Is there a Welsh word for “hummingbird”? If so, what is it?
According to “Y Geiriadur Mawr” humming bird is “aderyn y si”
Diolch!
Sionned: According to “Y Geiriadur Mawr” humming bird is “aderyn y si”
Nice! ‘Bird of the murmur / murmuring bird.’ Even better because I most often here ‘si’ used to mean ‘rumor’ (as in, ‘mae si bod Aran yn fampir’ = there’s a rumor that Aran is, well…). So a hummingbird is a bird who moves about like a quiet, hissing rumor.
The hummingbird hawkmoth is “Gwalchwyfyn hofran”.
hopeing to see some in north wales the week after next, most likely on the lower slopes of great orm, but with good weather they can be seen anywhere.
Cheers J.P.
This question arose in a discussion three of us SSiWers in North Northumberland were having yesterday at one of our fortnightly meetings. Anne had seen one in her garden so we were trying to find the correct name for it and, having failed, making some up as we talked. That was fun as it really made us play with our (limited) vocabulary. I like the answer and the explanations giving us more to talk about in a fortnight’s time.
This is getting spooky Aled, because we talked about wool, and knitting as well. We noticed that they were obviously linked (gwlan a gwau) but hadn’t thought about the colloquial names for flora and fauna which are often based on appearance or habitat e.g In this area earwigs are known as “forky tails.” I can see the start of a fun game here1
No, I guessed your earlier example was wood lice. I just saw all sorts of possibilities for enjoying my developing grasp of Welsh. Probably of no practical use but something I enjoy.