Wiktionary
Geographic distribution of the Welsh language, as of the 2021 census. Darker green = more people who speak Welsh .
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 .
Adjective
Welsh (not comparable )
Of or pertaining to Wales . [from 11th c.]
Synonym: Walian ( uncommon )
Hyponyms: North Walian , South Walian
Of or pertaining to the Celtic language of Wales. [from 16th c.]
Designating plants or animals from or associated with Wales. [from 17th c.]
( now historical ) Indigenously British ; pertaining to the Celtic peoples who inhabited much of Britain before the Roman occupation. [from 5th c.]
1985 , Michael Wood , In Search of the Trojan War :The Tudors, it was argued, were of Welsh or ancient British descent.
Translations
of or pertaining to Wales
Basque: galestar
Bulgarian: уелски ( uelski )
Catalan: gal·lès (ca) m , gal·lesa (ca) f
Chinese:
Mandarin: 威爾士的 / 威尔士的 (zh) ( Wēi'ěrshì de ) , 威爾斯的 / 威尔斯的 (zh) ( Wēi'ěrsī de )
Cornish: kembrek
Czech: velšský (cs) m
Danish: walisisk
Dutch: Welsh (nl) , Wels (nl)
Esperanto: kimra
Estonian: Walesi , kõmri
Finnish: walesilainen (fi) , Walesin
French: gallois (fr) m
Galician: galés (gl) m
Georgian: უელსური ( uelsuri )
German: walisisch (de)
Hebrew: ולשי m ( wélshi )
Hungarian: walesi (hu) , velszi
Irish: Breatnach (ga)
Italian: gallese (it)
Latin: wallicus , cambriānus , cambricus
Macedonian: ве́лшки m ( vélški )
Manx: Bretnagh
Marathi: वेल्श ( velśa )
Norwegian:
Bokmål: walisisk (no) , bretsk
Nynorsk: walisisk
Polish: walijski (pl)
Portuguese: galês (pt) m , galesa f
Romanian: galez
Russian: валли́йский (ru) m ( vallíjskij ) , уэ́льский (ru) m ( uélʹskij )
Scottish Gaelic: Cuimreach
Spanish: galés (es)
Swedish: walesisk (sv) , kymrisk (sv)
Tagalog: Gales (tl)
Ukrainian: валлі́йський (uk) ( vallíjsʹkyj ) , уе́льський ( uélʹsʹkyj ) , ве́льський ( vélʹsʹkyj )
Urdu: ویلش m ( vailś )
Welsh: Cymreig (cy)
Yiddish: וועלש ( velsh )
of or pertaining to the Welsh language
designating plants, animals, etc. from or associated with Wales
Translations to be checked
Noun
Welsh (countable and uncountable , plural Welsh )
( 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 .
( collectively , in the plural ) The people of Wales . [from 11th c.]
A breed of pig , kept mainly for bacon .
Translations
language
Armenian: ուելսերեն (hy) ( uelseren ) , վալլիերեն (hy) ( vallieren ) , կիմրերեն (hy) ( kimreren )
Azerbaijani: Valli dili (az)
Basque: galesera (eu)
Belarusian: валі́йская мо́ва f ( valíjskaja móva ) , валі́йская f ( valíjskaja )
Breton: kembraeg (br) m
Catalan: gal·lès (ca) m
Chinese:
Mandarin: 威爾士語 / 威尔士语 (zh) ( Wēi'ěrshìyǔ ) , 威爾斯語 / 威尔斯语 (zh) ( Wēi'ěrsīyǔ )
Cornish: Kembrek f
Czech: velština (cs) f
Danish: walisisk
Dutch: Welsh (nl) n , Wels (nl) n , Kymrisch n
Esperanto: kimra lingvo
Estonian: kõmri keel
Finnish: wales (fi) , walesin kieli , kymri (fi) , kymrin kieli
French: gallois (fr) m
Galician: galés (gl) m
Georgian: უელსური ენა ( uelsuri ena ) , უელსური ( uelsuri )
German: Walisisch (de) n
Hebrew: ולשית f ( wélshit )
Hungarian: walesi (hu) , velszi
Irish: Breatnais f
Japanese: ウェールズ語 (ja) ( Wēruzugo ) , カムリ語 ( Kamurigo )
Korean: 웨일스어 ( weilseueo )
Low German: Waliesch (nds) n
Macedonian: ве́лшки m ( vélški )
Manx: Bretnish f
Marathi: वेल्श ( velśa )
Norwegian:
Bokmål: walisisk (no) m , velsk m , kymrisk m
Nynorsk: walisisk m , velsk m , kymrisk m
Persian: ولزی ( velzi )
Polish: język walijski m inan
Portuguese: galês (pt) m
Romanian: galeză f
Russian: валли́йский (ru) m ( vallíjskij ) , валли́йский язы́к (ru) m ( vallíjskij jazýk ) , уэ́льский (ru) m ( uélʹskij )
Scottish Gaelic: Cuimris f
Serbo-Croatian: velški (sh)
Slovak: waleština (sk) f
Sorbian:
Lower Sorbian: walizišćina f , waliziska rěc f
Spanish: galés (es) m
Swedish: kymriska (sv) , walesiska (sv) , välska (sv)
Turkish: Galce (tr)
Ukrainian: валі́йська f ( valíjsʹka )
Welsh: Cymraeg (cy) f
collectively, people of Wales
Basque: galestar
Catalan: gal·lesos (ca) m pl
Chinese:
Mandarin: 威爾士人 / 威尔士人 ( Wēi'ěrshìrén ) , 威爾斯人 / 威尔斯人 ( Wēi'ěrsīrén )
Cornish: Kembrion m pl
Czech: Velšané m pl
Danish: waliserne c pl ( definite form )
Dutch: Welsh (nl) pl
Esperanto: kimroj pl
Estonian: kõmrid pl
Finnish: walesilaiset (fi) pl
French: Gallois (fr) m pl
Georgian: უელსელები ( uelselebi )
German: Waliser (de) m pl
Hebrew: ולשים m pl ( wélshim )
Japanese: ウェールズ人 (ja) ( Wēruzu-jin )
Macedonian: Ве́лшани pl ( Vélšani )
Manx: Bretnee pl
Marathi: वेल्श ( velśa )
Norwegian:
Bokmål: walisere m
Nynorsk: walisarar m
Persian: ولزیها ( velzi-hâ )
Polish: Walijczycy m pers pl
Portuguese: galês (pt) m
Romanian: galezi m pl
Russian: валли́ец (ru) m ( vallíjec ) , валли́йка (ru) f ( vallíjka ) , валли́йцы (ru) pl ( vallíjcy ) , уэ́льсцы (ru) pl ( uélʹscy )
Scottish Gaelic: na Cuimrich m pl
Slovak: Walešania m pl
Spanish: galeses (es) m pl , galesas (es) f pl
Turkish: Galliler pl
Ukrainian: валлійці (uk) m pl ( vallijci )
Welsh: Cymry (cy) pl
Translations to be checked
Proper noun
Welsh (plural Welshes )
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 .
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.
Pronunciation
IPA (key ) : /ʋɛlʃ/
Hyphenation: Welsh
Noun
Welsh pl (plural only )
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.
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