canu

See also: cañu and Canu

Welsh

Etymology

From Middle Welsh kanu, from Old Welsh canam (1sg. pres. conj.), from Proto-Brythonic *kėnɨd, from Proto-Celtic *kaneti, from Proto-Indo-European *keh₂n-. Equivalent to cân (“song”) +‎ -u.

Pronunciation

• (North Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈkanɨ̞/
• (South Wales) IPA^(key): /ˈka(ː)ni/
• Rhymes: -anɨ̞

Verb

canu (first-person singular present canaf)

1. to sing
2. to intone, chant
3. to crow
4. to state, say
5. (intransitive) to play (produce musical sounds (of instrument))
6. (transitive) to play or perform (on instrument)
7. (intransitive) to ring (of telephone)
8. (transitive) to compose poetry, celebrate in song

Conjugation

Conjugation (literary)

	singular			plural			impersonal
	first	second	third	first	second	third
present indicative/future	canaf	ceni	cân, cana	canwn	cenwch, canwch	canant	cenir
imperfect (indicative/subjunctive)/ conditional	canwn	canit	canai	canem	canech	canent	cenid
preterite	cenais	cenaist	canodd	canasom	canasoch	canasant	canwyd
pluperfect	canaswn	canasit	canasai	canasem	canasech	canasent	canasid, canesid
present subjunctive	canwyf	cenych	cano	canom	canoch	canont	caner
imperative	—	cân, cana	caned	canwn	cenwch, canwch	canent	caner
verbal noun	canu
verbal adjectives	canedig canadwy

Conjugation (colloquial)

inflected colloquial forms	singular			plural
	first	second	third	first	second	third
future	cana i, canaf i	cani di	canith o/e/hi, caniff e/hi	canwn ni	canwch chi	canan nhw
conditional	canwn i, canswn i	canet ti, canset ti	canai fo/fe/hi, cansai fo/fe/hi	canen ni, cansen ni	canech chi, cansech chi	canen nhw, cansen nhw
preterite	canais i, canes i	canaist ti, canest ti	canodd o/e/hi	canon ni	canoch chi	canon nhw
imperative	—	cana	—	—	canwch	—

Note: All other forms are periphrastic, as usual in colloquial Welsh.

Quotations

• 1892, Daniel James (Gwyrosydd), “Calon Lân [A Pure Heart]”:

  Dim ond calon lân all ganu / Canu’r dydd a chanu’r nos.

  Only pure hearts praise God truly / Praise him all the day and night.

  (literally, “None but a pure heart may sing / Sing in the day and sing in the night.”)

Derived terms

• caniad (“act of singing or playing an instrument”)
• canwr (“(male) singer”)
• dychanu (“to satirize”)
• utganu (“to sound a trumpet”)

Related terms

• cân (“song”)
• cantores (“(female) singer”)
• ynganu (“to utter; to pronounce”)

Mutation

Mutated forms of canu

radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
canu	ganu	nghanu	chanu

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

References

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