dim byd
Welsh
Etymology
Literally “nothing of (the) world”.
In older Welsh dim (“thing”) was used negatively to indicate “nothing”, but due to semantic bleaching came to simply mean “not”, so the more emphatic dim byd became the standard way of expressing “nothing”.
Pronoun
dim byd
- nothing (takes soft mutation after a conjugated verb)
- Does ddim byd yma.
- There is nothing here.
- Beth sy gyda ti? Dim byd.
- What have you got? Nothing.
Usage notes
When not directly following the main verb, a double negative construction is used:
- Dydw i ddim wedi gweld dim byd.
- I have seen nothing. / I have not seen anything.
Mutation
| Welsh mutation | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| radical | soft | nasal | aspirate |
| dim byd | ddim byd | nim byd | unchanged |
| Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. | |||