dim byd

Welsh

Etymology

Literally “nothing of (the) world”.

In older Welsh dim (“thing”) was used negatively to indicate “nothing”, but due to semantic bleaching came to simply mean “not”, so the more emphatic dim byd became the standard way of expressing “nothing”.

Pronoun

dim byd

1. nothing (takes soft mutation after a conjugated verb)

   Does dim byd yma.

   There is nothing here.

   Beth sy gyda ti? Dim byd.

   What have you got? Nothing.

Usage notes

When not directly following the main verb, a double negative construction is used:

Dydw i ddim wedi gweld dim byd.

I have seen nothing. / I have not seen anything.

Related terms

• be', beth (“what”)
• pob dim, popeth (“everything”)
• rhywbeth (“something”)
• unrhyw beth (“anything”)

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
dim byd	ddim byd	nim byd	unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.