Gwrach
/ɡwraːx/noun
A Welsh word meaning a witch, hag, or frightening old woman.
Did you know?In the phrase “gwrach y Rhibyn,” the supernatural hag was believed to shriek outside a dying person’s home, making her a Welsh death-omen figure.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Brittonic (early medieval period)
Brittonic
*wrākā
“A reconstructed Celtic form associated with a hag or frightening female figure; the exact earlier etymology is uncertain.”
Middle Welsh (12th–14th centuries)
Middle Welsh
gwrac
“A hag, witch, or terrifying woman.”
Early Modern Welsh (16th–18th centuries)
Welsh
gwrach
“A witch, hag, or ugly old woman.”
Welsh folklore tradition
Welsh
gwrach y Rhibyn
“The “hag of the Rhibyn,” a spectral woman whose scream was believed to foretell death.”
Modern Welsh
Welsh
gwrach
“A witch, hag, or frightening old woman; also used figuratively for a harsh or unattractive woman.”
Explore more surprising origins