(2) After w̯ the obscure ỿ became w; as (g)wrthẏeu Ỻ.A. 83 ‘miracles’ for gw̯ỿrthi̯eu. In the spoken lang. and frequently in mss. we have gwnnach for gw̯ỿnnach ‘whiter’, ’wllɥs for ew̯ỿllɥs ‘will’, etc. The ỿ was artificially restored in most of these forms in the lit. lang.—G.R. 31 states that the rising diphthong always becomes w in the penult, the falling diphthong never, citing as examples gw̯ynn, gwnnach; gwinw̯ydd, gwinwdden; celw̯ydd, celwddog, but cŵyn, cw͡ynaw; gŵydd, gw͡yddau, etc. J.D.R. writes wỿ in gwỿnnach, gwỿrddach 63, but (g)wrthieu [xvii].
iii. (1) Unaccented initial u̯i- before sonants became *u̯u- > *gw̯w- > *gw‑, § 36 i. Thus gŵr ‘man’ < *u̯ur-os < *u̯ir-ós;—gwrth- ‘contra‑’, wrth ‘against’ < *u̯urt- < *u̯irt- < *u̯ertó: Ir. frith < *u̯r̥t- § 211 iv (2);—gwnn ‘I know’ < *u̯indṓ, § 191 iii (1). The w thus produced is not mutated to ỿ in the penult, e.g. gẃrol ‘manly’, gẃraidd id., ẃrthyf ‘by me’; and gwnn seems to show that it was not liable to affection; in that case gw̯ŷr ‘men’ is analogical.
(2) Before other consonants initial unaccented u̯i- or u̯e- became *oi- giving W. ü‑, as in Ml. W. ugeint ‘twenty’ < Kelt. *u̯ikn̥tí: Ir. fiche;—W. ucher ‘evening’ < (*u̯isqer- <) *u̯esper- § 96 iv (2).
(3) Generally, however, initial u̯i- became gw̯y- regularly: as gw̯ŷs < *u̯id‑t- § 63 iv;—gw̯ynt < *u̯int- < *u̯ent- < *u̯ēnt‑: Lat. ventus;—gw̯yw ‘withered’, § 75 vii (3);—gw̯yrth ‘miracle’ < Lat. virtus. But gw̯ỿ- later became gw‑, ii (2) above.
iv. Ar. i in the ultima, or ending the first element of a compound gave Gaul. and Brit. e. Thus Gaul. are‑, W. ar- < *are- < *ari- < *pₑri;—W. am < *m̥be < *m̥bhi: Lat. ambi‑, Gk. ἀμφί;—W. môr < *more, Gaul. more < *mori: Lat. mare. The reason that final unaccented short i does not affect a preceding vowel is probably that it had become e.
v. Pretonic u became o, as in i̯ôn ‘lord’ < *i̯ud-nó‑s, i̯ôr ‘lord’ < *i̯ud-ró‑s: W. uẟ § 100 i (1); see § 104 iv (3); bôn m. ‘base, stem’ < *bud-nó- § 104 iv (1); clod ‘praise, fame’ < k̑lutóm: Ir. cloth (gen. cluith) id. < k̑lutóm, Gk. κλυτόν, Skr. s̑rutám ‘what has been heard, tradition’, √k̑leu- ‘hear’.
Affection of Short Vowels.
§ 67. A short vowel (but no long vowel) was liable to be affected by a sound in a succeeding syllable. Affection is of two kinds in Welsh : 1. ultimate, when it takes place in the syllable which is now the last, having been brought about by a sound in a lost termination; 2. non-ultimate, when it takes place in the present penult or antepenult, the affecting sound being generally preserved in the ultima. Ultimate affection is caused by a or i sounds ; non-ultimate by the latter only.
