Etymology

Cardiff

C3A1R1D2I1F4F4

Today it means: A city and county, the capital and largest city of Wales. Full definition →

Middle Welsh Caerdyf ← Welsh caer
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The story

  1. Welsh · derived fromcaer“fort”
  2. Middle Welsh · derived fromCaerdyf
  3. English todayCardiff

From Middle Welsh Caerdyf, equivalent to Welsh caer (“fort”) + Taf (“(River) Taff”) = fortified city on the River Taff. Compare Welsh Caerdydd.

Words from the same roots

Welshcaer all →

CarnarvonCarewcaerCaerwent

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.