< Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic

Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/walhaz

This Proto-Germanic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Germanic

Etymology

From the name of a Celtic tribe, the Volcae. Historically the tribe's name has been linked to an animal, possibly Proto-Celtic *wolkos (“hawk”), or alternatively (but less likely[1]) Proto-Celtic *ulkʷos (“wolf”), in turn from Proto-Indo-European *wĺ̥kʷos, as Caesar described the Celts having fought with huge dogs.[2]

For the first possibility, cf. the personal name Gaulish Catuvolcus and Welsh cadwalch (“hero, champion, warrior”, literally “battle-hawk”).

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈwɑl.xɑz/

Noun

*walhaz m

  1. speaker of Latin or a Romance or Celtic language

Inflection
masculine a-stemDeclension of *walhaz (masculine a-stem)
singular plural
nominative *walhaz *walhōz, *walhōs
vocative *walh *walhōz, *walhōs
accusative *walhą *walhanz
genitive *walhas, *walhis *walhǫ̂
dative *walhai *walhamaz
instrumental *walhō *walhamiz

Usage notes
  • While the etymology suggests that this word originally referred to Celts, in the oldest daughter languages and in the Slavic loanword *volxъ, its sense is consistently "Roman, Latin or Romance language speaker". This semantic shift probably came about due to linguistic and cultural assimilation of continental Celts into the Roman Empire. After the Anglo-Saxon invasion, it was applied in England to the Romano-Britons and later to the Welsh.

Derived terms

Descendants
  • Proto-West Germanic: *walh
    • Old English: wealh
      • Middle English: wælh, wale
      • → English: wealh (learned)
      • → Medieval Latin: wallus
      • ⇒ Old English: Cornwēalas (“Cornwall”)
        • Middle English: Cornwale, Cornwaile
      • ⇒ Old English: Wēalas (“Wales”) (see there for further descendants)
    • Old Dutch: *Wala, *Wale
    • Old High German: walh, walah
      • Middle High German: walch
        • German: Walchen pl, Walen pl (in placenames)
    • → Vulgar Latin: *Wallō
    • →? Proto-Slavic: *volxъ
  • Proto-Norse: *ᚹᚨᛚᚺᚨᛉ (*walhaʀ)
  • Gothic: *𐍅𐌰𐌻𐌷𐍃 (*walhs)

References
  1. Patrizia de Bernardo (2008), "Linguistically Celtic Ethnonyms: towards a classification", in: Juan Luís García Alonso (ed.), Celtic and Other Languages in Ancient Europe, Salamanca: Ediciones Universidad de Salamanca, p. 103
  2. Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico.
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