hwy

See also: hwy. and hŵy

English

Alternative forms

• hwy.

Noun

hwy (plural hwys)

1. Abbreviation of highway.

Related terms

• ewy (“expressway”)
• fwy (“freeway”)

Anagrams

• why

Old English

Alternative forms

• hwī

Etymology

From a presumed earlier *hwīe, from Proto-West Germanic *hwiu, from Proto-Germanic *hwī (“with what”), to which the more common instrumental ending *-ō had been added. Cognate with Old High German hwiu (instrumental case of hwaz).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /xwyː/, [ʍyː]

Adverb

hwȳ

1. why

Pronoun

hwȳ

1. instrumental singular of hwā
2. instrumental singular of hwæt

Descendants

• Middle English: why
  • English: why
  • Scots: why

See also

• hū
• hwǣr
• hwanon
• hwæder
• hwonne

Suyá

Etymology

From Proto-Northern Jê *py (“achiote”) < Proto-Cerrado *pyj’ (“achiote”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈhʷɨ]

Noun

hwy

1. achiote

Tapayuna

Etymology

From Proto-Northern Jê *py (“achiote”) < Proto-Cerrado *pyj’ (“achiote”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈhʷɨ]

Noun

hwy

1. achiote

Welsh

Pronunciation

• (North Wales) IPA^(key): /huːɨ̯/
• (South Wales) IPA^(key): /hʊi̯/
• Rhymes: -ʊɨ̯

Etymology 1

From Middle Welsh wy, from Proto-Celtic *eyes, plural of *es, from Proto-Indo-European *éy. Cognate with Breton i(nt) and Irish ia(d).

The initial h- is from the final -nt of verbs having the allophone -nnh- between vowels (e.g. gwelant wy “they see” > /gwelannhwy/ > gwelan(t) hwy); the colloquial form nhw formed by the same process.

Pronoun

hwy

1. (literary) they; them.

Usage notes

Hwy is exclusively Literary Welsh. Colloquial Welsh uses nhw instead.

Alternative forms

• hwynt

Etymology 2

Proto-Celtic *sēyos, comparative of *sīros (for the same alteration compare *māros, comp. *māyos > Welsh mawr, comp. mwy).

Adjective

hwy

1. comparative degree of hir: longer

   Synonym: hirach

Etymology 3

Noun

hwy

1. h-prothesized form of wy

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	h-prothesis
wy	unchanged	unchanged	hwy
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

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