handbook of the origin of place-names in wales and monmouthshire

Cilmaenllwyd. — Cil, a place of retreat; maen, stone; llwyd, grey, blessed; so called from the relics ofdruidical stones in the place. English name — Greystone.Cwmsarnddu. — Cwtfi, vale; sarn, paved road; ddu, black; from a farm so named. English name — Blackroad.Cydweli. — This ancient name implies two streams of water joining to run on the same bed. The place issituated about half-a-mile from Carmarthen Bay at the junction of the rivers Gwendraeth Fach andGwendraeth Fawr. Gweilgi means a flood, sea, beds of water. English name — Biwater.Cefncethin. — A village in the parish of Llandilo. The common opinion of the inhabitants is that the placetook its name from an eminent poet, named Cethin, who lived in the neighbourhood in the sixteenth century.Cethin means dark, frightful, terrible. English name — Frighthill.Cynwil Gaio. — Cyn, prior, first; wil- gwyl, to watch; Caio, Caius, the name of a Roman personage. The Rev.Eliezer Williams, in the 'Cambrian Register," thinks that the place was taken possession of by Caius'sadvanced guards. He says : " It is probable that the advanced guards of the British were stationed at CynwylElfed (the advanced post of Elfed), a place situate some miles to the south of Caio." English name —Caiustown.Cloygyn. — Clogwyn is the right wording. English name — Rockham.Capel Paulin. — Capel, chapel; Paulin, a mutation of Paul Hen, St. Paulinus, who flourished in the fifthcentury. English name —Paul's Chapel.Crugybar. — Crug, heap; bar, affliction, fury, wrath. The place derives its name from the supposition that theRomans buried their fallen soldiers in the vicinity, where they suffered heavily from the hands of the wrathfuland formidable Britons, led by the immortal Buddug. English name — Wrathby.Cwm Gwendraeth. — Cwm, valley; Gwendraeth, the name of the river that runs through the valley. Gwen,white; traeth, a tract, beach. English name — Whitcombe.Capel Iwan. — Capel, chapel; Iwan, Ivan, loan, John; meaning John the Baptist. English name — John'sChapel.Capel Isaac. — A noted place in connection with the Congregational body since the year 1650, when theRev. Stephen Hughes, formerly the vicar of Meidrym, left the Church of England and founded aCongregational church. Suffering from persecution, they took refuge in a cave for a short time, andafterwards built a chapel in 1672 on the land of Isaac Thomas; hence the name, Capel Isaac. English name— Isaac's Chapel.Cwmcothi. — The river Cothi flows through the combe. Cothi means to eject or evacuate; ysgothi, to babble.The Greek Kaithaiso has a similar meaning. Dolaucothi is the seat of the Johnses, a well-known family in thecounty of Carmarthen, and close by was the residence of the celebrated bard, Llywelyn (Lewis) Glyn Cothi,who flourished in the fifteenth century. English name — Throwcombe.Cwmcuch. — A village situate on the banks of the river Cuch. Cuch means what is contracted or drawntogether. Cuchio, to frown. English name — Frowncombe.Cwmhwplin. — Hwplin only requires explanation. Hwp, an effort, a push. Trwy fawr hwp, through a greateffort. Hwpio means to push. Lin-glin, leg. The early Christians suffered severely from persecution in thisplace, and consequently were obliged to make great efforts to maintain their own and proceed with theirgood work despite all obstructions. English name — Pushton.Cwm Duad. — Duad implies blackness. The river Duad flows through the vale. English name —Blackcombe.Cenarth. — Cen, low Celtic for pen, head or top; arth- garth, a hill. It is synonymous with Penarth. Englishname — Hill's Head.Cilcarw. — Cil, a place of retreat; carw, stag. In olden times stags resorted to this sequestered vicinity as aOrigin of Place-names in Wales & Monmouthshire Page 33