Etymology
The earliest documented permutation of the name Ceridwen is Cyrridven, which occurs in the Black Book of Carmarthen. Sir Ifor Williams translates this name as "crooked woman", although the precise meaning of the stems cyrrid and cwrr (sometimes translated as "crooked" or "bent") is uncertain. Ben/ven means "woman" or "female". If wen is not a corruption of either of these, then it may derive from the adjective gwen, meaning "fair", "beloved", "blessed", or "sacred". Wen is sometimes suffixed to the names of female saints names (e.g., Dwynwen).
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Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
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—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)