Ml. W. ysgawn > S.W. ysgon, also ysgafn, Mn. W. and N. W. ysgafn, Ml. W. ysgwn § 101 iv (3).
viii. (1) After the prefixes *ko‑, *to‑, *do‑, *ro- an initial u̯- was heterosyllabic, and the o of the prefix becomes ỿ regularly § 65 iv (2), as in cỿ-wir ib., tỿ-wysog ‘prince’, dỿ-wedaf § 194 ‘I say’, rhỿ-wynt ‘hurricane’.
(2) The vowel also develops regularly before gu̯, as in tew ‘thick’, Ir. tiug < *tegu̯‑: E. thick; cf. ii (2).
ix. (1) iu̯ and īu̯ occurred as V- and R-grades of ei̯eu̯, ei̯ēu̯, etc.; Kelt. īu̯ also < Ar. ēu̯. The i or ī appears regularly in W. as y or i. Thus byw ‘live’ < ɡu̯iu̯- § 63 vii (3);—W. lliw < *līu̯‑: Lat. līvor.
(2) īu̯o gives W. üo or üa (§ 65 v (1)); thus W. buan ‘quick’ < Brit. *bīu̯o-no‑s § 63 vii (3);—W. hual ‘shackle’ for *ffual < *fīu̯ol < Lat. fībula;—original īo > īu̯o > üo as in lluossawc § 75 iii (3).
Later Modifications of Vowels.
§ 77. i. In Late Ml. W. ɥ, when short, became i before g (then written c) or ng. Thus in the unaccented ultima in Late Ml. W. we generally find ic, sometimes ing, as tebic w.m. 122, 129, 142, r.m. 164, 213, etc.; meddic w.m. 141, r.m. 113, 212, 306, r.p. 1298; kyving r.m. 110 (but kyvyng w.m. 46, 465, r.m. 32). Such words are rhymed by the bards with monosyllables having i (not ɥ):
- Ond dychmygion dynion dig,
- A cham oedd pob dychymig.—D.G. 22; see 246.
‘[They were] but jealous men’s fancies, and every fancy was false.’
- Rhinwedd mab Ieuan feddig
- Ar dy rudd fal aur a drig.—L.G.C. 348.
‘The virtue of Ab Ieuan the physician will dwell as gold on thy cheek.’
- A’i frig yn debig i dân.—D.E., g. 125.
‘And its tips like fire.’—To a woman’s hair. See 133, and D.G., 27, 285. See tebig / diwig / cerrig / llewig / rhyfig, etc. E.P. 283.
In a monosyllable before g the vowel is long, § 51 iii, and therefore remains ɥ, as in plŷg ‘fold’, crŷg ‘hoarse’ see plyc w.m. 89, r.m. 65; but before ng it is short, § 51 ii, hence ing ‘anguish’, which is for ɥng r.p. 1286, 1407; cf. the derivative ỿg̃der r.m. 119.
The only words in which the vowel is sounded ɥ in the unaccented ult. are compounds of plyg, cryg etc., as dyblyg D.G. 258, (g)w͡yrblyg 255, ogryg 244, deuẟyblyc Ỻ.A. 68; also the 3rd sing. pres. ind. of
