enw hiraf
The English phrase "longest name" is translated into Welsh as enw hiraf.
The phrase is used to refer to a name that possesses the greatest number of letters or characters.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is composed of the noun enw (name) and the superlative adjective hiraf (longest).
How does it change in a sentence?
The plural form of the phrase is enwau hiraf, where only the noun enw is pluralized to enwau. To change the superlative form enw hiraf (longest name) to the simple adjective form enw hir (long name), you remove the superlative suffix -af.
Did you know?
- Because Welsh is a VSO (Verb-Subject-Object) language, the way you describe a 'long name' can change dramatically if you turn the phrase into a full sentence, moving the verb to the very front.
- The word enw is a distant cousin to the English word 'name', as both descend from the same Proto-Indo-European root ‘*h₁nómn̥’.
- Because Welsh allows for the creation of new words through compounding, a 'longest name' might be formed by fusing several nouns into one single word without spaces.
Examples in context
- Wyt ti'n gwybod pa enw yw'r enw hiraf?Do you know which name is the longest name?
Example conversation
Owain and Sian are looking at a class register.
- OwainEdrychwch ar hyn, dyma'r enw hiraf!Look at this, this is the longest name!
- SianMae'n ownol iawn, ydi?It's very strange, isn't it?
- OwainYdy Owain yn cael enw hiraf?Does Owain have the longest name?
- SianNac oes, mae Sian yn cael un hir iawn.No, Sian has a very long one.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries enw, CC BY-SA 4.0.
