An Introduction to Early Welsh - Arthur Pendragon of Wales

32.]
THE ADJECTIVE.
THE
ADJECTIVE.
GENDER.
30. There is a special form of the feminine only in the singular,
and only in adjectives containing y, w, which in the feminine
became e, O ( 7a), e.g. gwynn white : gwen, melyn yellow :
melen, bychan small: bechan, brith variegated: breith,
\\vrmmfare: llomm, crwnn round: cronn.
In the singular the adjective is
lenated after a feminine noun, e.g.
gwreic dec a beautiful woman ( l6ba) ;
in the plural there is no
lenation.
NOTE. In the Celtic adjective there were -0- stems, -i- stems and -ustems,
which are distinguishable in O.Ir., e.g. troram heavy from *trummo-s,
cruind round from *crundi-s, and il much from *pelu-s. Only the -o- stems
had a fern, in -a, so that only in these is the Welsh change of vowel
etymologically justified. But in Welsh, after the loss of final syllables, the
three classes were indistinguishable in the masculine, and the vowelchange
in the feminine spread analogically from the -o- stems to the others,
e.g. crwnn from *crundis formed a feminine cronn after the analogy of
tromm :
trwmm, etc.
FORMATION OF THE PLURAL.
31. The plural is formed :
(a) By change of vowel e.g. bychan small : bychein, ieuanc
young: ieueinc.
(b) By adding -on, e.g. dll black: duon, gwineu bay:
gwineuon.
(c) By adding -yon (its usual formation), e.g. gwynn white:
gwynnyon, melyn yellow :
melynyon.
CONCORD.
Gender.
32. In the singular the attributive adjective agrees in gender
with its noun, e.g. gwas melyn an auburn lad, morwyn
benngrech velen a curly-headed auburn maiden. With the
predicative adjective agreement is also found, e.g. un ohonunt oed
amdrom one of them was very heavy RB. 54, 17, oed amdroch