welsh
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Welsh¹
- /ˈwɛlʃ/ US, UK, Wales
- /ˈwelʃ/ Australia, New Zealand
Rhymes with -ɛlʃ
Where it comes from
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”), Medieval Greek Βλάχος (Blákhos)).
Doublet of Vellish. Compare Walloon, walnut, Vlach, Walach, Gaul, Cornwall.
adjective Welch
- Of or pertaining to Wales.
- Of or pertaining to the Celtic language of Wales.
- Designating plants or animals from or associated with Wales.
- Indigenously 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.
noun Welsh · Welch
-
The people of Wales.
Similar: Welshman
- A breed of pig, kept mainly for bacon.
proper noun Welshes · Welch
- The Welsh language. 9 minutes to 2. We just stopped to have our horses' mouths washed, and there all people spoke welsh.
- An English and Scottish surname transferred from the nickname for someone who was a Welshman or a Celt.
- An Irish surname, a variant of Walsh.
- A town in Louisiana, United States, named for early landowner Henry Welsh.
- An unincorporated community in Ohio, United States, named for an early settler.
welsh²
- /wɛlʃ/ UK
Sounds like Welsh · Rhymes with -ɛlʃ
Where it comes from
Sometimes held to derive from disparaging stereotypes about the Welsh, though firm evidence of this derivation is lacking. Compare gyp (“swindle”), probably from Gypsy, and jew (“defraud”), from Jew.
verb welshes · welshing · welshed · welch · Welsh
- To cheat or swindle someone, often by not paying a debt, especially a gambling debt.
- To go back on one's word. "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
welsh³
Where it comes from
Inherited from Old English welise (“foreign”).
adjective more welsh · most welsh · welch · Welsh
- Foreign.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: welshman, welsh black, wales, paris, monoglot, welch, wels, wills, walsh, wells, walch, masturbating, wils, cheat, bilk, stiff
Translations
Every language
adj of or pertaining to the Welsh language
| Español | galés |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 威爾士語的 /威尔士语的 Wēi'ěrshìyǔ de, 威爾斯語的 /威尔斯语的, 威尔士语的 Wēi'ěrsìyǔ de |
| Português | galês, galesa |
| Français | gallois |
| Deutsch | walisisch |
| Română | galez |
| Русский | валли́йский vallíjskij |
| עברית | ולשי wélshi |
adj of or pertaining to Wales
| Español | galés |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 威爾士的 /威尔士的 Wēi'ěrshì de, 威爾斯的 /威尔斯的 Wēi'ěrsī de |
| Português | galês, galesa |
| Français | gallois |
| Deutsch | walisisch |
| Italiano | gallese |
| Română | galez |
| Русский | валли́йский vallíjskij, уэ́льский uélʹskij |
| עברית | ולשי wélshi |
adj designating plants, animals, etc. from or associated with Wales
| Français | gallois |
|---|
noun collectively, people of Wales
| Español | galeses, galesas |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 웨일스인 weilseu'in, 웨일스 사람 weilseu saram |
| 日本語 | ウェールズ人 Wēruzu-jin |
| 中文 | 威爾士人 /威尔士人 Wēi'ěrshìrén, 威爾斯人 /威尔斯人 Wēi'ěrsīrén |
| Português | galês |
| Français | Gallois |
| Deutsch | Waliser |
| Română | galezi |
| Русский | валли́ец vallíjec, валли́йка vallíjka, валли́йцы vallíjcy, уэ́льсцы uélʹscy |
| עברית | ולשים wélshim |
noun language
| Español | galés |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 웨일스어 weilseueo |
| 日本語 | ウェールズ語 Wēruzugo, カムリ語 Kamurigo |
| 中文 | 威爾士語 /威尔士语 Wēi'ěrshìyǔ, 威爾斯語 /威尔斯语 Wēi'ěrsīyǔ |
| Português | galês |
| Français | gallois |
| Deutsch | Walisisch, Kymrisch |
| Română | galeză |
| Русский | валли́йский vallíjskij, валли́йский язы́к vallíjskij jazýk, уэ́льский uélʹskij |
| עברית | ולשית wélshit |
Talk about this word "welsh." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/welsh. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. welsh. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/welsh "welsh." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/welsh.Cite this
@misc{welsh_2026,
title = {welsh},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/welsh},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
