gwyllt

Welsh

Alternative forms

• gwyll

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

• gwylltineb (“wildness; rage, fury”)
• gwylltio (“to rage, to become angry”)
• tân gwyllt (“wild fire; firework”)
• pabi gwyllt (“wild poppy, red poppy”)

Mutation

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

References

• 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