gwyllt

Welsh

Alternative forms

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)

  1. wild, untamed
    Antonym: dof
  2. unruly
  3. furious, raging

Derived terms

Mutation

Mutated forms of gwyllt
radical soft nasal aspirate
gwyllt wyllt ngwyllt unchanged

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

Further reading

  • D. G. Lewis, N. Lewis, editors (2005–present), “gwyllt”, in Gweiadur: the Welsh–English Dictionary, Gwerin
  • 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