What does "shelta" mean?

A language spoken by some Irish Travellers, particularly in Ireland, but also in Britain, which has been heavily influenced by English and Irish and is now effectively a cant or creole, though some scholars think it may have originated as and may retain elements of a non-Irish, non-English language.

What is a synonym for "shelta"?

Common synonyms include: cant, sheldru, shelru.

Shelta

name

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Definitions

Proper Noun

1
A language spoken by some Irish Travellers, particularly in Ireland, but also in Britain, which has been heavily influenced by English and Irish and is now effectively a cant or creole, though some scholars think it may have originated as and may retain elements of a non-Irish, non-English language. Ireland

Synonyms

All synonyms

cant sheldru shelru

Etymology

Uncertain. Some theories include words derived from the Irish word Irish siúl (walk), or a corruption of the word Celt.

Related phrases

irish traveller

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.