In L3 (northern) the word we’re given for grass (I think) is gwellt.
My dictionary, on the other hand, translates gwellt as straw and says grass is glaswellt.
Now, I know, because my grandmother lived in a village with glas in the name, that it means blue, but also the green of vegetation. So glaswellt is “green straw” which makes a kind of sense in an agricultural society.
So my question is, is gwellt for grass rather than glaswellt a northern v southern thing? Or a colloquial rather than formal thing? Or is my dictionary just ?wrong?
It’s not so much a north-south thing as regional variation throughout Wales. For instance, I’d use ‘gwair’. Here’s what Geiriadur Yr Academi says:
grassn. [-]
- gwelltglas m, gwellt glas, F: Occ: gwellt m, N.W: Occ: gwelltglaitsh m, Joc: blew (pl) cae, S.W: porfa f, mainly Lit: glaswellt m; however the word in commonest use N: & S: appears to be gwair m (strictly = long grass); in such areas hay is distinguished (where necessary)as gwair sych
which - I must admit - probably makes it even more complicated!
As always, the advice is to use the one you know or that comes to mind first - it won’t be wrong.
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Maybe I’ll ask my mum what she uses then. That should at least mean I’m right for Inys Mon, where I’m most likely to find myself!
Thanks, Siaron
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Also, Iestyn (our S Wales SSIW teacher) explains elsewhere on the forum that furthermore, the colour “glas” touches on the freshness of shoots of growth, if that helps.