16 Comments
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It’s funny since glaswellt already consists of glas (blue/green) and gwellt (grass).
It's the same in Scots Gaelic - they have virtually no word for green (if i'm not mistaken), you infer green or blue depending on the context. Must be a Celtic thing...
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Yes I thought it funny too.
Glas could be grue (or bleen perhaps?) as in this interesting article: http://www.economist.com/node/8548630
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I refer to this paragraph: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distinction_of_blue_and_green_in_various_languages#Celtic
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In Cornish grass is always described as being glas. I thought the same was true of Welsh, obviously not
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Welsh does not make that distinction anymore, but since Cornish has been revived it’s possible that they revived the distinction I suppose.
Edit: According to French Wiktionary, Breton still makes the distinction as well. Did not know that.
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Irish also uses "glas" for "green" (and "gorm" for blue)
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This is definitely one of the most difficult phrases I've had to say.
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It is another word for grass, but more often used for hay (which is dried grass, of course).
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The word "gwellt" means grass, straw or hay. (It drops the "g" when forming the compound word with "glas". So "glaswellt" is "blue/green grass". "Glasswellt gwyrdd" is therefore overkill and I think you'd only use the phrase if the grass was particularly luscious and green.
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I agree with mwsogl. Both my dictionaries, 1958 and 1960, list glaswellt as meaning green grass. I have never heard or seen the phrase glaswellt gwyrdd. It is nonsensical.
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If this is south Wales welsh, then porfa should be used really shouldn't it? I always learned that glaswellt was a north Wales term.
