Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru: Some interesting figures

Some statistics
Languages mentioned in the etymologies
Parts of speech
Diminutive and feminine forms
Plural forms
Comparative frequency of the Welsh accents
Fersiwn Cymraeg
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The following statistics are based on approximately two thirds of the finished Dictionary, i.e. the figures below have been extrapolated to show the likely totals for each item listed.

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Some statistics

Articles: (OED2: 291,627)               84,386

Major cross-references*:                25,603

Citations: (OED2: c. 2.5m)             464,089

    from John Davies' dictionary:       18,889

    from the Bible (1588/1620):      c. 11,000

    from Pughe's dictionary:             9,853

Combinations*:                          34,388

Variants*:                               4,824

Welsh definitions/synonyms:            337,436

English definitions/synonyms:          303,619

    figurative meanings**:               6,594

    main botanical meanings:             1,340

    main legal meanings:                   462

Etymologies/derivations:                86,005

Languages mentioned in the 

    etymologies/derivations:            14,156

    Breton:                              2,871

    Irish:                               2,577

    Cornish:                             2,176

    Latin:                               2,127

    Middle English:                      1,235

    Celtic:                                903

    French:                                464

    Brittonic:                             384

    Indo-European:                         356

    Greek:                                 287

    Gaulish:                               256

    Old English:                           195

    Sanskrit:                               63

    German:                                 52

    Hebrew:                                 46

    Scottish Gaelic:                        26

    Norwegian:                              24

    Gothic:                                 14

    Spanish:                                12

    Italian:                                10

    Old Norse/Nordic/Norwegian:             10

    Lithuanian:                              5

    Arabic:                                  5

    Armenian:                                5

    Goedelic:                                5

    Slav(on)ic:                              5

    Pictish:                                 4

    Oscan:                                   4

    Hittite:                                 4

    Dutch:                                   2

    Avestan:                                 2

    Old Slavonic:                            2

    Latvian:                                 2

    Umbrian:                                 2

    Russian:                                 1

    Ogam:                                    1

    Persian:                                 1

    Saxon:                                   1

    Vedic:                                   1

    Celtiberian:                             1

    Danish:                                  1

    Old Prussian:                            1

    Islandic:                                1

    Malagasy:                                1

    Manx:                                    1

    Tocharian:                               1

    Ukrainian:                               1

Comments at the end of articles:        62,145

Total number of words: (GAG: c. 2m)  7,919,371

Total number of slips in main citation 

    collection: (OED1: c. 5,000,000) 1,770,000

  + additional material in 

    supplementary collections:      c. 600,000

* = can often contain more than one word/combination. OED1 = original edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (1928); OED2 = the second edition (1989); GAG = Dictionary of the Welsh Academy (1995).
** = including figurative and transferred meanings.

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Parts of speech*

eg., eg.b. (masc. noun + masc./fem.)    36,414

a. (adjective or adjectival)             9,644

eb., eb.g. (fem. noun + fem./masc.)     11,858

bg., bg.a. (intrans. verb + intr./trans) 6,389

ba. (transitive verb)                    3,995

a.bfl. (verbal adjective)                1,891

bach. (diminutive form)                  1,046

be. (verb-noun)                            726

e.tf. (collective noun)                    456

ardd. (preposition)                        434

adf. (adverb)                              392

e.c. (common noun)                         319

ebd. (exclamation)                         170

rh. (pronoun)                              127

trf. (ending)                              120

cys. (conjunction)                          85

rhgdd. (prefix)                             70

rhif. (numeral)                             60

gn. (particle)                              47



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Diminutive and feminine forms

-en                                        278

-yn                                        182

-es                                         95



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Plural forms**

-(i)au, -nau, -fau                      33,222

-(i)on, -yddion                          3,742

-wyr                                     3,130

-(i)aid                                  1,698

-(i)oedd, -noedd                         1,398

-(n)i                                      891

-s                                         751

-(fe)ydd                                   712

-(n)od                                     663

-dai, -tai                                 289

-wragedd                                   141

-gwn                                       112



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Comparative frequency of the Welsh accents in the Dictionary's headwords

circumflex                      c. 2,000 (56%)

diaeresis or umlaut               c. 880 (25%)

acute accent                      c. 500 (14%)

grave accent                      c. 160  (5%)

* = Only those abbreviations are shown which have a frequency of occurrence of 40 or more.
** = Frequency of occurrence of 100 or more. Only those forms specifically mentioned are included (e.g. -iynau is not included in the total for -au).

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Last revised: 22 April 1998. © Copyright University of Wales, 1997-8.