Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

mari lwyd

/meri lʊid/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables
mar-i l-wyd
IPA
/meri lʊid/
17
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars

Meaning

name

A Welsh winter holiday custom involving wassailing with a horse's skull carried by a person hidden under a sheet.

name

A Welsh winter holiday custom involving wassailing with a horse's skull carried by a person hidden under a sheet.

Etymology

Borrowed from Welsh Mari Lwyd, with soft mutation (after a feminine noun) of llwyd (“grey”). The first part may be a form of the name Mary or a use of the English word mare. See Wikipedia for fuller discussion of these and other possibilities. In Welsh the name is used with the definite article and consequent soft mutation, y Fari Lwyd.

Phrases

'Obby 'Oss

Frequently Paired Words

'Obby 'Oss

Questions

How do you pronounce mari lwyd?
The recorded pronunciation is /meri lʊid/.
What does mari lwyd mean?
A Welsh winter holiday custom involving wassailing with a horse's skull carried by a person hidden under a sheet.
Where does mari lwyd come from?
Borrowed from Welsh Mari Lwyd, with soft mutation (after a feminine noun) of llwyd (“grey”). The first part may be a form of the name Mary or a use of the English word mare. See Wikipedia for fuller discussion of these and other possibilities. In Welsh the name is used with the definite article and consequent soft mutation, y Fari Lwyd.

How to pronounce mari lwyd

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “mari lwyd”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/meri lʊid/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “mari lwyd”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “mari lwyd” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.