"Mae hi'n bwrw cesair."

Translation: It is hailing.

[AnnaK_Elanor]

Is bwrw cesair a southern thing? I grew up in the north and I've never heard that word! I'd call it cenllysg.

[shwmae]

Yep, cesair is southern, cenllysg is northern. When you hear a weather forecast in Welsh, the word the forecaster uses will change depending on where they're from!

[mizinamo]

When I looked it up in GPC, I was amused that cesair was defined as cenllysg and cenllysg as cesair :) (Though in the second case, there was also a longer explanation after that synonym.)

[frenchietobe]

What would bwrw mean on its own?

[shwmae]

Bwrw is usually "to hit/strike". It has another meaning which is "to throw/cast/hurl" which isn't much used today, but that seems to be the idea with precipitation: Mae hi'n bwrw eira/glaw/eirlaw/cesair "It's casting snow/rain/sleet/hail". I seem to remember Manx has the same idiom: T'eh ceau sniaghtey/fliaghey/fliugh-niaghtee/sniaghtey garroo.

[OwainLlyfr]

Would it be used for "casting a magic spell" (e.g. in fantasy stories and legends) as well?

[shwmae]

There are a number of options that can be used for "cast a spell":

hudo "conjure, enchant, beguile"

swyno "charm, bewitch"

rheibio "bewitch, curse, beguile"

And as you guessed, there's the idiom:

bwrw hud ar lit. "cast magic on"

[OwainLlyfr]

Thanks! That really makes a lot of sense to me, as "bad weather" quite often is blamed on someone bad for casting the spell (and magic is quite often a part of Welsh legends). I like it when languages make sense - and Welsh does, over and over again! :-D

[AnneBeardo1]

Much like "chucking it down"

[shwmae]

Yes, good point. Never thought of that.

[Erated8]

The Hints On Hover Mark "Cesair" By Itself As Meaning "Hailing", But Surely It'd Simply Mean "Hail"?

[ibisc]

When I checked it showed:

• cesair - hail
• bwrw cesair - hailing