Editing Aberdare (section)

==Etymology==
The name ''Aberdare'' means "mouth/confluence of the river Dare", as the town is located where the Dare river ({{langx|cy|Afon Dâr}}) meets the [[river Cynon|Cynon]] ({{langx|cy|Afon Cynon}}). While the town's Welsh spelling uses formal conventions, the English spelling of the name reflects the town's pronunciation in the local [[Gwenhwyseg]] dialect of South East Wales.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=Elin |title=Hen dafodiaith ardal y Steddfod |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/cymrufyw/32834409 |website=BBC Cymru Fyw |access-date=15 August 2022 |language=Welsh |date=22 May 2015}}</ref>

''Dâr'' is an archaic Welsh word for oaks (''derwen'' is the [[singulative number|singulative]]), and the valley was noted for its large and fine oaks as late as the 19th century.<ref>{{cite news |last1="An Old Mountaineer" (John Bruce Pryce) |title=Roads in the Aberdare Valley up to the year 1790 |url=https://newspapers.library.wales/view/3090555/3090558/38/an%20old%20mountaineer |access-date=13 August 2022 |agency=Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian |date=2 July 1853}}</ref> In ancient times, the river may have been associated with ''Daron'', an ancient [[Celtic goddess]] of oak. As such, the town would share an etymology with [[Aberdaron]] and the Daron river. As with many Welsh [[toponym]]s, it is likely that the locality was known by this name long before the development of the town.<ref>{{cite book |last1=MacKillop |first1=James |title=A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology |date=2004 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780191726552 |url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198609674.001.0001/acref-9780198609674-e-1369}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Roberts |first1=Dr. Brynley F. |title=Some Aberdare Place-Names |journal=Old Aberdare |date=1993 |volume=vii |page=5}}</ref>