dwylo / deulin
Pairs of Body Parts: Dwylo, Deulin
A few words for body parts come from dau/dwy (two) + the body part: dwy + llaw → dwylo (hands). Dwylo is the everyday plural of llaw; the others appear mostly in set phrases, poems and hymns.
How It Works
The words
- llaw (hand) → dwylo (hands) — everyday, for any number of hands
- glin (knee) → deulin (a person's knees) — set phrases, poems and hymns; everyday words are pengliniau (from pen-glin) and gliniau
- braich (arm) → dwyfraich (a person's arms) — literary; the everyday plural is breichiau
Mutations. These nouns mutate like any other: dy ddwylo di (soft after dy), ei ddwylo e, ei dwylo hi, fy nwylo i (nasal: d → n), ar ei ddeulin.
"Two hands" or "hands"? Dwy law means exactly two hands: â'i ddwy law (with both his hands). Dwylo simply means "hands". See dau and dwy.
The same "two" shows up in dwywaith (twice) and in y ddau, y ddwy (both).
Examples (6)
- Sycha dy ddwylo ar y tywel.
Dry your hands on the towel.
- Mae fy nwylo i'n oer.
My hands are cold.
Fy causes nasal mutation: dwylo becomes nwylo.
- Curwch eich dwylo!
Clap your hands!
- Daliodd hi'r babi yn ei breichiau.
She held the baby in her arms.
Everyday speech uses breichiau, the ordinary plural of braich.
- Syrthiodd e ar ei ddeulin.
He fell to his knees.
A set phrase with the old pair word; everyday speech also says ar ei liniau. South: e; the North says Syrthiodd o ar ei ddeulin.
- Mae hi wedi brifo ei phengliniau.
She has hurt her knees.
Common Mistakes
Making a regular plural of llaw.
Mae fy llawau i'n oer.Mae fy nwylo i'n oer.The plural of llaw is dwylo. There is no form llawau.
Using masculine dau with llaw.
dau lawdwy lawLlaw is feminine, so "two hands" is dwy law, which is also where dwylo comes from.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Dwylo and deulin are old dual forms built on dau and dwy.
Related Patterns
Words in This Pattern
Practice dwylo / deulin in Bubblegum
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