The authoritative dictionary of the Welsh language
Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru, produced and updated by researchers at University of Wales Trinity Saint David (UWTSD), is an essential part of the Welsh Government’s strategy to increase the number of Welsh speakers to one million by 2050.
Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru (GPC) is the only standard historical dictionary of the Welsh language. It is the acknowledged authority on the spelling, meaning and origin of Welsh words and forms an essential part of the linguistic infrastructure on which other dictionaries, thesauri, terminology lists and reference works are based. It is widely used to write bilingual documents, particularly in government, education, law, health and business.
The project began in 1921, and the first part of the dictionary was published in 1950. The completed work was launched by the First Minister of Wales, Rhodri Morgan, at the National Assembly for Wales in 2002. GPC was published online in 2014 and via mobile apps in 2016, which increased its use dramatically.
Revising and updating GPC
Since the first edition was published, GPC has been extensively revised and updated.
The team from the Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies at UWTSD research new entries for the GPC and update existing ones. Thirty percent of the current dictionary has been published since January 2000.
For each new or updated entry, the team collect and analyse evidence and write a synopsis of their findings, supported by illustrative quotations. Each entry covers the word’s meaning, origin, correct use, derivative forms (plurals, singulatives, diminutives, etc.), variant forms and phrases containing the word.
Increasing the number of Welsh speakers
The Welsh Government (WG), through its strategy Cymraeg 2050, aims to almost double the number of Welsh speakers to a million by 2050.
GPC has made a significant contribution to realising this aim, helping to increase the visibility of the Welsh language and producing resources for both Welsh language learners and fluent speakers.
In particular, the team’s development and use of digital technology - such as the mobile app - is playing a key role in improving the accessibility and promoting the use of the Welsh language. The GPC is believed to be the only full historical dictionary for any language that is available as an app.
Apart from its extensive use in academia, GPC has also been used regularly by commercial translators and translators working for Senedd Cymru (the Welsh Parliament) and the WG, and is one of the primary linguistic resources used in the drafting of legislation in Welsh.
Research team
The research team from the Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies at UWTSD is led by Andrew Hawke.