vijayjohn wrote:kevin wrote:chomh maith
Encountering this expression makes me wonder how widespread the expression "as well" is and how it spread. English, Irish, and Ibero-Romance (e.g. Spanish también) all seem to have it, but who (if anyone) else? Did Irish calque it off of English or something?
Welsh has yn ogystal, an adverbial form of gogystal (< go- "near[ly]" + cystal "as well"). It's attested as far back as the mid-14th century (GPC), whereas the corresponding English usage dates to the late 15th (OED). The earlier English meaning (from the 13th century) was "not only...but also", e.g. "under hwit oðer blac & ase wel under grei ase under grene" (1225).