erioed

Welsh

Etymology

From er (“during, since”) +‎ ei (“his”) +‎ oed (“time”).

Pronunciation

• (North Wales, standard, colloquial) IPA^(key): /ɛrˈjoːɨ̯d/
  • (North Wales, colloquial) IPA^(key): /rjoːɨ̯d/
• (South Wales, standard, colloquial) IPA^(key): /ɛrˈjɔi̯d/
  • (South Wales, colloquial) IPA^(key): /ɛrˈjoːd/, /rjɔi̯d/, /rjoːd/
• Rhymes: -oːɨ̯d

Adverb

erioed

1. ever (following the superlative degree of adjectives)

   Dyma'r pics gorau erioed!

   These are the best Welsh cakes ever!

2. ever (with interrogative verbs)

   Wyt ti erioed wedi bod yn Iwerddon?

   Have you ever been to Ireland?

   Wyt ti wedi bod yn Iwerddon erioed?

   Have you been to Ireland ever?

3. never, ever (with negative verbs)

   Naddo, dw i erioed wedi bod yno.

   No, I've never been there. / No, I haven't ever been there.

   Naddo, dw i ddim wedi bod yno erioed.

   No, I haven't been there ever.

4. always (with affirmative perfective verbs in adverbial position)

   Dw i wedi byw yng Nghymru erioed.

   I've always lived in Wales.

Usage notes

• In the standard language, when qualifying verbs, erioed is used with completed tenses in the past (present perfect, simple past, pluperfect), while byth is used with other tenses (present, future, imperfect, conditional).

Dw i erioed wedi bwyta bara lawr.

I've never eaten laverbread.

Dw i byth yn bwyta bara lawr.

I never eat laverbread.

• In some southern dialects, byth may be used colloquially where standard language employs erioed.

Sa i byth 'di byta bara lawr.

I've never eaten laverbread.

• With verbs negated by ddim, erioed is usually found in post-subject position, where it replaces the ddim. It may also be used in conjunction with ddim when placed in adverbial position.

Dw i erioed wedi bwyta bara lawr.

I've never eaten laverbread. / I haven't ever eated laverbread

Dw i ddim wedi bwyta bara lawr erioed.

I've haven't eaten laverbread ever.

• With affirmative verbs of perfective aspect, erioed means "always" when in normal adverbial position.

Dw i wedi bwyta bara lawr erioed.

I've always eaten laverbread.

Related terms

• ambell waith, ar brydiau, weithiau (“sometimes”)
• bob amser, o hyd, trwy'r amser, wastad (“always”)
• byth (“never”)
• pryd (“when”)
• rhywbryd (“sometime”)
• unrhyw bryd (“anytime”)

Interjection

erioed

1. (well, I) never (statement of disbelief)

   Mae o wedi marw. – Erioed!

   He's died. – Never!

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	h-prothesis
erioed	unchanged	unchanged	herioed
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

• R. J. Thomas, G. A. Bevan, P. J. Donovan, A. Hawke et al., editors (1950–present), “erioed”, in Geiriadur Prifysgol Cymru Online (in Welsh), University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh & Celtic Studies