gwyllt
Welsh
Alternative forms
- gwyll
Etymology
From Middle Welsh gwyllt, from Proto-Brythonic *gwɨlt (“wild”) (Old Cornish guill, Cornish gwyls (“wild”), Old Breton gueldenes (“untamed island”)), from Proto-Celtic *gʷeltis (“wild”) (Irish geilt (“lunatic”)), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰel-t-. May be cognate with English wild if Proto-Germanic *wilþijaz is also from *gʷʰel-t- and not, as sometimes proposed, from a *wel- (“hair, wool”).
Pronunciation
- (North Wales) IPA(key): /ɡwɨːɬd/, [ɡwɨːɬt]
- (South Wales) IPA(key): /ɡwɪɬd/, [ɡwɪɬt]
- Rhymes: -ɨːɬd
Adjective
gwyllt (feminine singular gwyllt, plural gwylltion, equative gwyllted, comparative gwylltach, superlative gwylltaf)
- wild, untamed
- Antonym: dof
- unruly
- furious, raging
Derived terms
- gwylltineb (“wildness; rage, fury”)
- gwylltio (“to rage, to become angry”)
Mutation
| Welsh mutation | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| radical | soft | nasal | aspirate |
| gwyllt | wyllt | ngwyllt | unchanged |
| Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs. | |||
References
- R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “gwyllt”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies