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Help[Facts] Gwenabwy
Can anyone tell me anything more about Gwenabwy? It's a Welsh feminine name.
The first element is clearly gwyn, "white", and wy is a common suffix in Welsh names, but the second element is puzzling me. Superficially, it looks like ab, the mutated form of ap, "son of", when it precedes a vowel. But this does not make sense in this context.
Thanks!
The first element is clearly gwyn, "white", and wy is a common suffix in Welsh names, but the second element is puzzling me. Superficially, it looks like ab, the mutated form of ap, "son of", when it precedes a vowel. But this does not make sense in this context.
Thanks!
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Replies
It could be the element "banw", meaning "woman", compare Myfanwy?
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That's an interesting idea, but wouldn't the b have become mutated as an f, leaving the b in Gwenabwy unexplained?
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https://cy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwenafwy
Welsh Wikipedia states Gwenabwy and Gwenafwy refers to the same Welsh saint (who also seems to be referred to as St Wenappa, I assume that's a Latinisation), so it's possible they are all different ways of writing the same name. I don't know anything about mutation in Welsh consonants, so I can't speculate why the B is there. But I hope the possible link between Gwenafwy and Gwenabwy is useful to you.
Welsh Wikipedia states Gwenabwy and Gwenafwy refers to the same Welsh saint (who also seems to be referred to as St Wenappa, I assume that's a Latinisation), so it's possible they are all different ways of writing the same name. I don't know anything about mutation in Welsh consonants, so I can't speculate why the B is there. But I hope the possible link between Gwenafwy and Gwenabwy is useful to you.
This message was edited 6/18/2016, 11:43 AM
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That is fascinating -- more material for speculation now.
Thanks so much for your help!
Thanks so much for your help!
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