Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
welsh [welsh, welch] ExamplesWord Origin See more synonyms for welsh on Thesaurus.com verb (used without object) Informal: Sometimes Offensive.
- to cheat by failing to pay a gambling debt: You aren’t going to welsh on me, are you?
- to go back on one’s word: He welshed on his promise to help in the campaign.
Also welch. Origin of welsh First recorded in 1855–60; perhaps special use of Welsh Related formswelsh·er, nounUsage note Use of this verb is sometimes perceived as insulting to or by the Welsh, the people of Wales. However, its actual origin may have nothing to do with Wales or its people; in fact, the verb is also spelled welch. Welsh [welsh, welch] adjective
- of or relating to Wales, its people, or their language.
noun
- the inhabitants of Wales and their descendants elsewhere.
- Also called Cymric, Kymric. the Celtic language of Wales.
- one of a white, lop-eared breed of swine of Welsh origin that produces a large amount of lean meat.
Also Welch. Origin of Welsh before 900; Middle English Welische, Old English Welisc, derivative of Walh Briton, foreigner (compare Latin Volcae a Gallic tribe); cognate with German welsch foreign, Italian Related formsnon-Welsh, adjective, noun Related Words for welsh fool, dupe, fleece, scam, shaft, cheat, bilk, stiff, gull, bamboozle, sting, trick, weasel, deceive, duck, dodge, flimflam, hoodwink, defraud, con Examples from the Web for welsh Contemporary Examples of welsh
We have Matthew Rhys from The Americans as a Welsh separatist.
‘Archer’ Creator Adam Reed Spills Season 6 Secrets, From Surreal Plotlines to Life Post-ISIS
Marlow Stern
January 8, 2015
The royal couple then traveled on to the Welsh capital of Cardiff to watch a rugby match between Wales and Australia.
Kate Middleton, the Preggers Fashion Princess
Tom Sykes
November 14, 2014
In 1984, a group of lesbian and gay activists joined forces with striking UK miners to help local Welsh communities.
‘Pride’: The Feel-Good Movie of the Year, and the Film Rupert Murdoch Doesn’t Want You to See
Marlow Stern
October 13, 2014
He’ll be played by Grahame Fox, a journeyman Welsh actor who’s appeared on the U.K. soap EastEnders and the TV series Casualty.
Meet Game of Thrones’ Sexy New Season 4 Cast: The Red Viper, Porn Stars, and More
Marlow Stern
April 4, 2014
One young woman, when asked this question, looked me up and down intoned, in a slow, rural Welsh accent, “Back to the apes.”
Noah Charney
November 27, 2013
Historical Examples of welsh
A Welsh rabbit, in the speech of the humorless, who point out that it is not a rabbit.
Ambrose Bierce
He is a curate—a Welsh curate;—you are yet Mr. Beaufort, a rich and a great man.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
In time, he became one of the most famous scholars in Welsh history.
William Elliott Griffis
The Welsh people, by bloodless victory, have won the respect of all mankind.
William Elliott Griffis
At this point the channel is so broad that the Welsh mountains can scarcely be distinguished.
Arthur Conan Doyle
British Dictionary definitions for welsh welsh welch verb (intr often foll by on) slang
- to fail to pay a gambling debt
- to fail to fulfil an obligation
Derived Formswelsher or welcher, nounWord Origin for welsh C19: of unknown origin Welsh 1 adjective
- of, relating to, or characteristic of Wales, its people, their Celtic language, or their dialect of English
noun
- a language of Wales, belonging to the S Celtic branch of the Indo-European family. Welsh shows considerable diversity between dialects
- the Welsh (functioning as plural) the natives or inhabitants of Wales collectively
Also (rare): Welch Word Origin for Welsh Old English Wēlisc, Wǣlisc; related to wealh foreigner, Old High German walahisc (German welsch), Old Norse valskr, Latin Volcae Welsh 2 noun
- a white long-bodied lop-eared breed of pig, kept chiefly for bacon
Word Origin and History for welsh Welsh
Old English Wilisc, Wylisc (West Saxon), Welisc, Wælisc (Anglian and Kentish), from Wealh, Walh “Celt, Briton, Welshman, non-Germanic foreigner;” in Tolkien’s definition, “common Gmc. name for a man of what we should call Celtic speech,” but also applied to speakers of Latin, hence Old High German Walh, Walah “Celt, Roman, Gaulish,” and Old Norse Valir “Gauls, Frenchmen” (Danish vælsk “Italian, French, southern”); from Proto-Germanic *Walkhiskaz, from a Celtic name represented by Latin Volcæ (Caesar) “ancient Celtic tribe in southern Gaul.” The word survives in Wales, Cornwall, Walloon, walnut, and in surnames Walsh and Wallace. Borrowed in Old Church Slavonic as vlachu, and applied to the Rumanians, hence Wallachia.
Among the English, Welsh was used disparagingly of inferior or substitute things, hence Welsh rabbit (1725), also perverted by folk-etymology as Welsh rarebit (1785).