Mari Lwyd

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Welsh Mari Lwyd, with soft mutation (after a feminine noun) of llwyd (“grey”). The first part may be a form of the name Mary or a use of the English word mare. See Wikipedia for fuller discussion of these and other possibilities. In Welsh the name is used with the definite article and consequent soft mutation, Y Fari Lwyd.

Pronunciation

Proper noun

Mari Lwyd

  1. A Welsh winter holiday custom involving wassailing with a horse's skull carried by an individual hidden under a sheet.
    1. (by extension, with "the") the name of the character itself.

See also

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