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Cyfuniad yw Mathrafal o’r elfennau ma ‘maes, gwastadedd’ a tryfal ‘triongl’, yn ddisgrifiad o’r tir gwastad sy’n gorwedd yn y cymer neu’r fforch rhwng uniad afonydd Banw ac Efyrnwy. Yr un ma a welir hefyd yn yr enwau Machynlleth, Machynys, a Mechain, ynghyd â’r enwau personol Cynllaith, Cynys, a Cain.
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Mathrafal is a combination of the elements ma ‘field, plain’ and tryfal ‘triangle’, describing the plain that lies in the fork at the confluence of the rivers Banw and Efyrnwy. The same ma element is present in the names Machynlleth, Machynys, and Mechain, along with the personal names Cynllaith, Cynys, and Cain. (Note that ma causes an aspirate mutation to the element that follows.) In the name Mathrafal, tryfal has been changed to trafal through the assimilation of the y with the two as either side of it in the name.
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