gwirion

Welsh

Etymology

gwir (“true”) +‎ iawn (“very”). The semantic shift from "pure, innocent" > "silly, daft" has parallels to that seen in English nice ("silly" > "pleasant"). Cognate with Breton gwirion.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈɡwɪrjɔn/

Adjective

gwirion (feminine singular gwirion, plural gwirion, equative mor wirion, comparative mwy gwirion, superlative mwyaf gwirion)

  1. silly, daft, foolish
  2. pure, innocent, blameless

Mutation
Welsh mutation
radical soft nasal aspirate
gwirion wirion ngwirion 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), “gwirion”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.