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10 Welsh words we know

1. Bard - Bardd Poet
2. Booth - Bwthyn Cottage, small house
3. Brock - Broch Badger or Coney - Cwningen Rabbit (or rabbit-like creature)

4. Eisteddfod - Eisteddfod Sitting or Session
5. Coracle - Corwgl One man boat
6. Corgi - Cor Dwarf + gi (mutation of ci) Dog
7. Druid - Derwydd, possibly derived from Derw oak
8. Flannel - Gwlanen Flannel (Cf OED 'uncertain')
9. Pout - Pwdu Pout, Sulk
10. Bite - Bwyta Eat or bite

(I doubt Penguin is Welsh though some dictionaries suggest it is)

5 comments:

  1. Why do you doubt penguin is Welsh ? I have no doubts, whatsoever - and a sneaking suspicion about cangarw, tw.

    You forgot car, which got into English from the Welsh (Celtic) root via old French, carre. In Welsh (Celtic) it apparently meant a horse-drawn sled.

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  2. One obvious doubt, Alan, is (as you know) that Pen-Gwyn means white-head. PS Have you come across the Welsh version of Pingu (translated from the French no doubt)?

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  3. There probably are some penguins with white heads...

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  4. @Alan Davey The Penguin is from the welsh Pen gwyn......it was the original name for the great Auk bird of North Western Europe...the modern "Penguin" is just a misidentification. Even wikipedia will give you this answer. Sounds logical enough

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  5. Is this from Alan or to Alan? Whoever it is - you don't let things drop do you? ;-)

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