English Online Dictionary. What means hwy? What does hwy mean?
English
Alternative forms
- hwy.
Noun
hwy (plural hwys)
- 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
- why
Pronoun
hwȳ
- instrumental singular of hwā
- 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
- achiote
Tapayuna
Etymology
From Proto-Northern Jê *py (“achiote”) < Proto-Cerrado *pyj’ (“achiote”).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): [ˈhʷɨ]
Noun
hwy
- 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
- (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
- comparative degree of hir: longer
- Synonym: hirach
Etymology 3
Noun
hwy
- h-prothesized form of wy
Mutation
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