Examples: Ml. and Mn. W. march ‘horse’, pl. meirch; tarw̯ ‘bull’, pl. teirw̯; carw̯ ‘deer’, pl. ceirw̯; gwalch ‘hawk’, pl. gweilch; alarch ‘swan’, pl. eleirch, elyrch; salm ‘psalm’, pl. Ml. seilɏm Ỻ.A. 107, beside salmeu r.p. 1303, Mn. salmau; llygad ‘eye’, pl. Ml. llygeit, Mn. llygaid; dafad ‘sheep’, pl. Ml. deveit, Mn. defaid; brân ‘crow’, pl. Ml. brein, Mn. brain; Ml. manach, Ml. and Mn. mynach ‘monk’, pl. Ml. meneich, myneich, Mn. menych, myneich (late mynachod); paladr ‘beam, ray’, pl. peleidr, pelydr; Mn. bustach ‘bullock’, pl. bustych; Ml. and Mn. maen ‘stone’, pl. Ml. mein, Mn. main Dat. xvii 4 (later meini); cyllell ‘knife’, pl. cyllyll; castell ‘castle’, pl. cestyll; gwaëll ‘knitting needle’, pl. gwëyll D.G. 458; kerẟ ‘song’, pl. kyrẟ r.p. 1245 (poet.); môr ‘sea’, pl. mŷr D.G. 146 (poet.; in prose generally moroedd); porth ‘gate’, pl. pyrth; Cymro, pl. Cymry; esgob ‘bishop’, pl. esgyb, see § 129 i (1); amws w.m. 472 (‘horse’, pl. emys do. 85; asgwrn ‘bone’, pl. esgyrn; croen ‘skin’, pl. crŵyn; oen ‘lamb’, pl. ŵyn; croes ‘cross’, pl. crwys, later croesau, but crwys as late as Wms. 102.
- Ni roddwn yn Hiraddug
- Fy eleirch er dengmeirch dug.—D.I.D., m 148/676 r., d. 36.
‘I would not exchange my swans in Hiraddug for ten of a duke’s horses.’
- M’redudd Fychan lân i lys,
- Oedd ami i dda a’i emys.—G.Gl., m 146/188.
‘Maredudd Fychan of the bright court, many were his goods and his horses.’
- Myneich a rhent, main a chrwys,
- Mintai rugl mewn tair eglwys.—G.Gl., m 146/271.
‘Monks with a rental, [and] stones and crosses, a prosperous community in three churches.’
There does not seem to be an example of aw > eu in a pl. noun; but another affection aw > yw (§ 76 v (2)) occurs in alaw ‘water-lily’, pl. elyw b.t. 32.
ii. haearn ‘iron’ has pl. heyrn, and rhaeadr ‘cataract’ has rhëydr, rhyeidr § 69 ii (3), § 75 vi (3); pennog ‘herring’ has penwaig § 36 iii; i̯wrch ‘roebuck’ has ɥrch § 36 ii, later i̯yrchod g. 167; gŵr ‘man’ is for *gw̯ŵr and has pl. gw̯ɥ̂r § 66 iii (1), and so its compounds, as pregethwr ‘preacher’, pl. pregethw̯yr; gwrda ‘goodman’, pl. gw̯ɥrda.
