gr. d.g. 238, ydwy’/mwy D.G. 72, cry’/lesu do. 474, ha’/Efa do. 157; so wna’ D.G. 72, kynta’ r.p. 1277. The word is treated in every way as a word ending in a vowel; thus it is followed by ’n for yn, ’r for y or yr, etc., as ofnwy’r D.G. 321 for ofnwyf y; ydwy’n for ydwyf yn § 125 iii ex. 1; Tre’rkastell r.p. 1210 for Tref y Castell.
Final f is not known to drop in the old words glaif ‘sword’, of ‘raw’, blif ‘catapult’ or in lit. W. llef ‘cry’, sef ‘that is’. It is still retained in the spoken language in dof ‘tame’, rhwyf ‘oar’, bref ‘bleat’, prif ‘chief’, Taf ‘Taff’, and in borrowed words, as braf ‘fine’: Fr. brave, E. brave.
iv. (1) Initial ẟ in O. W. di ‘to’ disappeared, giving Ml. W. ẏ, Mn. W. i, ‘to’ § 65 iv (2).
(2) Medial ẟ disappears in mewn: Ir. medōn § 215 iii (1); in the verb rhoddaf, v.n. rhoddi ‘to give’, which became rho-af > rhôf, v.n. rhoi; see rhoist, etc. § 33 iii (1); but the ẟ also persisted in the written language; see § 186. Similarly arhoaf for *arhoddaf § 187 iii. Medial ẟ also disappears in tỿddɥn > tyn in place-names of the form Tɥn-ỿ-mā́es (*tỿɥn > *tɥɥn, *tɥ̄n, tɥn).
Medial ẟ is sometimes lost as the initial of the second element of a compound; thus rheg-ofydd (rec ouyt m.a. i 324, 344) ‘lord of gifts’ for rheg-ẟofydd (recẟovyẟ w.m. 452, r.m. 100); Duw Ofydd for Duw Ddofydd, Cred-ofydd for Cred-ẟofydd, etc. It was also lost before an explosive, as in Blegywryt a.l. i 338 (ms. l.) for Bleẟ-gywryd (Bledeuurit l.l. 222); diwédydd (diwedit b.b. 90) ‘evening’ for *diwéẟ-dyẟ; gwybed ‘flies’ for gwyẟbed (gwyẟbet r.m. 54).
(3) Final ẟ was lost in the relative ydd before a consonant, § 162 i. It disappeared early in the 2nd sg. pres. ind. of verbs, § 173 iii (2). It dropped in yssyẟ ‘who is’ (often issi ≡ yssȳ́ in b.b.), though sydd may still be heard as well as sy. Sometimes in naw Duw! f.n. 63 for nawẟ Duw! ‘God’s protection!’ (i.e. God help us!). In i fynydd ​‘up’ the final ‑ẟ was lost early, though it is sometimes found written in Ml. W., as kyvodi ẏ vynyẟ Ỻ.A. 111, and survives to this day in parts of Dyfed. With its ẟ, i fyny lost all trace of its original signification, as seen in the unconscious repetition in ẏ vyny ẏ vynyẟ Oliver r.p. 1280 ‘up to Mount Olivet’. The final ‑ẟ of eisteẟ also disappeared very early; it is eiste in the b.b. and b.ch. So in w.m., e.g. 4 times in col. 449, in each case changed to eisteẟ in r.m. 293–4. The ‑ẟ is deduced from eisteẟaf, etc., and its re-insertion finally is artificial; it is not sounded in eiste in the spoken language. Final ‑ẟ also disappeared in hwnnw etc. § 78 i (1).
v. (1) The final ‑r of the article yr was lost before a consonant after the O. W. period; see § 114 iii. So ‑r after a consonant in brawd § 113 i (1).
(2) Final ‑nn was sometimes lost in unaccented syllables; as cyfa ‘whole’, Ml. W. kyfa r.p. 1285 for cyfan(n), cf. kyfannu w.m. 129; yma ‘here’ for yman(n) § 220 ii (11); (e)felly ‘so’ < *hefel hynu ‘like this’, cf. fell hýnn § 215 iv (2); Ml. W. ky- for kynn ‘as’ before the eqtv. § 147 iv (4); ‑fa for ‑fann § 143 iii (16). The tendency was arrested, and ‑nn generally remains; it had not gone far in kynn before it was checked, and ‑n(n) was restored. The loss also occurs in Corn. and Bret., so that it must be referred to an early peculiarity in the pronunciation of ‑nn.
Provection.
§ 111. i. (1) When n or r came before a liquid after the loss of an intervening vowel, the liquid became voiceless; thus nl > nll; rl > rll; nr > nrh; rr > rrh. Examples: gwinllan ‘vineyard’ < *gwin-lann < *vīno-landā; hirllaes ‘long trailing’ for *hir-laes; penrhyn ‘promontory’ for *penn-ryn; an-rheg § 156 ii (1); Henllan, Henllys, etc. Also in combinations in which no vowel had intervened, as gôr-!lanw̯ ‘high tide’, an-llygredig ‘incorruptible’. So initially: yn llawn for yn lawn ‘full’; yn rhad, mor llawn, mor rhad (yn and mor generally cause lenition of adjectives) ; so pur llawn ‘very full’; hēn llew Job iv 11 (1620), hēn llys p 121/35 r.
This change had taken place before the loss of ᵹ and ẟ as described in § 110, and did not take place later. So where ᵹ or ẟ originally stood between the sounds it did not occur. Thus we have Cýn-las < *Cyn-ᵹlas < Cuno-glasos; tôr-Ian ‘brink’ < *torr-ᵹlann ‘broken bank’; Hâr-lech < Harẟ-lech w.m. 38; cór-lan ‘fold’ < *corẟ-lann. Thus yn Iân, mor Iân from glân ‘clean, fair’; and while we have y llăn ‘the hamlet’ from *yr lann from llann ‘enclosure’, we have y Iăn ‘the bank’ from *yr ᵹlann from glann ‘bank’, both nouns being fem. But f appears in some cases to have dropped out early enough to allow of the change; as in y llynedd more fully yr llynedd for *yr flyneẟ; Gwenllïan < *gwenn-flïant.
(2) l was palatalized and became ll in two positions: (α) after Brit. ​ei, Lat. ē; thus cannw͡yll < Lat. candēla; tŵyll ‘deceit’ < Lat. tēla; tywyll ‘dark’ § 38 x for *tyw̯-w͡yll § 76 vii (2) < *temeil- < *temes-elo-s: Bret. teval, teñval for *teñvol, Corn. tiwul, Ir. temel: Lat. tenebrae < *temesrai, Skr. tamasáḥ ‘dark-coloured’; but not after Brit. ai, e. g. coel ‘omen’ < *kail- < *qai̯(u̯)l‑: O. H. G. heilisōn ‘augurari’: Ir. cēl < *keil‑.—(β) Between two i’s, as in Ebrill < Lat. Aprīlis; pebyll ‘tent’ < Lat. pāpilio.
ii. (1) When b‑b, d‑d, g‑g came together after the loss of a vowel they became double p, t, c respectively, simplified before the accent, and before a sonant ; as in Catéyrn for Catté|ɥrn < *Cad-diᵹirn- < Brit. Cato-tigirn- (Rhys no. 47); meitin < *meid-din < Lat. mātūtīnum § 70 v; wynepryd ‘countenance’ < *wyneb-bryd; and in the example bywiócledd < bywiog gledd:
    A’m bẃcled a’m bywiócledd
    Yn arfau maen ar fy medd.—G.Gl., m 146/198.
‘And my buckler and live sword as weapons of stone [carved] on my grave.’
When the explosives came together in different words they resulted in a double consonant, voiced at the implosion, but voiceless with the new impulse at the explosion. This change is not now represented in writing ; but in mss. and early printed books ‑d d- etc. frequently appear as ‑d t- etc. ; thus Nid Toethineb heb len p 54/356 r. ‘There is no wisdom without learning’; Gwnaed tuw ag enaid howel p 63/7 r. ‘Let God do with the soul of Howel’; Ygwaed ta a vac tëyrn p 52/22 ‘Good blood begets a king’; Glowed tim ond y glod tau c.c. 342 ‘To hear anything but thy praise’; i’r wlad tragwyddol b.cw. 86 ‘to the eternal land’; Y Ddraig côch ddyry cychwyn g. 177 ‘The Red Dragon gives a leap’. “Two /b/ standeth in force of /p/….mab byχan most be pronounced as if ytt were wrytten mab pyχan” J. J. Ỻ 144/51. In all cynghanedd prior to the 19th cent. such a combination corresponds to a tenuis. The writers of the recent period sometimes treat it as a media.
(2) ẟẟ became th in nyth, syth, etc. § 97 ii; cf. dial. rhōth for *rhoẟẟ < rhoẟoẟ ‘gave’. Similarly ᵹᵹ became ch in dichon § 196 ii (2). But generally two voiced spirants remained, written single, as in prifarẟ for prif-farẟ ‘chief bard’.
iii. (1) When a media was followed by h the two became a double tenuis; thus ateb (t ≡ tt) ‘reply’ < *ad-heb < *ati-seq$^{u̯}$‑, √seq$^{u̯}$- ‘say’; drycin ‘storm’ § 27 i < *dryg-hin; gw̯lypaf ‘wettest’ for *gw̯lyb-haf § 147 ii.
When the sounds came together in different words they gave the double sound dt etc., see ii (1) above; and in all standard cynghanedd ‑d h- corresponds to t, ‑b h- to p, ‑g h- to c; as Oer yw heb hwn, ŵr hy pert Gr.H. G. 99.
(2) Similarly in some cases fh > ff; ẟh > th; as in lloffa ‘to glean’ § 110 iii (1), § 201 iii (4); diwethaf ‘last’ § 149 i; rhotho § 186 ii; ​bytho § 189 ii (4). So fr‑h > ffr in dyffryn § 106 iii (2); f‑rr > f‑rh > ffr in cyffredin § 156 i (9). But as a rule the groups remain, as dyddháu, dyfrháu; and ‑f h‑, ‑ẟ h- do not correspond to ff, th in cynghanedd.
iv. When two similar consonants, whether explosives or spirants, one voiced and the other voiceless, came together, they became a double voiceless sound medially, simplified where double consonants are usually simplified, as before a consonant; thus pópeth (p ≡ pp) < *pób-peth ‘everything’; gwrthrych ‘object’ < *gwrth-ẟrych. In ordinary pronunciation the result is the same when the sounds occur in different words; and in Ml. W. mss. ‑th ẟ- frequently appear as th only; thus athiweẟ Ỻ.A. 157 for a’th ẟiweẟ ‘and thy end’; Athelw athwylaw ar llet r.p. 1220 ‘And Thy image with Thy hands extended’; cf. 1205 l. 34, 1321 l. 32; similarly weinllian tec 1424 for (G)wenllïant deg; cereint ᵗḍuw 1220 (d deleted by dot, t substituted).
v. (1) When two unlike mediae came together, the group was unvoiced at the implosion, but not necessarily at the explosion. In Ml. W. both are usually written as tenues; thus dicter r.p. 1209, atkessynt 1309, hepcor 1230, dywetpwyt w.m. 96, ducpwyt do. 183, attpawr b.b. 35. The second is, however, often written as a media, as o wacder r.p. 1280, atborẏon do. 1208, kytbar do. 1300, llygatgall do. 1308. In the 1620 Bible we have atcas, datcuddiad, etc.; but the more usual spelling later was atgas, datguddiad, etc., which perhaps represents the sound more accurately. When however the second consonant was a dental it tends more to be voiceless. In the Bible we find such forms as digter for dicter, the g being due to dig. In cynghanedd either consonant may correspond to a tenuis or a media. Pughe’s etymological spellings adgas, udgorn, hebgor, etc., misrepresent the sound, which is as nearly as possible atgas, utgorn, hepgor.
(2) A media was frequently, though not necessarily, unvoiced before l, r, m, n, ẟ, f and even w̯, i̯. Thus in Ml. W. we find llwtlaw r.p. 1222 ‘Ludlow’, atrawẟ 1251, tatmaetheu r.m. 24, atnewyẟwys 93, wreicẟa 23, dynghetven 73, atwen 245, lletẏeith r.p. 1222. But while r.m. has grwytraw 86, the older w.m. has in the same passage grwydraw 183. In r.p. 1269, 1303 we have sygneu ‘signs’ but in 1214, 1215 it is written sycneu. Indeed the r.b. scribe, who had no ear for cynghanedd, writes tenuis and media where they should correspond; as heidẏaw/​ehetẏat r.p. 1283, chenedloeẟ/​chynatleu 1204, dilitẏa/​dy aelodeu 1216. In the last example the sound is certainly d, as aelodeu cannot have t. It might therefore be supposed that the sound was always a media, and that to write it a tenuis was a mere orthographical convention. But though the sound is now generally a media, there is evidence that it might be, and often was, a tenuis: (α) D.G. has such correspondences as Dadliti̯a ’r/​diwyd latai p. 19, neiti̯wr/​natur 133; and (β) the tenuis has survived in a number of examples, as Coetmor (for coed-mor < coed mawr); tycio ‘to prevail’ < twg ‘prosperity’ < *tuq‑, √teu̯āˣ‑, cf. § 108 iv; eto for etw̯o < edwaeth ​§ 220 ii (7); ysgatfydd ‘perhaps’; Llan Decw̯yn; caneiti̯o ‘to brighten’ (of the moon) < cannaid; cartref, pentref.
(3) The mediae were unvoiced before voiceless consonants; thus atsein b.t. 20, datsein r.m. 289, Botffordd g. 102. In Late Mn. orthography etymological spellings prevail, as adsain Ezec. vii 7, Bodffordd. The latter, the name of a place in Anglesey, is always sounded Botffordd, in spite of the spelling with d.
(4) It is seen from (1), (2) and (3) above that a media is liable to be unvoiced before any consonant in the middle of a word. But we have seen in the preceding subsections that a change which took place medially also occurred when the group belonged to different words. Hence final mediae must frequently have been sounded as tenues before an initial consonant; and this is very probably the reason why they were so commonly written as tenues, the pre-consonantal form being generalized in writing. The facts are briefly summarized in § 18 ii.
But before an initial vowel it is certain that a final explosive, though written as a tenuis, was in fact a media in the 14th cent. In the following examples from r.p. (which might easily be multiplied) it is seen that the final t or c in heavy type must be pronounced d or g to correspond to a media in the other part of the line:
    Digystuẟ | anrec am (dec ystwyll 1202,
    Glot oleu | yn (glew dalu 1203,
    Gwledic eurswllt | vu (gwlat a gorseẟ 1208;
so before a liquid:
    Temɏl ẏgrist | teu amlwcrat 1200.
Such a slip as Set libera nos a malo Ỻ.A. 150 shows that the scribe was in the habit of writing final t where the sound was d. Cf. also § 18 iii. That the written tenuis does not mean that the vowel was short in a monosyllable like gwac now gw̯āg is proved by such a spelling as yn waac…y gadeir waac w.m. 449, r.m. 293. Cf. § 55 i.
The final media before an initial consonant, however, corresponds to a tenuis in much later cynghanedd, especially when the initial is voiceless:
    Hebswydd | mor (hapus a hwn g. 239
    Brigffydd | a bairkoffa hwn, etc., P.Ỻ. Ixxix.
Though the explosive is now a media before an initial consonant as well, we have a trace of the tenuis in ap for ab (for fab § 110 iii (2)), as in ap Gwilym beside ab Edmwnd.
(5) Since the explosive was a tenuis before a consonant we have ‑p m- and ‑t n‑; these combinations were mutated to mh and nh in the following examples, the voicelessness of the tenuis being retained after its assimilation: Amhadawc p 61/18 r. for Ap Madawc, Amhredydd c.c. 334 for Ap Mareduẟ, am mydron b.b. 94 (m ≡ mh § 24 i), etc.; prynhawn w.m. 70, r.m. 50, Ỻ.A. 121 for pryt nawn w.m. 162, r.m. ​229. The late spelling prydnawn is an artificial reconstruction; the spoken language preserves the traditional pronunciation prynháwn.
    Ag un lliw, gannwyll awyr,
    Y barnwn haul brynhawn hwyr.—I.D. 7.
‘And of the same colour I judged the late evening sun,—the candle of the sky.’ Cf.brynhawn/​bery’ n hir D.G. 73, Barn hen/​brynhawn do. 428.
vi. (1) A media was unvoiced after nasal + tenuis. The following cases occur: ŋk‑d' > ŋkt or ŋt, as in ieuenctid ‘youth’ also written ieuengtid;—nt‑g > ŋk, as in difancoll D.G. 387 ‘perdition’ < *difant-goll; deincryd D.G. 385, r.p. 1157 ‘gnashing of teeth’ < *deint-gryd.
(2) A media was generally unvoiced after a voiceless spirant; as glastwfɏr r.m. 146 for glasdwfr § 96 ii (5); neillparth do. 148 for neillbarth; dywespwyt do. 90 ; gwnaethpwyt do. 89; gwallco b.cw. 37 for gwallgof; alltud for all-dud. On the other hand p and c are voiced, sometimes even in Ml. W., after s; thus while we have yskyn r.m. 11, kyscu do. 21, yspryt Ỻ.A. 99, we also find disgynnent r.m. 14, goresgyn do. 91, ysbryt Ỻ.A. 3, esgussawd w. 1a, pasgadur ib. Though the tenuis was commonly written up to the 18th cent., Dr. Davies’s orthography has generally prevailed since the appearance of his dictionary; in this the media is written except in the groups st, llt, cht, fft, thp.
(3) An initial media is sometimes found written as a tenuis after a voiceless spirant: Canys collyg̃hy w.m. 78 changed to Kan nys gollynghy in r.m. 56; Bei ys cuypun b.b. 81 ‘If I knew’; os kovyn a.l. ii 18 ‘if he asks it’; seith pechawt Ỻ.A. 143 for seith bechawt s.g. 36 ‘seven sins’; a’th caledrwydd rh.b.s. 74 ‘and thy hardness.’
vii. (1) ẟl > dl, as in bodlon ‘satisfied’ < *boẟ-lawn. The recent spelling boddlon is a reconstruction due to Pughe; the natural pronunciation is bodlon (S. W. bŏ́lon); cf. Fodlon im dan fedw̯lwyn ir D.G. 172 ‘contented with me under fresh birch-trees’; Bodloni bydol annyn Gr.O. 34 ‘to satisfy a worldly wretch’; hadl ‘lying in ruins’ for *haẟl < *sₑd-lo‑, √sed- ‘settle’ § 63 ii. Similarly ẟr > dr, as in cadr ‘puissant’ for *caẟr: Gaul. Belatu-cadrus ep. of Mars, O. Bret. cadr gl. decoreo, Bret. cazr, kaer ‘handsome’: Gk. κεκαδμένος, Skr. s̑ās̑ad- ‘distinguish oneself’. It took place after the loss of f; thus Hydref ‘October’ < hyẟfref (heẟvref a.l. i 24, calan hyddfref m.a. i 346b ‘Oct. 1st’), dedryd ‘verdict’ < *deẟf-fryd.
On the other hand d ( < orig. t) is sometimes treated as ẟ before a sonant, and in S. W. dial, has remained ẟ or disappeared. Thus cenedl is kenetɏl in b.b. 10, 16, where t ≡ ẟ, but in O. W. is cenetl b.s.ch. 2, where t ≡ d (S. W. dial. cenel); hoedl (with d < t, cf. Late Brit. Vennisetli, and see § 63 vii (5)) is treated as hoeẟl by Casnodyn, hoeẟɏl/​heẟwch r.p. 1248, cf. 1234, 1241, but G.M.D. has hyder/​hoedɏl do. 1320, cf. 1212; so I.G., Hudol/​hoedl 310. S. W. hw̯eẟel for chwedl cannot mean that the suff. was *‑dhlo‑, for ‑edl- would give ​‑eil § 104 iv (3). So S. W. gwaẟan for gwadn ‘sole’ has orig. t, since dn gives n; gwadn < *u̯o‑t‑n- < *u̯o‑dd-no- < *upo-bd-no- ‘*under foot’, √ped‑.
The late change of drum, drem to trum, trem is probably due to the soft mutation ẟr- becoming dr‑, and the d- being then mistaken for the soft mutation of t‑. It certainly is not a phonetic law that dr- should become tr‑, for drwg, drych, drain, drud, etc., all retain dr‑.
(2) ẟ > d after s, t, d, and in old formations after l, ll, n; thus treisdwyn for *treis-ẟwyn ‘a taking by force’, dreis-dwyn/​dristyt r.p. 1288; atal ‘to withhold’ < *ad-dalᵹ < *ad-ẟalᵹ < *ati-dalg‑; llygeitu for llygeid-ẟu, etc.; bendith for *ben-ẟith < Lat. benedictio; melltith or melldith for *melẟith < Lat. maledictio.
This change also takes place initially; thus nos da ‘good night’ § 146 iii (2), nos du Diar. vii 9 ‘black night’, for *nos ẟ- (nos being f.—the orig. mutation was rad. after *no(k)ts, but this cannot be assumed to have survived); so yr wythnos diwethaf ‘last week’; tros Dafydd g. 237, tros daear e. xiv for tros ẟ‑; Bleẟyn tu r.p. 1284 for Bleẟynt du for Bleẟynt ẟu; lleian du D.G. 20 ‘black nun’; Siwan du L.G.C. 319, 321 ‘black Joan’; holl daear do. 446.
    Pan aeth Tomos ap Rhoser
    At Duw a’r saint trwy y sêr.—L.G.C. 38.
‘When Thomas ap Rhosser went up to God and the saints through the stars.’
    Llyma ’r blaid lle mae’r blodau
    A ’r holl dawn o’u rhyw ill dau.—T.A., c. ii 83.
‘This is the band [of children] in whom are the flowers and all the gift of their [the parents’] two natures.’
    Yna nosa, myn Iesu,
    Einioes dyn inegis nos du.—G.GL, c 7/44.
‘Then, by Jesus, man’s life darkens like black night.’
(3) ẟ > d before or after the above sounds, and continuants such as m, f, even when separated from them, see § 102 iii (2); as Late Mn. W. machlud < ym-achludd § 44 v < Lat. occlūdo; Late Mn. W. gormod for gormoẟ the usual form in the bards; Maesyfed ‘Radnor’ for Maes Hyfeiẟ; didol < *di-ẟawl § 156 i (11), pedol § 102 iii (2). The change, being a form of dissimilation, is only accidental.
(4) The change of ᵹ to g and of f to b under similar conditions is rare: arglwyẟ 'lord' beside arlwyẟ (both in w.m. 160) < *ar-ᵹw̯lw͡yẟ < *pₑri-u̯lei- VR$_{1e}$ of √u̯elēi‑; cf. glyw § 102 iii (2); cwbl for *cwfl § 168 iii (3); parabl ‘saying’ for *parafl < Lat. parabola; cabl ‘calumny’ for *cafl < *kaml- met. for *kal’men: Lat. calumnia § 100 ii (1); so Bret. cablus, Corn. cabal.
§ 112. i. (1) In O. W. and Early Ml.W. an initial vowel or a medial vowel in hiatus seems to have been pronounced with a distinct breathing which is often represented by h. This breathing was voiced, ​and so differed from h < s, which was voiceless. Examples are, initial: O. W. ha, hoc ox. ‘and’; heitham do., Ml. and Mn. W. eithaf § 108 iv (1);—Ml. W., from a.l. i, huydvet (wythfed) 58; huchof ib. ‘above me’; hun din (un dyn) 124 ‘one man’; yr hun (yr un) 256; huiui (wyf i) 114; er hyd (yr ɥd) 326 ‘the corn’; ohyd (o ɥd) 82 ‘of corn’; hercki (erchi) 152; hodyn (odyn) 78, etc. Medially it occurs not only where a soft spirant had disappeared, as in diheu r.m. 181 < *di-ᵹeu, Mn. W. dïau ‘truly’; rohi a.l. i 118 < roẟi; but also where no consonant ever existed, as in diheu Ỻ.A. 21 ‘days’; dihag̃ei r.b.b. 48 ‘escaped’.
(2) Although this breathing has generally been smoothed away, it was liable to become voiceless before an accented vowel, and in that case it survived as h; thus medially in dihangol ‘escaped, safe’; initially, after a vowel in pa hám for *pa am ‘what for’, pa hachos Ỻ.A. 123, pa hawr do. 13; after r in un ar hugain ‘21’, yr holl § 168 ii (3); in all positions in hogi ‘to whet’ for *ogi < *āk‑, √ak̑‑/​oq‑: W. agalen ‘whetstone’. This occurs in several cases in which an initial accented vowel was followed by two consonants, so that it was pronounced rather forcibly; thus W. hagr ‘ugly’ for *agr, Bret. akr, hakr, √ak̑‑/​oq‑;—W. hardd ‘handsome’ for *arẟ ‘high’: Ir. ard, Lat. arduus, cf. Harẟ-lech orig. quite evidently ‘high rock’;—so sometimes henw̯ ‘name’ (henw̯ ‘noun’ r.g. 1121), generally with h- in Gwyn. dial., but anwédig without it: Bret. hañv, hanu, hano, Corn. hanow; O. W. anu, Ir. ainm, see p. 81.
(3) On the other hand initial h (< s) might come to be confused with the soft breathing, and so disappear before an unacc. vowel, as in eleni ‘this year’ < *he-fleni: Bret. hevlene, with the same prefix as heẟiw ‘to-day’; yvelly w.m. 41 for *hefelly, see § 110 v (2); O. W. anter-metetic gl. semiputata (hanner mededig).
(4) In O. W. the breathing is found (rarely) before a suffix where it was clearly marked off from the stem, as in casulheticc (casul-edig) m.c., but no trace of a breathing in such a position remains. We have, however, a medial h before an accented vowel under the following conditions:—(α) Where the vowel is followed by two consonants, as cenhédloedd Ps. ii 1; kynhel-lis r.b.b. 234, cynhali̯aeth (l‑l and li̯ < *lᵹ); cymhedrawl m.a. ii 343 (cymedrawl ib. 355); cynhyrchol Marc iv 8; but this never became a strict rule; it is carried somewhat further in the recent than in earlier periods: cynneddfau Diar. xxxi cyn. (1620), cynheddfau in late edns.—(β) Where n stands for ẟn, as in bonhéddig from bonedd < *budníi̯ā, as if the ẟ had left a soft breathing; blynyddoedd is a late formation § 122 iv (2) and has no h.—(γ) Where r comes after n, as in anrheithi; this occurs even after the accent, as anrhaith § 111 i (1).
An h which has always been voiceless occurs before the accent (a) in the nasal mutation of p, t, c §106 iii (1), as danheddog for *dant-eẟawc; kymhellawẟ r.b.b. 327 < Lat. compell‑; anghenus < *aŋk‑; angheuol < *aŋk‑, etc.; probably plannhedeu §48 i followed the analogy of planhigi̯on < *plant‑; canhwylleu r.b.b. 380 seems to be due to the treat​ment of Lat. nd as nt, cf. Corn. cantuil, Bret. cantol.—(b) For original s, as in anheẟeu w.m. 81, cyfanheddu do. 73, Anheẟu mewn crwyn hyẟod Ỻ., from ann(h)eẟ < *n̥do-sed- § 63 ii; glanháu, parháu etc. § 201 iii (4); probably ‑he- in iscolheic b.b. 91, pl. yscolheigon r.b.b. 235, Mn. W. sg. ysgolháig is the suffix ‑ha- < *sag- see ib. ‑s- between sonants disappeared, e.g. amynedd § 95 ii (3); but kenhadeu § 48 i may contain a reflection of it: kennad ‘message, messenger’ < *k̑ens-n‑ətā, √k̑ens- ‘speak with authority, etc.’ see Walde² 151: Lat. censeo, W. dangos § 156 ii (1).—The h which provects mediae always comes from s; in no case is provection caused by an “accentual h”, or h developed from a soft breathing.
ii. (1) The semivowels i̯, w̯, ü̯ seem to have been pronounced in Early Ml. W. with friction of the breath, which is often represented by h before i or u, especially in the b.ch. Thus yhu (yw) a.l. i 6; Mahurth (Mawrth) 64; entehu (ynteu) 130; nehuat (neuaẟ) 78; arnehy (arnei) 100. More rarely it occurs between two u’s (uu = w), or two i’s, as in arnauhu (arnaw) 132; doissihion (doythi̯on) 124. With w̯ such a breathing would be equivalent to back ᵹ, and at an earlier period it was represented by g, which survives in enguy a.l. i 100 for enw̯i ‘to name’ (which never had the media g, as the w̯ is from m); this also may stand between two u’s in this ms., as dim or auguenel (a w̯nel) dyn medu b.ch. 120 ‘anything that a drunken man does’; auguenelhont (a w̯nelhont) do. 118. In O. W. w̯ is written gu as in petguar ox. for pedwar ‘4’. The sound of w̯, then, was virtually ᵹ$^{u̯}$; this after h < s became χ$^{u̯}$, written chw- § 26 vi, § 94 iv. Initially on the analogy of g: ᵹ it became g$^{u̯}$ in the position of a radical consonant, remaining ᵹ$^{u̯}$ as a soft mutation; later gw̯‑: w̯‑. This had taken place before the separation of Bret. and Corn.
(2) The breathing before a vowel might also take the form ᵹ, so as to give a new initial g‑; thus *orẟ § 100 iii (2) > gorẟ f. b.t. 7 through *ᵹorẟ, this being taken for the soft mutation after the art., as in ir guit (≡ ỿr ᵹw͡yẟ) f. b.b. 97 ‘the goose’. Later gallt for allt f. ‘slope’; gerfydd beside herw̯ydd for erw̯yẟ § 215 ii (5). The Mn. godidog g. 252 for odidog ‘rare’, and N.W. dial. gonest for onest probably involve a confusion of initial o- with the prefix go- § 156 i (16).
(3) Conversely initial g is sometimes lost, as in euog ‘guilty’ for geuog (geuawc Ỻ.A. 155 “mendaces”, gau ‘false’); elor f. ‘bier’ for gelor m.a. i 205a, met. for *gerol < Lat. gerula (elawr g. 234 is factitious).
Loss of Syllables.
113. i. (1) The last syllable of every Brit. word, or Lat. word borrowed in the Brit. period, which contained more than one syllable, is lost in W. Thus W. gwynn f. gwenn ‘white’ < Brit. *u̯indos f. *u̯indā, W. ciwed < Lat. cīvitas, W. ciwdod < Lat. cīvitātem, § 115 i. The syllable doubtless became unaccented ​in all cases; its vowel then became indistinct, and was ultimately lost, with the final consonant, except when the latter was a sonant. Brit. final ‑l is unknown, and ‑m had become ‑n; the only final sonants therefore were ‑r and ‑n. When the syllable ended in one of these it seems to have become *‑r̥ or *‑n̥, which became non-syllabic. Final ‑r remained, as in W. chwaer < Brit. *su̯esīr < *su̯esōr, § 75 vii (2); W. ymherawdr < Lat. imperātor; but in common words it disappeared after a consonant in W., as in brawd ‘brother’ for *brawdr (= Bret. breur) < Brit. *brāter. Final ‑n nasalized a following initial media § 106 ii (2), and was lost before other initial consonants. In the comparative it attached itself to the following o, as in glanach no ‘cleaner than’ for *glanachn o § 147 iv (3). It survived after a vowel in namen § 78 ii (1), cymerwn § 180 iii (1).
A sonant coining before the final vowel also remained, as in ffenestr < Lat. fenestra, perigl < Lat. perīc’lum; later this was liable to drop where the new ultima was unaccented § 16 v (3), and probably the vacillation between liquid and zero accounts for the development of excrescent liquids in some words: tymestl < Lat. tempestas, achreawdɏr § 104 iii (2).
(2) The vocalic ending of the first element of a compound, § 155 ii (1), became an obscure vowel, and disappeared; thus Brit. Maglo-cunos > W. Maelgwn; Brit. *Katu-mannos > W. Cadfan; Brit. Mori-dǖnon > W. Myrddin; Lat. bene-dictio > W. bendith. Similarly the vowel before the suffixes ‑tāt‑, ‑tūt‑, ‑tero‑, etc., as ciwdod < Lat. acc. cīvitātem, gwendid ‘weakness’ < Brit. acc. *u̯anno-tǖtan; and the ‑i- in the spv. suffix *‑isamos, as tecaf ‘fairest’ for *teghaf < *tek-isamos. In many words of four or more syllables the vowel of the second syllable was elided, as Ml. W. agwyẟawr < Lat. ābēcēdārium, meitin < mātūtīnum, Saesneg < *Saxonikā, etc. Stems in ‑ā- had ‑o- in composition; thus Kelt. *teutā ‘people’ was Teuto- in compounds; and ā̆ in the second syllable generally remains in nouns, as in Caradog < Brit. Caratā́cos, ffnrfafen < Lat. firmāmentum. But in many formations ‑a- in the ante-penult was lost, as in Ml. W. karhont < *karasonti § 183 ii (1), and the suff. ‑gar < *‑ākaros § 153 (8).
The loss of the root vowel in such forms as allweẟ < *n̥-ql’u̯‑íi̯ā § 99 vi (1), dedw̯yẟ < *do-t’u̯‑íi̥os § 100 ii (1) had probably already taken ​place in Brit. So in some cases the ‑i- of the spv., as in Ml. W. nessaf < *ned’samos § 148 i (1).
Disyllabic and compound prefixes are treated like the first element of a compound; thus Kelt. *ari- > Brit. *are- > W. ar‑; Brit. *kanta- > W. cannh- § 156 i (6), (7); *kom-(p)ro- loses its ‑o- and gives cyfr- as in cyfr-goll; so *u̯or-en-sed- loses its ‑e- and gives gorsedd ‘high seat’, as if from *u̯ore-ssed‑.
(3) The inscribed stones (5th to 7th cent.) do not throw much light on the above changes. The ogam inscriptions are Goidelic, and those written in Roman letters are in bad Latin, while many of the names even in the latter are Goidelic in form. In some cases a name has the Lat. nom. ending ‑us, as Catamanus Rhys no. 6 (LWPh.² 364), Aliortus no. 14, Veracius g, but most have the Lat. gen. ending ‑i, as Cunogusi hic jacit 5 ‘[the body] of C. lies here’. The names and the following maq$^{u̯}$q$^{u̯}$i of the ogams show that ‑i is gen., and not a debased form of the Brit. nom. ‑os. (The ogam ‑i is the Kelt. gen. suffix *‑ī, being the Italo-Kelt. gen. of ‑o- stems.) As a rule the Lat. fili agrees, but often does not, thus Dervaci filius Justi ic jacit 37. Fem. nouns end in ‑e, which is doubtless the ordinary late Lat. ‑e for ‑ae, though the noun in apposition stands in the nom., as Tunccetace uxsor Daari hic jacit 77, et uxor eius Caune 20. A nom. in ‑a appears in Avitoria filia Cunigni Eglwys Cymun insc. Possibly a Brit. nom. ending in ‑o for ‑os occurs in Aliortus Elmetiaco hie jacet Rhys 14 (the only stone with jacet) and Vitaliani Emereto 76. In a few cases no ending occurs: Etterni fili Victor 71, in which the legend is complete, and Victor is gen.; Velvor filia Broho 32. These and the false concords seem to indicate that the case endings were lost in the spoken language.
The stem-vowel u appears as ‑u- and ‑o‑, as Catu-rugi Rhys 60, Cato-tigirni 47; and ‑o- appears as ‑o‑, ‑u‑, ‑e‑, ‑i‑, as Cuno-gusi 5, Vendu-magli 45, Vinne-magli 21, Vende-setli 12, Venni-setli 67, pointing to ‑ə- for which the Roman alphabet has no symbol. The form ‑a- for ‑u- or ‑o‑, as in Cata-manus 6, is Goidelic; cf. in bilingual stones Cuno-tami in Roman characters, Cuna-tami in ogam 75; Trene-gussi in Roman, Trena-gusu in ogam 73. In some cases the stem-vowel was preserved, and forms containing it survive beside forms in which it is lost; thus Dumnagual beside Dumngual both in gen. v. That the former is not merely an archaic spelling of the latter is shown by the survival of both in the Mn. language:
    Mal mab i Ddyfnwal Moel-mū́d
    Yw Phylip braff i olud …
    Mae yn llaw hil Dyfnawal
    Yr erwi maior a’r aur mâl.—L.G.C. 209.
‘Like a son of Dyfnwal Moelmud is Philip of vast wealth. In the hand of the descendant of Dyfnawal are the broad acres and the milled ​gold.’ Other similar doublets are Tudwal and Tudawal r.p. 1394, Dingad and Dinogat b.a. 22. The aw in Dyfnawal is the regular development of ou̯ before a vowel, see § 76 iii (1); before another consonant the ‑o- remains, as seen in Dinogat.
(4) The forms used in writing are always traditional, and in the above inscriptions the names have probably archaic forms preserved with the Latin in which they are embedded, since other evidence points to the loss of the terminations at this period. The re-formations consequent on the loss of the endings are largely the same in Bret. and W.; thus W. ‑au, Bret. ‑ou represents the pl. ‑ou̯es of u-stems, § 120 i; these stems could not have been very numerous, and the addition of W. ‑au and Bret. ‑ou to nouns of all classes denoting common objects, and to tad, mam and others, can hardly be an accidental coincidence, and is clearly subsequent to the breakdown of the Brit. declension. It seems therefore probable that the new language was in an advanced stage of development before the separation of the two dialects.
In the oldest ms. of Bede, a.d. 737, the stem-vowels and terminations are completely lost, as in Car-legion, Ban-cor, Dinoot. The reduction was therefore an established fact in the early 8th cent.
(5) The vowel of the penult is sometimes lost after a diphthong, apparently when the accent originally fell on the ultima, as in claer < *klii̯arós § 75 vi (1); haul < *sāu̯eli̯ós § 76 v (1); so probably cawr < *kou̯arós § 76 iii (4). With haul ‘sun’ < *sau’li̯ós < *sāu̯eli̯ós contrast the disyllable huan ‘sun’ < *sā́u̯anos < *sā́u̯ₑnos (with n-suff. like E. sun, cf. Walde² 721); affected au, short because unaccented, gives W. au § 76 v (1); and accented ā́u gives W. u § 76 iii (5); see § 76 v Note, p. 108.
ii. In a disyllabic proclitic a final short vowel might disappear in the Brit. period; thus Ar. *mene ‘my’ > *men, and caused the nasal mutation, § 107 ii, iv.
iii. (1) The final consonant of a monosyllabic proclitic was lost in W.; thus Brit. *men ‘my’ gave W. fy ‘my’; but not till after it had mutated the following initial (in this case causing the nasal mutation of mediae § 107 iv).
(2) But the consonantal ending of an accented monosyllable was in general retained; thus W. chw̯ech ‘six’ < Kelt. *su̯eks (but chwe before a noun); W. nos ‘night’ < Brit. *noss < *nots < *noq$^{u̯}$ts § 96 ii (5); W. moch ‘early’: Lat. mox; W. yn ‘in’ < Brit. *en < Ar. *en.
* ↑ G.R., Rowland, Silvan Evans, Tegai. Rowland's haitch is a S.W. vulgarism.
* ↑ Here and in the following sections up to § 26, a letter printed in heavy type represents the written letter; a letter printed in italics represents the sound.
* ↑ There is one example in c.m. 5, which stands quite alone in the r.b., and so is prob. a scribal error.
* ↑ Pronounce the wyn of wyneb so that it rhymes with the wyn of ddŵɥn, trŵɥn as the cynghanedd lusg demands.
* ↑ Not a’r gwyneb, os gwyneb, the g being ruled out by the cynghanedd.
* ↑ Not fy ngwyneb, eu gwynebau.
* ↑ Pughe, deriving cadwyn from cadw̯, made it cadw̯yn, and asserted that it was masculine. He then inferred a fem. cadw̯en, which (as cadwyn is fem.) was unfortunately adopted by many 19th cent. writers. But no one has had the courage to write cadwenni for the pl. cadwyni. There is an old word cadw̯en or cadw̯ent which means ‘a battle’, from cad.
* ↑ This word has been naturalized in Welsh as in other languages, and the natural Welsh pronunciation is probably nearer the original than the ṓmega now sometimes heard from the pulpit in imitation of the English fashion. The adjective is not an enclitic in ὦ μέγα. The natural accentuation, as used by the hymn-writers, is unconsciously adopted by those like A. Roberts who are not affected by a little learning.
* ↑ It is often supposed that heulwen is a proper compound of haul and gwên, meaning the ‘smile of the sun’; but erroneously, for heulwen is the ‘sun’ itself, not ‘sunshine’.
* ↑ The common spelling Penmaenmawr appears to be due to popular etymology. Camden, 4th ed., 1594, p. 18, has Pen-mon maur, and the word is now pronounced Pèn-mon-máwr.
* ↑ The last ol of olynol was mistaken about the middle of the last century for the adjectival termination ‑ol (= ‑awl), and from the supposed stem olyn an abstract noun olyni̯aeth was formed to render ‘succession’ in ‘apostolical succession’!
* ↑ In all the above examples the cynghanedd is either T2 or C2, which implies the accentuation indicated. See ZfCP. iv. 124, 137.
* ↑ The cynghanedd is S4, which implies the accentuation marked.
* ↑ L. G. C.’s editors print voneddig in spite of the answering h in nyhuddo.
* ↑ nrh and nhr have the same sound but differ in origin: nrh = n + rh; nhr is from n + tr. They are often confused in writing.
* ↑ G. Mechain (iii. 224) writing to Tegid, assents to brenin, breninoedd “though from habit I always read brenhinoedd with an aspirate; but the root does not warrant such reading.” His pronunciation was correct; and it just happens that the “root” does warrant it; see § 103 ii (1).
* ↑ In Late W. wrongly spelt tudwedd from a fancied relation to tud ‘people’, whence ‘country’. The examples in b.b. both rhyme with ‑ed.
* ↑ The identification of the name (treated as two common nouns by Silvan Evans) is the discovery of Professor J. E. Lloyd, Tr. Cym. 1899–1900, p. 158
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## Notes

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## Wikisource notes

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