welsh
/ˈwɛlʃ/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.15 in modern English
11
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Of or pertaining to Wales.
adj
Of or pertaining to the Celtic language of Wales.
adj
Designating plants or animals from or associated with Wales.
adj
Indigenously British; pertaining to the Celtic peoples who inhabited much of Britain before the Roman occupation.
name
An English and Scottish surname transferred from the nickname for someone who was a Welshman or a Celt.
Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "The Tudors, it was argued, were of Welsh or ancient British descent."
- "9 minutes to 2. We just stopped to have our horses' mouths washed, and there all people spoke welsh."
- ""He can weasel out if^([sic]) it." Ibanez massaged her knuckles. "He can say Couch welshed on a deal, and didn't show, and that's why Karen got got. It isn't conclusive. I have another thing I can lay on him, but even the two combined won't do. We need a third smoking gun if we're really gonna smoke this son of a bitch.""
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.
Origin
Word Breakdown
- Root: Walsch, wǣlisċ, *walhisk, *walhiskaz, -
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈwɛlʃ/
- British English: /ˈwɛlʃ/
Usage
Subject
Wiktionary places this term in People.
Inflected Forms
Welch (alternative, archaic)
Welshes (plural)
welshes (present, singular)
welshing (participle, present)
welshed (participle, past)
welshed (past)
welch (alternative)
more welsh (comparative)
most welsh (superlative)