Rhondda

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A deep valley in south Wales, historically known for its coal mining and now a community of towns and villages
2. A former coal-mining valley region in the south of Wales, famous for its industrial heritage and close-knit communities
3. The name of a Welsh valley in the south of the country, once centred on coal mines and their surrounding towns

Etymology: Before the coal boom, the name belonged to a river and a thinly settled valley in south Wales. Its meaning is uncertain: the name is Welsh, but no proposed derivation from Welsh elements has been firmly established, so it is best treated as a name whose origin has been lost. The river gave its name to the valley, and the valley gave its name to the place people now think of first. In the later nineteenth century, deep coal seams beneath the valley drew thousands of migrants from rural Wales, England, and abroad. Villages of terraced housing spread up the hillsides, and the population grew from a few thousand to well over a hundred thousand within a few decades. The name became attached to the mining communities, the strikes and the chapel culture of those towns, and it now also names a county borough, Rhondda Cynon Taf, which covers the valley and its neighbouring areas.