arwain

Welsh

Alternative forms

• arwedd, arweddu

Etymology

From Middle Welsh arwein, from Proto-Celtic *ɸare-wedn- (compare synonymous arweddu from *ɸarewedeti), from *ɸare- + *wedeti (compare Old Irish feidid (“bring, lead”)), from *wedʰ- (“to lead”) (compare Lithuanian vèsti, Gothic 𐌲𐌰𐍅𐌹𐌳𐌰𐌽 (gawidan), Old Church Slavonic вести (vesti).

Pronunciation

• (North Wales, standard, colloquial) IPA^(key): /ˈarwai̯n/
  • (North Wales, colloquial) IPA^(key): /ˈarwɛn/
• (South Wales, standard) IPA^(key): /ˈarwai̯n/
  • (South Wales, colloquial) IPA^(key): /ˈarwɛn/

Verb

arwain (first-person singular present arweiniaf)

1. to lead, guide
2. to conduct (e.g. an orchestra)
3. to lead (to a certain place)

   Mae’r llwybr ’ma’n arwain i’r goedwig.

   This path leads to the forest.

4. to behave, to conduct oneself

   Synonyms: ymddwyn, bihafio

Conjugation

Conjugation (literary)

	singular			plural			impersonal
	first	second	third	first	second	third
present indicative/future	arweiniaf	arweini	arwain	arweiniwn	arweiniwch	arweiniant	arweinir
imperfect (indicative/subjunctive)/conditional	arweiniwn	arweinit	arweiniai	arweiniem	arweiniech	arweinient	arweinid
preterite	arweiniais	arweiniaist	arweiniodd	arweiniasom	arweiniasoch	arweiniasant	arweiniwyd
pluperfect	arweiniaswn	arweiniasit	arweiniasai	arweiniasem	arweiniasech	arweiniasent	arweiniasid, arweiniesid
present subjunctive	arweiniwyf	arweiniech	arweinio	arweiniom	arweinioch	arweiniont	arweinier
imperative	—	arwain	arweinied	arweiniwn	arweiniwch	arweinient	arweinier
verbal noun	arwain
verbal adjectives	arweiniedig arweiniadwy

Conjugation (colloquial)

Inflected colloquial forms	singular			plural
	first	second	third	first	second	third
future	arweinia i, arweiniaf i	arweini di	arweinith o/e/hi, arweiniff e/hi	arweiniwn ni	arweiniwch chi	arweinian nhw
conditional	arweiniwn i, arweiniswn i	arweiniet ti, arweiniset ti	arweiniai fo/fe/hi, arweinisai fo/fe/hi	arweinien ni, arweinisen ni	arweiniech chi, arweinisech chi	arweinien nhw, arweinisen nhw
preterite	arweiniais i, arweinies i	arweiniaist ti, arweiniest ti	arweiniodd o/e/hi	arweinion ni	arweinioch chi	arweinion nhw
imperative	—	arweinia	—	—	arweiniwch	—
Note: All other forms are periphrastic, as usual in colloquial Welsh.

Derived terms

• arweiniad (“guidance, leadership”)
• arweiniol (“guiding, leading, introductory”)
• arweinlyfr (“guidebook”)
• arweinwr (“leader, guide”)
• arweinydd (“guide, leader”)
• rhagarwain (“introduce”)
• ymarweddu (“to behave oneself”)

 

Mutation

Mutated forms of arwain

radical	soft	nasal	h-prothesis
arwain	unchanged	unchanged	harwain

Note: Certain mutated forms of some words can never occur in standard Welsh.
All possible mutated forms are displayed for convenience.

Further reading

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “arweiniaf”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies