cantref

C3A1N1T1R1E1F4

noun

A mediaeval land division in Wales.

OriginMiddle Welsh cantref →
Scrabble 12
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Meanings

nouncantref (plural cantrefs or cantrefi)

plural cantrefs · plural cantrefi · alternative cantred · alternative cantrev

  1. A mediaeval land division in Wales.

    The foresitter of a cantref, namely the footholder, gives a vat of bragget to the king each year.

    2011, Sara Elin Roberts, transl., “Text and Translation”, in Llawysgrif Pomffred: An Edition and Study of Peniarth MS 259B (Medieval Law and Its Practice; 10), Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, →ISSN, page 121

Origin

  1. Middle Welshcantref
  2. Englishcantref

From Middle Welsh cantref, from cant (“hundred”) + tref (“village, settlement”), the notional basis of the division.

More words from Middle Welsh

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

cantref. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cantref

MLA

“cantref.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cantref. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cantref,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cantref.

Source: cantref on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.