-au

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Welsh

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Etymology 1

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From Middle Welsh -eu, from Old Welsh -ou, from Proto-Brythonic *-ow, from Proto-Celtic *-owes, u-stem nominative plural.[1] Cognate with Cornish -ow and Breton -où.

Alternative forms

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Pronunciation

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Suffix

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-au

  1. Forms plural nouns., -s
    Synonyms: -aid, -aint, -ed, -edd, -en, -i, -iadau, -iaid, -iau, -ion, -od, -oedd, -on, -ydd, -yr, -ys
    syniad (idea) + ‎-au → ‎syniadau (ideas)
    methiant (failure) + ‎-au → ‎methiannau (failures)
    gwasanaeth (service) + ‎-au → ‎gwasanaethau (services)
Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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Alternative forms

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  • -áu (when there is confusion with an identically-spelled plural)

Pronunciation

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Suffix

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-au

  1. Alternative form of -hau (forms verbal nouns)

References

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  1. ^ Schrijver, Peter C. H. (1995) Studies in British Celtic historical phonology (Leiden studies in Indo-European; 5), Amsterdam, Atlanta: Rodopi, page 331

Further reading

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  • King, Gareth (2007) Modern Welsh Dictionary, Oxford University Press, →ISBN
  • R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “-au”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies