15 May 2014

Word trivia: corgwn


"Corgi" is a Welsh word - a compound of cor (dwarf) and ci (dog).  The proper plural form is thus "Corgwn" -
"Oh, look, there go Daniel Craig, the Queen, and her two corgwn"
- which I believe would be pronounced something like "corgoon."

I list this as "trivia" because the word has been so Anglicized that "corgis" is in common usage, and your use of "corgwn" in a conversation will be seen as pompous intellectualism, unless perhaps you engage your audience by also sharing some of the other English words derived from Welsh (penguin?).

I learned about corgwn from a QI podcast - about which more later after I've finished listening to the lot.

4 comments:

  1. As my circle of friends takes gleeful delight in using needlessly de-Anglicised plurals, I shall adopt "corgwn" immediately. And "pennaugwynn" for "penguins" too, because etymologically "correct" infix plurals are just too pompous to pass up.

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  2. Her majesty may not know the correct plural, but I'll bet a biscuit that Charles does. I'm told that he's the first Prince of Wales to become proficient in the language since that title was established in the 14th century.

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  3. I love pennaugwynn as a plural for penguin.

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    Replies
    1. Greetings, James. I've just finished listening to the podcasts and plan to address a topic or two from there in the coming weeks.

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