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Help[Facts] Claerwen?
Daughter of Clive James and sister of the more conventional Lucinda. It looks Welsh but could just as well be invented. Any information?
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Claerwen is a river name (in Powys, Wales), coming from claer, "clear, bright", and gwen, "white, clear" (in other contexts, it also means "blessed"): "very clear, very bright". In Wales, it is really used as given name, together with other toponyms (place names, river names, lake names...).
This message was edited 5/25/2009, 12:44 AM
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It does sound pretty, though! I can see why parents might be attracted to it. Thanks, Lumia. So it's got the same kind of history as the Rudyard in Kipling! Most interesting. Wouldn't happen in South Africa though: our two largest rivers are the Vaal (which means a greyish beige colour - and it is!) and the Orange.
All the best
All the best
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Does "claer" mean "clear, bright" in Welsh or is that just a foreign word attached to a Welsh suffix?
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In modern Welsh, claer means 1) "bright, shining, fine, conspicuous, clear"; 2) "kind, gentle, bland; lukewarm, indifferent"; 3) [from another etym] "clary" (Salvia verbenaca).
But being Claerwen a hydronym, it would not be surprising at all to have a completely Welsh element not used nowadays.
But being Claerwen a hydronym, it would not be surprising at all to have a completely Welsh element not used nowadays.
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