What does "welsh" mean?
The Welsh language.
Welsh
/wɛlʃ/ adj, name, noun, verb
adj, name, noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The Welsh language.
- Grammar: welsh is listed as adj, name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: cymric, back down, back out, backpedal.
- Useful contrasts: Anglo identity, English, English identity.
- Usage evidence: Celtic is still present in Irish, Welsh and Scottish Gaelic.
How to use "welsh"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "welsh" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "welsh" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "welsh" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "welsh" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "welsh" is acting as adj, name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "cymric" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "welsh", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 The Welsh language. uncountable
"9 minutes to 2. We just stopped to have our horses' mouths washed, and there all people spoke welsh."
- 2 a breed of dual-purpose cattle developed in Wales wordnet
- 3 The people of Wales. collective, countable, in-plural, uncountable
- 4 a Celtic language of Wales wordnet
- 5 A breed of pig, kept mainly for bacon. countable, uncountable
Show 1 more definition
- 6 a native or resident of Wales wordnet
Verb
- 1 To cheat or swindle someone, often by not paying a debt, especially a gambling debt. derogatory, offensive, sometimes
- 2 cheat by avoiding payment of a gambling debt wordnet
- 3 To go back on one's word. derogatory, offensive, sometimes
""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.""
Adjective
- 1 Of or pertaining to Wales. not-comparable
- 2 Foreign. obsolete
- 3 Of or pertaining to the Celtic language of Wales. not-comparable
- 4 Designating plants or animals from or associated with Wales. not-comparable
- 5 Indigenously British; pertaining to the Celtic peoples who inhabited much of Britain before the Roman occupation. historical, not-comparable
"The Tudors, it was argued, were of Welsh or ancient British descent."
Adjective
- 1 of or relating to or characteristic of Wales or its people or their language wordnet
Proper Noun
- 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.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Celtic is still present in Irish, Welsh and Scottish Gaelic."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "welsh"?
Common synonyms include: cymric, back down, back out, backpedal, backwater, brittonic tongue.
How do you use "welsh" in a sentence?
Celtic is still present in Irish, Welsh and Scottish Gaelic.
How do you pronounce "welsh"?
Pronounced /wɛlʃ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
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.
Etymology 2
Sometimes suggested to derive from disparaging stereotypes of the Welsh (“people from Wales”), though firm evidence of this derivation is lacking. Compare gyp (“swindle”) (probably from gypsy (“Roma”)), and jew (“defraud”), from Jew.
Etymology 3
From Old English welise (“foreign”)