gwddf

Welsh

Picture dictionary

gwddf

penglog

talcen

ymennydd

ael

llygad

gwefus

trwyn

ceg

gên

boch

clust

arlais

gwddf

or

llwnc

gwddf

gwar

Click on labels in the image

corff

corff

Alternative forms

• gwddw, gwddwg

Etymology

From Proto-Celtic *wodwos (“spoils”), whence also Old Irish fodb (“spoils”), from the practice of counting captives as "so many necks". *wudwos may be related to Proto-Celtic *wodwo- (“cutting”) (whence Old Irish fodb in the sense of "division"), with semantic shift "cutting" > "weapon" > "weapon-spoils" > "spoils" (though these shifts are not straightforward). If so, then the root ultimately goes back to Proto-Indo-European *wedʰH- (“strike”), whence gwasgu (“to press”), Lithuanian vedegà (“a kind of axe”), Sanskrit वध् (vadh, “to strike, slay”), Tocharian A wac (“struggle”).

The variant gwddwg is cognate with Old Breton guodoc (Middle Breton gouzouc, Breton gouzoug, goûg), but it is difficult to explain the alternation between -wg, -w, and -f. The oldest form of the word cited in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru is the Middle Welsh plural form gedueu (13th century; = modern gyddfau), while the soft mutation forms wðwc, wddf, and wddw are all attested in the 14th century, indicating that the alternation is very old.

Pronunciation

• (North Wales, standard) IPA^(key): /ɡʊðv/
  • (North Wales, colloquial) IPA^(key): /ˈɡʊðʊv/, /ˈɡʊðu/
• (South Wales, standard) IPA^(key): /ɡʊðv/
  • (South Wales, colloquial) IPA^(key): /ˈɡuːðʊv/, /ˈɡʊðʊv/, /ˈɡuːðu/, /ˈɡʊðu/
• Rhymes: -ʊðv

Noun

gwddf m (plural gyddfau)

1. neck

   Synonym: mwnwgl

2. (North Wales) throat

   Synonym: llwnc (South Wales)

Derived terms

• gyddfddu (“black-necked, black-throated”)
• gyddf-felyn (“yellow-necked, yellow-throated”)
• gyddfgoch (“red-necked, red-throated”)

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
gwddf	wddf	ngwddf	unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.