noswaith

Welsh

Etymology

nos (“night”) +‎ gwaith f (“time, occasion”)

Pronunciation

• (North Wales, standard, colloquial) IPA^(key): /ˈnɔswai̯θ/
  • (North Wales, colloquial) IPA^(key): /ˈnɔswɛθ/
• (South Wales, standard) IPA^(key): /ˈnɔswai̯θ/
  • (South Wales, colloquial) IPA^(key): /ˈnɔswɛθ/
• Rhymes: -ɔswai̯θ

Noun

noswaith f (plural nosweithiau, not mutable)

1. evening (time of day)

Usage notes

• Noswaith (“evening”) is used in phrase Noswaith dda (“Good evening”). It is also used as a countable noun in some southern dialects, where it is synonymous with noson, i.e. it refers to an individual evening or night.

(South Wales) noswaith wych ― a great evening/nights

(South Wales) tair noswaith ― three nights

• Noson (“night, evening”) is countable and refers to an individual evening or night and so is the word used when employing a qualifying numeral or adjective. It sits in contrast to the word diwrnod (“day”).

noson wych ― a great evening/night

tair noson ― three nights

• Nos (“night, evening”), on the other hand, generally refers to the uncountable period of darkness. Nos is also used with the names of evenings and nights of days of the week, with holiday and festival names and in the phrase Nos da (“Good night”). It is therefore the opposite of dydd (“day”).

yn ystod y nos ― during the night

nos Wener ― Friday evening/night

Nos Galan ― New Year's Eve

Derived terms

• noswaith dda (“good evening”)

References

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