Welsh

See also: welsh

English

Geographic distribution of the Welsh language, as of the 2021 census. Darker green = more people who speak Welsh.

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Middle English Walsch, Welische, from Old English wīelisċ (Briton; Roman; Celt), from Proto-West Germanic *walhisk, from Proto-Germanic *walhiskaz (Celt; later Roman), 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.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /wɛlʃ/
  • (file)
  • Rhymes: -ɛlʃ

Adjective

Welsh (not comparable)

  1. (now historical) (Native) British; pertaining to the Celtic peoples who inhabited much of Britain before the Roman occupation. [from 5thc.]
    • 1985, Michael Wood, In Search of the Trojan War:
      The Tudors, it was argued, were of Welsh or ancient British descent.
  2. Of or pertaining to Wales. [from 11thc.]
  3. Of or pertaining to the Celtic language of Wales. [from 16thc.]
  4. Designating plants or animals from or associated with Wales. (See Derived terms.) [from 17thc.]

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Noun

Welsh (countable and uncountable, plural Welsh)

  1. (uncountable) The Welsh language. [from 10th c.]
    • 1832, Queen Victoria, journal, 6 Aug 1832:
      9 minutes to 2. We just stopped to have our horses' mouths washed, and there all people spoke welsh.
  2. (collectively, in the plural) The people of Wales. [from 11th c.]
  3. A breed of pig, kept mainly for bacon.

Synonyms

Derived terms

(language):

Translations

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Proper noun

Welsh (plural Welshes)

  1. An English and Scottish surname transferred from the nickname for someone who was a Welshman or a Celt.
  2. An Irish surname, a variant of Walsh.
  3. A town in Louisiana, United States, named for early landowner Henry Welsh.
  4. An unincorporated community in Ohio, United States, named for an early settler.

Statistics

  • According to the 2010 United States Census, Welsh is the 1166th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 30,153 individuals. Welsh is most common among White (91.01%) individuals.

See also

  • Wiktionary’s coverage of Welsh terms

Further reading

Dutch

Alternative forms

Etymology

From English Welsh.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ʋɛlʃ/
  • (file)
  • Hyphenation: Welsh

Proper noun

Welsh n (uncountable)

  1. Welsh (language)
    Synonym: Kymrisch

Derived terms

  • Middelwelsh
  • Oudwelsh

Noun

Welsh pl (plural only)

  1. The Welsh (people of Wales)
    • 2022, NOS, Oranje verslaat Wales in extra tijd, met nieuw basiselftal en twee debutanten:
      Want vlak voor het verstrijken van de reguliere speeltijd roken de Welsh, toen Oranje met de gedachten al in de kleedkamer zat, dat er nog wel een gelijkspel in zat.
      Because just before the end of regular playing time, the Welsh smelled, when Orange was already in the locker room with their thoughts, that a draw was still possible.

Adjective

Welsh (comparative Welsher, superlative Welsht)

  1. Welsh

Inflection

Inflection of Welsh
uninflected Welsh
inflected Welshe
comparative Welsher
positive comparative superlative
predicative/adverbial WelshWelsherhet Welsht
het Welshte
indefinite m./f. sing. WelsheWelshereWelshte
n. sing. WelshWelsherWelshte
plural WelsheWelshereWelshte
definite WelsheWelshereWelshte
partitive WelshWelshers

Derived terms

Further reading

  • Welsh” in Woordenlijst Nederlandse Taal – Officiële Spelling, Nederlandse Taalunie. [the official spelling word list for the Dutch language]
  • Welsh on the Dutch Wikipedia.Wikipedia nl
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