Gwalchmai
/ˈɡwalχmai/noun
A Welsh Arthurian hero, especially Gwalchmai ap Gwyar, the Welsh counterpart of Sir Gawain.
Did you know?Gwalchmai appears in medieval Welsh tradition as Arthur’s nephew and may preserve an older Brythonic hero-name later reshaped into the better-known Gawain.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Celtic, proposed
Proto-Celtic
*wolkos mag(j)os
“A reconstructed phrase possibly meaning “hawk of the plain”; this reconstruction is debated.”
9th–11th Century
Old Welsh
Gualcmai / Gwalchmai
“An early Welsh form of the Arthurian hero’s name.”
12th Century
Middle Welsh
Gwalchmai ap Gwyar
““Gwalchmai, son of Gwyar,” a prominent Arthurian warrior in Welsh prose and poetry.”
12th–13th Century
Welsh Arthurian tradition
Gwalchmai
“The Welsh counterpart of the continental and Anglo-Norman Gawain or Gauvain.”
Modern English
English
Gwalchmai
“A Welsh personal name and the name of the Arthurian knight commonly identified with Sir Gawain.”