See also: gwyl and gwŷl

Welsh

edit

Alternative forms

edit
  • gwyl (both etymologies)

Pronunciation

edit

Etymology 1

edit

From Latin vigilia (wakefulness, watch), from vigil (awake), from Proto-Indo-European *weǵ- (to be strong).

Noun

edit

gŵyl m or f (plural gwyliau)

  1. (archaic) vigil
  2. festival, feast, holiday
  3. (usually in the plural) holiday, vacation
Usage notes
edit

In the singular, this refers to a "festival" of some kind. In the plural, it can mean "festivals" or "vacation", i.e. to both the American and British senses of the word "holidays". Some speakers distinguish these meanings in pronunciation, for example in a south Wales accent, IPA(key): /ɡʊi̯ljai̯/ for "festivals", American "holidays" and IPA(key): /ɡwɪljai̯/ for "vacation", British "holiday(s)". For other speakers, both are pronounced the same.

Derived terms
edit

Etymology 2

edit

From Middle Welsh gŵyl, from Proto-Celtic *weilos.

Adjective

edit

gŵyl (feminine singular gŵyl, plural gwylion, equative gwyled, comparative gwylach, superlative gwylaf)

  1. bashful, modest

Mutation

edit
Mutated forms of gŵyl
radical soft nasal aspirate
gŵyl ŵyl ngŵyl unchanged

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

edit
  • R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “gŵyl”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
  NODES
Note 4