-aeth
Appearance
Welsh
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Proto-Brythonic *-aɨθ, from Insular Celtic *-axtā, suffixal use of Proto-Celtic *axtā. Cognate with Cornish -eth, Breton -ezh, Irish -acht, Scottish Gaelic -achd and Manx -aght.
Pronunciation
[edit]- (North Wales, standard, colloquial) IPA(key): /aɨ̯θ/
- (North Wales, colloquial) IPA(key): /ɛθ/, /aθ/
- (South Wales, standard) IPA(key): /ai̯θ/
- (South Wales, colloquial) IPA(key): /ɛθ/
Suffix
[edit]-aeth f (plural -aethau)
- Forms abstract nouns.
- aelod (“member”) + -aeth → aelodaeth (“membership”)
- cyflog (“wage”) + -aeth → cyflogaeth (“employment”)
- meddyg (“doctor”) + -aeth → meddygaeth (“medicine”)
- amau (“to doubt”) + -aeth → amheuaeth (“doubt”)
- territory controlled by, -ship, -age, -y, -dom
- ymherodr (“emperor”) + -aeth → ymerodraeth (“empire”)
- esgob (“bishop”) + -aeth → esgobaeth (“diocese, bishopric”)
Usage notes
[edit]- With names of leaders, -aeth can be both concrete and abstract, for instance iarllaeth (“earldom”) is both the rank of being an earl and the territory controlled by one.
- Most nouns in -aeth are feminine. Common exceptions are gwasanaeth (“service”) and hiraeth (“longing, homesickness”).
Derived terms
[edit]References
[edit]- R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “-aeth”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
- Morris Jones, John (1913) A Welsh Grammar, Historical and Comparative, Oxford: Clarendon Press, § 143 iii 2