hwy

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See also: hwy. and hŵy

English

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Alternative forms

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Noun

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hwy (plural hwys)

  1. Abbreviation of highway.
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  • ewy (expressway)
  • fwy (freeway)

Anagrams

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Old English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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Adverb

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hwȳ

  1. why

Pronoun

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hwȳ

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

Descendants

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  • Middle English: why

See also

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Suyá

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Etymology

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From Proto-Northern Jê *py (achiote) < Proto-Cerrado *pyj’ (achiote).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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hwy

  1. achiote

Tapayuna

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Etymology

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From Proto-Northern Jê *py (achiote) < Proto-Cerrado *pyj’ (achiote).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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hwy

  1. achiote

Welsh

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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From Middle Welsh wy, from Proto-Celtic *eyes, plural of *es, from Proto-Indo-European *éy. Cognate with Breton i(nt) and Irish ia(d).

The initial h- is from the final -nt of verbs having the allophone -nnh- between vowels (e.g. gwelant wy “they see” > /gwelannhwy/ > gwelan(t) hwy); the colloquial form nhw formed by the same process.

Pronoun

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hwy

  1. (literary) they; them.
Usage notes
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Hwy is exclusively Literary Welsh. Colloquial Welsh uses nhw instead.

Alternative forms
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Etymology 2

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Proto-Celtic *sēyos, comparative of *sīros (for the same alteration compare *māros, comp. *māyos > Welsh mawr, comp. mwy).

Adjective

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hwy

  1. comparative degree of hir: longer
    Synonym: hirach

Etymology 3

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Noun

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hwy

  1. h-prothesized form of wy

Mutation

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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.

References

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R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “hwy”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies