Welsh place names often combine words: so Penmaenmawr (big stone head) is formed from pen (head or end) + maen (stone) and mawr (big) - all common in Welsh place names.
A: aber (mouth, e.g. of a river) # afon (river) # allt (hill). B: bach (small) # betwys (sanctuary) # bryn (hill) # bwlch (gap or pass). C: cae (field or hedge) # capel (chapel) # castell (castle) # coch (red) # coed (wood) # craig (crag or rock) # cwm (narrow valley - combe or coombe in English). D: du (black). F: ffordd (road). G: garth (hill or enclosure) # glan (bank or shore) # glas (blue (also green in older Welsh) # gwyn (white). H: hafod (shieling - summer pastures) # hen (old). I: is isa or isaf (lowest). L: llan (church) # llyn (lake). M: maes (field - y maes = the field) # mawr (big) # melin (mill) # moel (bare hill) # mor (sea) # morfa (marsh, usually coastal). N: newydd (new). P: pant (hollow) # pen (head, end, top, chief) # penrhyn (promontory or cape) # pentref (village) # plas (mansion or hall) # porth (port) # pwll (pool or pit). R: rhiw (hill or rise) # rhos (moor or heath). S: sant (saint) # sarn (Roman road). T: tal (tall) # tan (under) # traeth (beach or shore) # ty (house) # tyn (tight). U: ucha or uchaf (higher or highest). Y: y or yr or 'r (the, in the, on the, by the, etc.) # ynys (island).
Welsh has its own pronunciation.
- Only a double ff is sounded like 'f'; a single f sounds like 'v'
- 'Au' at the end of words sounds like 'aye'
- 'Y' is often pronounced 'u' and vice versa but depends somewhat on whether you are in south or north Wales.
- The place Penychain is pronounced pen-ee-hine.
- The Welsh word for Roman - 'rhufeinig' - is sometimes spelt 'rufenig'.
- Llas Ceuffordd = long tunnel (another word for tunnel is 'twnnel'.
Source was a book on travelling around Wales by train?
