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Cuddle up to cwtch, Wales' best loved word
The most popular word in Wales is today revealed to be "cwtch.”
In 2005 the Oxford English Dictionary included "cwtch" for the first time, describing it as, "Noun (Welsh) 1. a cupboard or cubbyhole. 2. a cuddle or hug."
Nicholas Shearing, senior editor on the dictionary's new words group, said "cwtch" had a long history in the Welsh language but had become equally popular among speakers of English.
The fame of "cwtch" spread in rugby circles in June, 2005, when it was used by non-Welsh players during the British and Irish Lions tour of New Zealand. Players, including Irish fullback Geordan Murphy, used the word to describe the way players were supporting each other after learning they had not been selected for Test matches.
Murphy explained, "They're saying an expression now - cwtching. It's a Welsh expression for a hug. It's pro-nounced 'cutching.’ It's kind of like a well-done, semi-hug, backslap kind of thing."
Powys-based psychologist Cliff Arnall, who specialises in confidence and happiness, was not surprised that "cwtch" had topped the survey in Wales. "It can be used in quite a few arenas - friends, same-sex friends, children with parents, romantic partners and even animals. You can give the dog or cat a cwtch.
"Just the sound of the word is great. What it suggests is being close to someone you love. When you fall off your bike when you're a kid and graze your knee, the thing that's most therapeutic is the cwtch and not the TCP or whatever is applied to the graze."
Mr Arnall was brought up in England, then a cwtch-free zone, but uses the word with his own children after having lived in Wales for 17 years. "Although I haven't experienced the word as a child myself, I find it's a very powerful word."
--Apr 3, 2007; Rhodri Clark, Western Mail
Excerpted --
The Madog Center for Welsh Studies at the University of Rio Grande in Rio Grande, Ohio, is collecting family histories for their library. If you’ve written up information on your Welsh ancestors and would like to donate a copy, see contact information below.
The library is available for research weekdays from 8:30 am-5 pm however, if someone is traveling from another area, a weekend time could possibly be arranged. The library currently has 8 family histories along with many other books and articles containing information on immigration from Wales to Ohio, many volumes on the early churches, as well as some church ledgers, hymnals and family bibles. These are valuable sources for research.
A campus map can be found at http://www.rio.edu; on the right side go to “Quick Links,” click on “Site Map”, then “Campus Map.” The Madog Center is in the E. F. Davis House and the library is on the second floor.
Library holdings are listed through the Davis Library catalog: go to http://library.rio.edu and on the left side in the “Site Guide” box click on “RioCat,” then “Go to the Library Catalog.”
Contact: Jeanne Jones Jindra at (800) 282-7201 ext 7145 or welsh[at]rio[dot]edu.
The project to digitize a selection of Welsh Americana held at The National Library of Wales and to make them available on a bilingual website is underway and the website is now available: http://ohio.llgc.org.uk.
There are currently over 4800 images in the “Digital Library.”
The project was made possible by a generous donation from Evan E. and Elizabeth F. Davis, residents of Oak Hill, Ohio, and well-known benefactors of America’s Welsh heritage.
Besides being able to search by topics such as People, Places, Education, and Digital Library, you can also search by county or use a general “Search” box.
The Franklin County section is not yet completed but a number of other counties are –
check out the Licking County section before the WSCO bus tour on Oct. 6th!.
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http://publications.ohiohistory.org/, click on “Browse By Volume”, Volume 16, page 194, and then to page 203; http://www.geocities.com/welshfolk; http://www.granvillehistory.org; and http://www.heritagepursuit.com/Licking/LickingIndex.htm.