THE MEANING AND DERIVATION OF PLACE-NAMES<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Many people are fascinated by the meaning and derivation of place-names – so we\u2019ll look at the names that are local to us in this area – before moving on to look at some further afield. The obvious place to start is at our feet – here in Wenvoe. But as you\u2019ll see, that is not as easy as it sounds.<\/p>\n The first part is easy enough. The name \u2018Wenvoe\u2019 is the Anglicized form of the Welsh name \u2018Gwenf\u00f4\u2019. But when we come to attempting to explain the meaning and derivation of this name, scholars have classed it as \u2018obscure\u2019. So this is a great start to our series!<\/p>\n The earliest documented forms of the Welsh name go back to the twelfth Century but there isn\u2019t enough evidence to state categorically what the original meaning was. And although the first syllable -\u2018Gwen-\u2018 could well mean \u2018fair\u2019 – or could be said to be very similar to the word \u2018gwaun\u2019 (meaning \u2018moorland\u2019) – with the second element -fa- meaning \u2018place\u2019 – these interpretations can only be guesswork – and guesswork is a big no-no in the field of place-names!<\/p>\n Many people have asked me why the Welsh name of the village sometimes appears as Gwenf\u00f4 and at other times as Wenf\u00f4. Those of you are Welsh speakers or learners will be familiar with a feature of the Welsh language known as a Mutation. A Mutation is a change in the initial consonant of a word – depending on what word precedes it. Nine consonants can soften (Soft Mutation or Lenition), six of those consonants could also become nasalifed (Nasal Mutation) and three of them could become aspirated (Aspirate Mutation). This is the bane of learners\u2019 lives, but really, it is only the polish on the language – and not mutating a word in a sentence doesn\u2019t usually alter the meaning of that sentence. The consonant \u2018g\u2019 is one of the nine that can undergo a Soft Mutation – and the way it does so is by dropping off completely! We see this happening on road signs which translate as \u2018Welcome to Wenvoe\u2019 – \u2018Croeso i Wenf\u00f4\u2019. The preposition \u2018i\u2019 (to) causes \u2018Gwenf\u00f4\u2019 to mutate – \u2018i Wenf\u00f4\u2019.<\/p>\n Next month – Bro Morgannwg \/ Vale of Glamorgan<\/p>\n <\/p>\n THE MEANING AND DERIVATION OF PLACE-NAMES Many people are fascinated by the meaning and derivation of place-names – so we\u2019ll look at the names that are local to us in this area – before moving on to look at some further afield. The obvious place to start is at our feet – here in Wenvoe. But as you\u2019ll see, that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[334],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6cWjO-352","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12366,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=12366","url_meta":{"origin":11844,"position":0},"title":"The Derivation And Meaning Of Place-Names","author":"Alan Williams","date":"13th October 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"THE DERIVATION AND MEANING OF PLACE-NAMES HIGHLIGHT The English name \u2018Highlight\u2019 first appears on maps in the 16th Century - during the reign of Elizabeth 1st - as the name of a farm. Before that time, the name was Welsh - \u2018Uchelolau\u2019. The name \u2018Highlight\u2019 was obviously an attempt at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Interest Articles"","block_context":{"text":"General Interest Articles","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=334"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12750,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=12750","url_meta":{"origin":11844,"position":1},"title":"Place-Names Derivation – Llwyneliddon \/ St Lythans","author":"Alan Williams","date":"5th January 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"THE DERIVATION AND MEANING OF PLACE-NAMES LLWYNELIDDON \/ ST LYTHANS The Welsh name is made up of two elements - \u2018llwyn\u2019 and \u2018Eliddon\u2019. \u2018Llwyn\u2019 is the Welsh word for \u2018grove\u2019 or \u2018copse\u2019 and the second element \u2018Eliddon\u2019\u2019 is the name of the saint to whom an earlier church was dedicated.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Readers Articles of Interest"","block_context":{"text":"Readers Articles of Interest","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=228"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12857,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=12857","url_meta":{"origin":11844,"position":2},"title":"Place-Names Derivation – LLAN","author":"Alan Williams","date":"1st February 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"THE DERIVATION AND MEANING OF PLACE-NAMES We\u2019ll now look at some common elements in Welsh Place-names. LLAN The most common element by far in Welsh place-names is the word \u2018llan\u2019. If you were to look at a book of place-names, you would see that there are over 400 places in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Interest Articles"","block_context":{"text":"General Interest Articles","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=334"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12644,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=12644","url_meta":{"origin":11844,"position":3},"title":"Place-Names Derivation – Fawr \/ Llantwit Major","author":"Alan Williams","date":"9th December 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"THE DERIVATION AND MEANING OF PLACE-NAMES LLANILLTUD FAWR \/ LLANTWIT MAJOR The name Llanilltud is made up of two elements - \u2018llan\u2019 and \u2018Illtud\u2019 (\u2018Illtyd\u2019). The first element is an old Celtic word, which I will discuss in detail at a later date. Suffice to say at this stage that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Interest Articles"","block_context":{"text":"General Interest Articles","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=334"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13006,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=13006","url_meta":{"origin":11844,"position":4},"title":"Place-Names Derivation – ABER, BRYN, CWM, PONT","author":"Alan Williams","date":"14th March 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"THE DERIVATION AND MEANING OF PLACE-NAMES We\u2019ll now look at some common elements in Welsh Place-names. ABER I\u2019m sure you\u2019ve seen this element in many placenames. The word \u2018aber\u2019 means \u2018the confluence of two waters\u2019 and because so many places containing this word are situated on the coast, it is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Readers Articles of Interest"","block_context":{"text":"Readers Articles of Interest","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=228"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12140,"url":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?p=12140","url_meta":{"origin":11844,"position":5},"title":"Place Name History -Y BARRI","author":"Alan Williams","date":"31st August 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"3. THE MEANING AND DERIVATION OF PLACE-NAMES Y BARRI \/ BARRY We know that the name Barri was in existence before the Twelfth Century because the de Barri family, the family of the well-known historian and Archdeacon of Brecon, Gerallt Gymro - Giraldus Cambrensis, Gerald the Welshman - who was\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General Interest Articles"","block_context":{"text":"General Interest Articles","link":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/?cat=334"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11844"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11844"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11844\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11845,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11844\/revisions\/11845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11844"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11844"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/wenvoe.org.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11844"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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