hwy

See also: hŵy and hwy.

English

Noun

hwy (plural hwies)

1. Abbreviation of highway.

Alternative forms

• (highway): hwy.

Related terms

• ewy (“expressway”)
• fwy (“freeway”)

Anagrams

• why

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Old English

Alternative forms

• hwī
• hƿȳ — wynn spelling

Etymology

From a presumed earlier *hwīe, from West Germanic *hwiu, from Proto-Germanic *hwī (“with what”), to which the more common instrumental ending *-ō had been added. Cognate with Old High German hwiu (instrumental case of hwaz).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /xwyː/, [ʍyː]

Adverb

hwȳ

1. why

Pronoun

hwȳ

1. instrumental singular of hwā
2. instrumental singular of hwæt

Descendants

• Middle English: why
  • English: why

See also

• hū
• hwǣr
• hwanon
• hwider
• hwonne

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Welsh

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /huːɨ̯/
• IPA^(key): /hʊi̯/

Pronoun

hwy

1. they; them.

Usage notes

Hwy is Literary Welsh. Colloquial Welsh uses nhw instead.

Adjective

hwy

1. comparative degree of hir: longer

Noun

hwy

1. h-prothesized form of wy

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	h-prothesis
wy	unchanged	unchanged	hwy
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.