Gair neu Idiom y Diwrnod - Word or Idiom of the Day

Diolch yn fawr, @CatrinLliarJones. All new words to me. I particularly like ‘traws gwlad’, a counterpart to ‘cefn gwlad’.

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Word of the day 12/04/18

Today’s word has again been inspired by the weather

Cysgod = cuss-god
Cysgodi = cuss-god-ee

Cysgod means shadow
Cysgodi means to shadow or to take shelter

For example, you can cysgodi someone when training for a new job and wanting to learn the ropes.

You can also cysgodi from the rain or cysgodi from the sun when you want to take shelter.

In Bala there is a B&B called Cysgod y Coed - ‘coed’ meaning trees. So I assume that the cottage is/used to be next to a woodland or forest.

I once came across a cottage named Cysgod y Bugail - ‘bugail’ meaning shepherd. So I assume that the cottage once used to provide shelter for shepherds watching their flocks in winter.

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Does cysgod have any relation to cysgu? So maybe to sleep is to go to the land of shadows or something?

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That is a wholly reasonable assumption. But this link here: https://books.google.com.au/books?id=u1NiAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA140&lpg=PA140&dq=cysgod+cysgu+welsh&source=bl&ots=urs3oPfusx&sig=GFlRDyHT_Mp-eG4YSyOOnnHIOCY&hl=nl&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiJ5u33qbbaAhVGopQKHSskDnQQ6AEwBnoECAAQAQ#v=onepage&q=cysgod%20cysgu%20welsh&f=false says that cysgod/cysgodi is a compound word from cy-ysgodi, whereas, according to Wiktionary https://en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/cysgu#Etymology cysgu is a single word, in theory going back to a proto-indo-european “kewb”

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I’m glad that wnes i ailymweld this thread so I could learn about this word!
Thanks so much!

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Word of the day 13/04/18

Today’s word has been inspired by Friday the 13th! :wink:

Ofergoel = of-er-goelle (er as in bERRy)

Ofergoelion (pl) = of-er-goyle-yon (goyle rhymes with coil)

Ofergoel means superstition.

Ofergoel is made of two words ofer which means futile/in vain/useless/worthless and coel which means creed or belief. So ofergoel is a useless belief.

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Diolch Louis.

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The best definition of a superstition I have ever seen! (Typed on Friday 13th by person raised by superstitious Mam and her even more superstitious Mam!).

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Word of the day 16/04/18

Disglair [disg-glaeer] = bright/brilliant/shiny/glittering/sparkly

Disgleirio [disd-gleir-yo] = to shine/to glitter/to sparkle

You can use ‘disglair’ to describe a light source or how bright an individual is, or the future! You can say that the sun or the moon are ‘disgleirio’, or something that you’ve just polished, or of course the Christmas tree!

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Hello Catrin,
What a good idea. A fun way of learning some of the more elusive vocabulary.
Janet

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Hi Catrin.
Many thanks for all the thought that you are putting into these gairiau. They are so helpful and interesting.

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Seconded! Diolch @CatrinLliarJones!

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Diolch to you both for your kind words and croeso mawr! :smile:

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So how do I describe the weather if it is a bright day? “It’s sunny.” “It’s a bright day.” “Mae’n dydd disglair”?

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heulog is sunny
I think this version of day would use dirwnod.

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As @craigf says [quote=“craigf, post:31, topic:11814”]
I think this version of day would use dirwnod.
[/quote]

Therefore you could very well say ‘mae’n ddiwrnod disglair’.

Though you would be more likely to hear someone say something like ‘Mae’n ddisglair iawn heddiw’ / it’s very bright today. :sunny:

Unfortunately, it’s not disglair at all heddiw. We have gale force winds and driving rain… :dash: :cloud_rain:

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Word of the day 17/04/18

Gohirio = go-hear-yo (go as in GOt and not GOat)
Gohiriad = go-hear-yad

Gohirio means to postpone or adjourn, or delay.
Gohiriad means a postponement or an adjournment but isn’t a frequently used word - yes, I know, it sounds like a race of people from Lord of the Rings… ‘The Gohiriad’ :sunglasses:

You can gohirio a meeting/sporting event/concert etc - which happens a lot Wales because of the rain.

You can use the word gohirio for delay when talking about trains and buses and so on. For example ‘Mae’r tren wedi cael ei ohirio.’ / The train has been delayed.

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Diolch yn fawr Catrin. SSiW must be working for me - yesterday we had a brilliantly sunny morning (unlike your description above!) and I was trying to describe it to myself (yn Cymraeg) but it wouldn’t come out properly. Now I know!

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Word of the day 18/04/18

Addo = ah-tho (soft th as in faTHom and short o as in cot and hot)
Addewid = ah-the-wid (the as in THErapy and THEspian)
Addewidion (pl) = ah-the-wid-yon

Addo means to promise.
Addewid means a promise

Dw i’n addo means I promise.

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I often hear this on RaR with a reverse mutation (adding a ‘G’) so becoming Gaddo (but strangely never to the noun ‘addewid’). I’m guessing this reflects usage in that area?

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