see (3), by ẟyn bynnac r.p. 1256. Forms with b- are common in Early Mn. verse.
In Early Ml. W. pa, py is also used for ‘what?’ substantival, as pa roteiste oth olud b.b. 20 ‘what didst thou give of thy wealth?’ Pa ẟarvu w.m. 58, r.m. 41 ‘what happened?’ Pa wnaf r.p. 1045 ‘what shall I do?’ Py gynheil magwyr dayar yn bresswyl b.t. 28 ‘what supports the wall of the earth permanently?’—It is also used for ‘why?’ as Py liuy (≡ livy or liwy) di w.m. 454 ‘why dost thou colour?’ Duw reen py bereist lyvwr r.p. 1032 ‘Lord God, why hast thou made a coward?’
(3) Ml. W. peth ‘what?’ substantival, usually beth, also pa beth, ba beth: Mn. W. beth, pa beth.
A wẟost ti peth wyt b.t. 27 ‘dost thou know what thou art?’ Na wn, heb ynteu, peth yw marchawc w.m. 118 ‘I do not know, said he, what a knight is’; Peth bynnac see iv.
beth yw dy arch di w.m. 20 ‘what is thy request?’ beth yw hynny do. 28, 42 ‘what is that?’ beth yssyẟ yn y boly hwnn do. 54 ‘what is in this bag?’ beth yssyẟ yma ib. ‘what is here?’ Beth a ẟarvu yn y diweẟ iẟaw ef Ỻ.A. 16 ‘what happened in the end to him?’ beth am y r͑ei bychein do. 41 ‘what about the little ones?’ Beth…pei ‘what if’ 12 times in Ỻ.A. 67–8. Beth a gawn g. 228 ‘what shall we have?’ Beth a wnawn i’n chwaer? Can. viii 8.
Papeþ bi juv. gl. quid; papedpinnac m.c. gl. quoduis; ba beth oreu rac eneid b.b. 84 ‘what [is] best for the soul’; Pa beth a wnnant wy Ỻ.A. 66 ‘what do they do?’ Pa beth yw dŷn i ti i’w gofio? Ps. viii 4.
(4) Early Ml. W. pet [soft] ‘how many…?’ (In Late Ml. W. and Mn. W. this gave place to pa sawl ii (4).)
pet wynt, pet ffreu, pet avon b.t. 20 ‘How many winds, how many streams, how many rivers’; Gogwn…pet ẟyẟ ym blwyẟyn, pet paladɏr yg̃ kat, pet ẟos yg̃ kawat do. 21–2 ‘I know how many days [there are] in a year, how many spears in an army, how many drops in a shower’.
(5) Early Ml. W. pyr ‘why?’
pir deuthoste b.b. 23 ‘why hast thou come?’ pyr na’m dywedyẟ b.t. 27 ‘why dost thou not tell me?’ pyr na thr(a)ethwch traethawt do. 19 ‘why do you not make a statement?’ pyr y kyverchy di w.m. 486 (in r.b. 126 Py rac…) ‘why dost thou accost [me]?’ A form pyt occurs once, and may be an error for pyr:—pyt echenis drwc b.t. 27 ‘why did evil arise?’
(6) Ml. W. pan ‘whence?’ also ban b.b. 102. It is generally repeated before the verb in the answer.
