2025 Day 77

2025 Dedh Trei Ügens ha Seytek

De Meurth, etegves mis Meurth

Tuesday, 18th March

Ew da genowgh gweles rün a spern dû gweskys en flourys gwydn pecar'a ergh? Po, martesen, gwell ew genowgh gweles eythin melyn. Ma eythin ow tevy en  üskis ha, en termyn eus passyes, tho cünys da rag fornow bara. Mor dû ew da rag debry, bes nag ew dreys da rag tiogow. ("Whenn casadow" creiys ens en Zelond Nowydh.)

Do you like to see a hill slope of blackthorn clad in white flowers like snow? Or, perhaps, you prefer to see yellow furze/gorse. Gorse grows quickly and, in the past, it was good fuel for bread ovens. Blackberries are good for eating, but brambles are not good for farmers. (They are called "noxious weeds" in New Zealand.)

Gerva Vocabulary

casadow noxious

dreys (coll.) brambles > dreysen (f)

eythin (coll.) gorse, furze > eythinen (f)

mor dû (coll.) blackberries > moren dhû (f)

spern dû (coll.) blackthorn > spernen dhû (f)

whenn (coll.) weeds > whennen~whednen (f)

The Prickly Cornish 

   We have to admire our farmers in past times battling hostile native vegetation, pretty though it may be. We find more than a score of uninviting place names in Cornish where thorn trees, brambles and furze were prevalent enough to be permanently recorded. The language was certainly not forgotten while we still had names such as these: 

“brambly farm” Tredrizzick (Tredhreysek in 1284) Tredhreysek  

“brambly pool” Poldrissick (Poldrysoc 1275) Poldreysek 

“brambly spring” Ventontrissick (Ventondrissick 1766) Fenten Dreysek  

“farm at the thorns” Trendrine (Trendreyn 1302) Tre'ndreyn 

“thorny” Drannack (Dreynek 1284) Dreynek  

“thorny nook” Coldrinnick (Kyldreynak 1302) Kildreynek 

“thorn tree farm” Trespearne (Trespernan c.1200) Trespernen

“thorn tree” Sparnon Gate (Spernen 1327) Spernen

“thorny” Sparnock (Spernek 1280) Spernek 

“farm at the furze” Trenython (Treneithen 1201) Tre'neythin

“roughland at the furze”  Rosenithon (Rosneython 1249) Ros an Eythin

So, in SWF, words to avoid while naming a new house might be: 

dreyn prickles, thorns drenek prickly, thorny 

dreys brambles, dreysek brambly 

eythin furze, gorse, eythinek furze brake 

spern thorns, spernek thorny