English word origin

Etymology of hevva

From the Cornish hevva, a contracted form of the Old Cornish hedva, from Welsh hedfa (“swarming, flocking”), from Welsh haid (“a swarm”).

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗

In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗

intj

Cry raised when a shoal of pilchards is sighted, signalling for fisherman to man their boats.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From the Cornish hevva, a contracted form of the Old Cornish hedva, from Welsh hedfa (“swarming, flocking”), from Welsh haid (“a swarm”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Borrowed-form mentionhevvakw
Derivation mentionhedvaoco
Derivation mentionhedfacy · swarming, flocking
Derivation mentionhaidcy · a swarm

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "kw",
        "3": "hevva"
      },
      "expansion": "Cornish hevva"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "oco",
        "3": "hedva"
      },
      "expansion": "Old Cornish hedva"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cy",
        "3": "hedfa",
        "t": "swarming, flocking"
      },
      "expansion": "Welsh hedfa (“swarming, flocking”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "cy",
        "3": "haid",
        "t": "a swarm"
      },
      "expansion": "Welsh haid (“a swarm”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "hevva",
      "hevva#Cornish"
    ],
    [
      "contracted",
      "contracted"
    ],
    [
      "hedva",
      "hedva#Old_Cornish"
    ],
    [
      "hedfa",
      "hedfa#Welsh"
    ],
    [
      "haid",
      "haid#Welsh"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "intj",
      "glosses": [
        "Cry raised when a shoal of pilchards is sighted, signalling for fisherman to man their boats."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "Cornwall"
      ],
      "recordId": "80a778f3a853bbe186e6f9fd9cacc8c58add6e6b1189798b028605d275882a27",
      "rawRecordSha256": "479fd3e76a4dc2b747c0156bfa0cc1dbc0648b8d93a26011ba466c5fc7c9397a",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 7574239
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for hevva →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger

Machine-source provenance

Source SHA-256: 5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run: 73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID: w-aGV2dmE