Carmarthen

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. A historic market town in southwest Wales, the administrative centre of the county of Carmarthenshire on the River Tywi
2. A Welsh town on the River Tywi in Carmarthenshire, long regarded as one of the oldest towns in Wales
3. An ancient settlement in southwest Wales that serves as the county town of Carmarthenshire beside the River Tywi

Etymology: Carmarthen is the English name of a market town in southwest Wales, and its English form has been reshaped far more than its Welsh original. The Welsh name is Caerfyrddin, which combines "caer", meaning fort or fortified place, with a second element usually linked to the Roman-era name Moridunum, "sea fort". The Welsh word was not the only version in circulation, and English speakers arrived at their own spelling through Middle English forms such as Keyrmerthyn and Kairmerthen, which show the Welsh name being heard and written in an English way. The English spelling "Carmarthen" then settled into a pattern that makes the Welsh original look almost unrecognisable. The "-fyrddin" ending, which Welsh speakers pronounce with a vowel and a dd sound, became "-marthen" to English ears, and the town's name in English now sounds quite different from its Welsh form.