blaen
Welsh
Etymology
Perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷelH- (“to throw”).[1]
Pronunciation
- (North Wales) IPA(key): /blaːɨ̯n/
- (South Wales, standard, colloquial) IPA(key): /blai̯n/
- (South Wales, colloquial) IPA(key): /blaːn/
- Rhymes: -aːɨ̯n
Noun
blaen m (plural blaenau)
- tip, point, apex
- front
- foremost, first, leader
- (usually in the plural) frontier, march, border; uplands, highlands
Usage notes
As with other nouns such as diwedd (“end, termination”), ôl (“back”) and pen (“end, head”), there is a derived superlative adjective: blaenaf. However, no equative or comparative forms exist.
Derived terms
- blaengar (“prominent; advanced”)
- blaenaf (“foremost”)
- blaenbwl (“blunt-tipped”)
- blaeneuwr (“highlander”)
- blaenfain, blaenllym (“ tapering, pointy”)
- blaenol (“preceding, foremost”)
- blaenor (“elder”)
- blaenu (“to lead, to precede”)
- blaenyrru (“to forward”)
- golau blaen (“headlight”)
- o flaen (“in front of”)
- o'r blaen (“before, beforehand”)
- ymlaen (“forward, ahead, on”)
Mutation
| radical | soft | nasal | aspirate |
|---|---|---|---|
| blaen | flaen | mlaen | unchanged |
Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.
References
- ^ Morris Jones, John (1913), A Welsh Grammar, Historical and Comparative, Oxford: Clarendon Press, § 215 iii (10)
Further reading
- D. G. Lewis, N. Lewis, editors (2005–present), “blaen”, in Gweiadur: the Welsh–English Dictionary, Gwerin
- R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “blaen”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies