Welsh
adjectivenounproper nounattested in dialogue
- United States//ˈwɛlʃ//
- Australia//ˈwelʃ//
Of or pertaining to Wales.
adjective
- 1
Of or pertaining to Wales.
- 2
Of or pertaining to the Celtic language of Wales.
- 3
Designating plants or animals from or associated with Wales.
- 4
historicalIndigenously British; pertaining to the Celtic peoples who inhabited much of Britain before the Roman occupation.
The Tudors, it was argued, were of Welsh or ancient British descent.
Etymology
From Middle English Walsch, Welische, from Anglian Old English wǣlisċ (“Briton; Roman; Celt”), from Proto-West Germanic *walhisk, from Proto-Germanic *walhiskaz (“Celt; later Roman”) (thus cognate with German welsch, Dutch Waals, Danish vælsk, Old Norse valskr), from *walhaz (“Celt, Roman”) (compare Old English wealh), from the name of the Gaulish tribe, the Volcae (recorded only in Latin contexts). This word was borrowed from Germanic into Slavic (compare Old Church Slavonic Влахъ (Vlaxŭ, “Vlachs, Romanians”), Byzantine Greek Βλάχος (Blákhos)). Doublet of Vellish. Compare Walloon, walnut, Vlach, Walach, Gaul, Cornwall.
noun
- 1
The people of Wales.
- 2
A breed of pig, kept mainly for bacon.
proper noun
- 1
The Welsh language.
9 minutes to 2. We just stopped to have our horses' mouths washed, and there all people spoke welsh.
- 2
An English and Scottish surname transferred from the nickname for someone who was a Welshman or a Celt.
- 3
An Irish surname, a variant of Walsh.
- 4
A town in Louisiana, United States, named for early landowner Henry Welsh.
- 5
An unincorporated community in Ohio, United States, named for an early settler.
Forms
- plural
- Welshes