Interesting...
In England a mine might be named: "Lingmoor Fell" for instace, which is after the fell itself.
However in Wales... all Kinds of interesting names come up.
Cwt-y-bugail means "The "something?" shepard"....
very interesting... what other language has "The" or "y" in the middle of a sentence??

Not something of direct relation to mining... but it's interesting to see how names develop. anyone idea where the name "Dinorwig" came from. Presumably once to seperate words.

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Hi LAP

Cwt y Bugail mean's The Shephard's Hut. Welsh is just structured a little differently to English... in English you'd say "red book" in Welsh "book red", but it's not unique in that.

As for words in the middle of place names, they are loads of them in English names, 'on the', 'by the' etc etc.

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Same with pretty much every language apart from English... you put the description after the noun.
French: rivier grand
Spanish: Rio grande
Welsh: afon mawr
English: Big River...
English is actually a pretty basic language when you think about it. We don't have a plural, masculine or feminine concept we just say "the".
I still don't quite understand the welsh numbers.

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I still don't quite understand the welsh numbers.

They work the same way as English ones, just have different names :lol:

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But four.....
Padwar and Padair... are they masculine and feminine???

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Yes they are:

Masculine Feminine

Un Un
Dau Dwy
Tri Tair
Pedwar Pedair

Once you get over ten there are two ways of counting; the decimal system which is similar to the English twenty one, tewnty two etc. and the Vigesimal System which is similar to the French - here are the teens as an example

Un ar Ddeg Literally One on Ten
Deuddeg Twelve
Tri ar Ddeg Three on Ten
Pedwar/Pedair ar Ddeg Four on Ten
Pymtheg Fifteen
Un ar Bymtheg One on Fifteen
Dau/Dwy ar Bymtheg Two on Fifteen
Deunaw Two Nines
Pedwar/Pedair ar Bymtheg Four on Fifteen

As for place names, unlike England I imagine, nearly every inch of Wales has a name. My brother farms and I know that every field has a name, some even being divided into two or three named areas! They are often descriptive and in lots of cases date back to the Mabinogi for example Dduallt near Blaenau.

Welsh Lesson over - I'm off down the pub! (The Ysgethin Inn - named after the River Ysgethin meaning Spear because it runs down to the sea in a straight line!)

Thanks... very helpfull! 😉
Also when do you use "Yr" and when do you use "Y"??

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Also when do you use "Yr" and when do you use "Y"??

It all depends which letter starts the word that follows it.
Y Bont = constanant
Yr Eifl = vowel

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Thanks...
But then how does "YR Wyddfa" translate...
Is "w" a vowel in Welsh?

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Is "w" a vowel in Welsh?

Yes

A E I O U W Y

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On the subject of the Welsh Language, what does your Signature mean LAP?

They are often descriptive and in lots of cases date back to the Mabinogi for example Dduallt near Blaenau.

Any chance of elaborating on that please? What is Mabinogi, and why is Dduallt an example please?

Yr afonkent yw mawr, a dydy iawn da i mi, oblegid.... because of what....
I think it means (I just made it up)

The mouth of the river Kent is big, and it's very good to me, because....

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LAP wrote
"Not something of direct relation to mining... but it's interesting to see how names develop. anyone idea where the name "Dinorwig" came from. Presumably once to seperate words."
Dinorwig was originally two words the Din part in this case means fort (shortened form of Dinas which in modern term usage can mean city ie Dinas Bangor). The fun starts when starting on the second part, 'orwig'. Some have put forward the idea that it comes from Norwig, that is Norwegian. However the emminent Welsh scholar Sir John Rhys, was of the opinion that the Orwig was a modern variant of Ordivice, the celtic people of Mid to North West Wales. This is where we get a bit off topic. Towards Y Felinheli (Portdinorwig) is Dinas Dinorwig an iron age hill fort SH550653 (the extra dinas is a tautology). This is a form of bi-vallate construction, different from most hill forts in the area except Dinas Dinlle. (If you stand on one you can see the other). Sir John Rhys had the theory that these were ordivician and imposed on an earlier grouping hence the naming by a local population, because if the area was always ordivian why name one fort in particular.

Now how it came to be given to a nearby village I've no idea. However, a few villages in the area have renamed in recent times, for example Rachub was originally Cae Llwyn Grydd (Rachub being just one street originally).

(Rachub being just one street originally).

Ahh yes I remember that and my brother used to live at the end of High Street.

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Towards Y Felinheli (Portdinorwig)

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However, a few villages in the area have renamed in recent times, for example Rachub was originally Cae Llwyn Grydd (Rachub being just one street originally).

And Portdinorwig / Port Dinrowic which is officially now Y Felinheli.

There's a wee booklet produced by the Bala Lare Railway society which documents the history of the Padarn Lake Railway and the history of transport in the Dinorwig quarries: it's quite an interesting book for the background it provides and in particular the development of the port at Felinheli, which is also referred to as Moelydon.

This is a bit of an odd one, because Moel-y-Don is on the other side of the Strait and I suspect that the reference is because the Moel-y-Don ferry used to sail from Felinheli. The derivation of Felinheli is an interesting one: the Felin part is a mill and it seems that the 'heli' part may be derived from 'halen' (salt), ie it was a salt mill.

Now then... salt is not usually milled other than immediately before it's put on chips, but I suspect that the derivation was that the mill was powered by the tide - salt water - and thus the name of the village. Any other suggestions?

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They are often descriptive and in lots of cases date back to the Mabinogi for example Dduallt near Blaenau.

Any chance of elaborating on that please? What is Mabinogi, and why is Dduallt an example please?

The Mabinogion perchance? IIRC, 'Mabinogi' refers to any of the four branches of the Mabinogion.

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The Mabinogion was a term coined by Lady Charlotte Guest the first person to translate the four branches of the Mabinogi into English. The earliest recorded versions date back to 1300's, but it is thought that they were in their final state before the 12th century. They seem to be earlier (pre-christian) stories preserved in a slightly garbled manner. Still a good read mind, and if anyone's read "The Owl service", the background is lifted from the branch "Math son of Mathonwy"

Talking of meaning of names, why a large Dutch Maritime Concern? (My Brother is a tug skipper).

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And Portdinorwig / Port Dinrowic which is officially now Y Felinheli.

This is a bit of an odd one, because Moel-y-Don is on the other side of the Strait and I suspect that the reference is because the Moel-y-Don ferry used to sail from Felinheli. The derivation of Felinheli is an interesting one: the Felin part is a mill and it seems that the 'heli' part may be derived from 'halen' (salt), ie it was a salt mill.

Now then... salt is not usually milled other than immediately before it's put on chips, but I suspect that the derivation was that the mill was powered by the tide - salt water - and thus the name of the village. Any other suggestions?

I understood it was originally called Y Felinheli before being renamed Port Dinorwic. References I have seen to the origin of that name refer to a mill being there that worked by the ebb and flow of the tide, thus "salt water mill"