Welsh Place Names and Their Meanings

Disgrifiad Cymraeg / Welsh Description

Rhestr gynhwysfawr yn nhrefn yr wyddor o enwau lleoedd yng Nghymru gyda'u hystyron yn Saesneg. Argraffiad newydd. ISBN yr argraffiad gwreiddiol (1983): 9780000676504.

Disgrifiad Saesneg / English Description

A comprehensive alphabetically arranged list of Welsh place-names with their English meanings. New edition. First published in 1983; ISBN 9780000676504.

Dosbarthu

Byddwn yn dosbarthu eitemau sydd mewn stoc o fewn 3 diwrnod gwaith, fel arfer drwy Royal Mail Tracked 48. Ar gyfer archebion o flaen llaw, byddwn yn dosbarthu’r eitem o fewn 3 diwrnod gwaith ar ôl ei derbyn gan ein cyflenwr.

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Adolygiad y Cyhoeddwr / Publisher Review

There is no topic more likely to spark an argument than a discussion on place names. Some years ago I was involved in a television series on Welsh place names, and the influence of Welsh on some English place names. In one instance we examined the origin of the name Crewe. We ventured to suggest that it originated from an old Welsh word for a river fish trap. We immediately received an irate letter from a gentleman who insisted that Crewe was an acronym for Central Railway Engineering Western England. The gentleman concerned was unaware that the town had been named centuries before the arrival of the railway. With place names there is always the pitfall of overlooking a simple explanation for something more fanciful. There is no danger of that in Dewi Davies’s informative guide to Welsh place names and their meanings. The meaning of Plwmp, for instance, between Aberaeron and Aberteifi, has perplexed people over the years. It is merely the Welsh word for pump. Presumably there was a pump on the village square at one time. Within this handy pocket-sized guide there are 2,500 place names including parishes, towns, villages and farms as well as other geographical features. As the compiler notes, many of the names are very old and in some cases it is impossible to arrive at their true meanings. ‘Long usage has played havoc with them,’ he says, ‘both in spelling and pronunciation. Nevertheless, the place names in this book are, for the most part, ones which we can be reasonably sure as to their meaning.’ For those who are unable to speak the language of heaven there is a note on the pronunciation of Welsh letters as well as an explanation as to why words in the place names sometimes change. It is an easy and simple guide to follow. At the end of the book, readers can test their knowledge by answering a number of questions. Try it out. It is a novel way of learning a little Welsh as well as adding to your enjoyment of travelling. I happen to live in a small village that has one of the longest place names in Wales: Pontrhydfendigaid. The compiler’s explanation is ‘bridge of the blessed ones’. To me it has always been ‘bridge of the blessed ford’. And thereby we start another argument. At least we can be sure of one thing: Pontrhydfendigaid is not an acronym!