-au

See also: Appendix:Variations of "au"

Welsh

Alternative forms

• -iau

Etymology

From Middle Welsh -eu, from Old Welsh -ou, from Proto-Brythonic *-ow, from Proto-Celtic *-owes, u-stem nominative plural. Cognate with Cornish -ow and Breton -où.

Pronunciation

• (North Wales, standard) IPA^(key): /aɨ̯/
  • (North Wales, colloquial) IPA^(key): /ɛ/, /a/
• (South Wales, standard) IPA^(key): /ai̯/
  • (South Wales, colloquial) IPA^(key): /ɛ/

Suffix

-au

1. Forms plural nouns., -s

   ‎syniad (“idea”) + ‎-au → ‎syniadau (“ideas”)

   ‎methiant (“failure”) + ‎-au → ‎methiannau (“failures”)

   ‎gwasanaeth (“service”) + ‎-au → ‎gwasanaethau (“services”)

   Synonyms: -aid, -aint, -ed, -edd, -en, -i, -iadau, -iaid, -iau, -ion, -od, -oedd, -on, -ydd, -yr, -ys

Derived terms

Welsh words suffixed with -au

References

• King, Gareth (2007). Modern Welsh Dictionary. Oxford University Press. →ISBN.

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “-au”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies