taff

Taff is a term used in Wales and elsewhere to refer to several related subjects, most notably a river, a historic railway, and a colloquial demonym for Welsh people in English. The name is closely associated with the Taff Valley and the region around Cardiff.

The River Taff, known in Welsh as Afon Taf, is a major south Welsh watercourse. It rises in the Brecon Beacons and flows generally southeast through towns including Merthyr Tydfil and Cardiff, before emptying into Cardiff Bay. The river and its valley played a significant role in the South Wales coal and iron industries during the 18th and 19th centuries, and today remains an important geographic and recreational feature of the Cardiff area.

The Taff Vale Railway was one of Wales’ early industrial railways, constructed to transport coal from the Merthyr Tydfil area to the docks at Cardiff. Opened in the 1840s, it connected Merthyr Tydfil with the port on Cardiff Docks along the Taff Valley. The line helped transform the Welsh coal industry and, in 1922, became part of the Great Western Railway during the grouping of rail companies.

In English-language usage, taff can function as a colloquial term for a Welsh person. The origin and connotations of the term have varied over time, and its reception ranges from affectionate to pejorative depending on context and tone. Because of potential offensiveness, its use is considered sensitive in formal or neutral writing.