fy
See also: Fy, FY, -fy, and fy.
Translingual
Symbol
fy
- (international standards) ISO 639-1 language code for West Frisian.
English
Interjection
fy
- Archaic form of fie.
- 1828, James Hogg, Mary Burnet
- "O fy, Andrew, how can ye say sae? How can ye doubt that it was in the Almighty's name?"
- 1828, James Hogg, Mary Burnet
Anagrams
- YF, yf
Norn
Alternative forms
- (Orkney) fa
Etymology
From Old Norse faðir (“father”) , from Proto-Germanic *fadēr, from Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr. Compare Orcadian fa.
Noun
fy (definite singular feyrin or fyrin)
- (Shetland) father
- c. 17th century, Hildina (source)
- Fy di yera da ov man dum
- father thou overdost thy manhood
- Nu Hildina on askar feyrin sien
- Now Hildina she asks her father
- hien mindi yagh inga forlskona bera fare kera fyrin min
- and sure I will not present any poisoned drink, to serve for my father
- Fy di yera da ov man dum
- c. 17th century, Hildina (source)
Norwegian Bokmål
Interjection
fy
- phew, shame; interjection expressing disapproval or disgust
Norwegian Nynorsk
Interjection
fy
- phew, shame; interjection expressing disapproval or disgust
Swedish
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /fyː/
Interjection
fy
- shame, phew, fie; interjection expressing disapproval or disgust
- Fy!
- Don't do that! / That thing you just did was bad! (often towards a child or pet or the like)
- Fy på dig!
- Fie on you! ("You have acted in a bad way!", often towards a child or pet or the like – less dated-sounding in Swedish)
- Fy så här stinker
- Phew, it stinks in here
- Fy fan vilken hemsk situation
- Damn, what a horrible situation
Synonyms
(These take för instead of på when directed against an individual. Forms without fan are euphemistic.)
- fy fan (stronger, "Fy fan för dig!" – "You're a terrible person!")
- fy bubblan
- fy hundan
- fy farao
Welsh
Alternative forms
- 'y (colloquial)
- 'm (chiefly literary, used after some prepositions, does not trigger mutation)
Etymology
From Proto-Celtic *mene.
Pronunciation
- (standard) IPA(key): /və/
- (colloquial) IPA(key): /ən/, /n/, /ə/, /-/
- Rhymes: -ə
Determiner
fy (triggers nasal mutation of a following consonant)
- my
- Dyna fy nhad a fy nhad-cu.
- That's my father and my grandfather.
Pronoun
fy (triggers nasal mutation of a following consonant)
- me (as the direct object of a verbal noun)
- Byddant yn fy nghyflogi dros dro.
- They will employ me temporarily.
Usage notes
- After the noun or verbnoun which fy precedes, i is often added. In formal language, this is done to emphasise the determiner or pronoun. In colloquial language, it is not necessarily an indicator of emphasis, and is often included with the determiner and always included with the pronoun. The exception to the latter case is in passive constructions employing cael, where i is never used.
- In formal Welsh, contractions of fy include f' is a vowel-initial words in poetic language and 'm after mostly functional vowel-final words.
- In colloquial Welsh, another form of the word is used, namely yn /ən/. This begins with a vowel and usually triggers a nasal mutation hence has the tendency to be reduced variously in colloquial spelling and pronunciation as 'n /n/, y or 'y /ə/ or zero (the following mutation indicating its presence). This yn and its various forms usually triggers nasal mutation but may trigger soft mutation in some instances.
- Pronomial fy can occur before any verbal noun. Before a verb, pronomial 'm is found only in literary language after certain vowel-final preverbal particles. See entry for 'm for more information.
Further reading
- R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “fy”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies