*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of wealh

Learned borrowing from Old English wealh. Doublet of Wales (inherited, from the plural); compare also Welsh.

1 source sectionBrief source recordWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

In Anglo-Saxon England, a speaker of a Brythonic language, especially Welsh.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Learned borrowing from Old English wealh. Doublet of Wales (inherited, from the plural); compare also Welsh.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":lbor",
        "3": "ang:wealh",
        "text": "1",
        "doublet": "Wales<ng:inherited, from the plural>",
        "nodot": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "[Appendix:Glossary#learned_borrowing|Learned borrowing]] from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"alt\" : \"*wólkos\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"children\" : [ { \"keyword_abbrev\" : \"bor.\", \"keyword_label\" : \"Borrowed from\", \"terms\" : [ { \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"children\" : [ { \"terms\" : [ { \"is_uncertain\" : true, \"id\" : \"hawk\", \"children\" : [ ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Celtic\", \"term\" : \"*wolkos\", \"lang\" : \"cel-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Celtic\", \"term\" : \"*Wolkos\", \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang\" : \"cel-pro\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"bor\" } ], \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"keyword\" : \"from\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*walhaz\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gem-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Proto-West Germanic\", \"term\" : \"*walh\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"gmw-pro\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"Old English\", \"term\" : \"wealh\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"ang\" } ], \"keyword\" : \"lbor\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"wealh\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"wealh\">\nLearned borrowing from Old English wealh. Doublet of Wales (inherited, from the plural)"
    },
    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":lbor",
        "3": "ang:wealh",
        "text": "1",
        "doublet": "Wales<ng:inherited, from the plural>",
        "nodot": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Learned borrowing from Old English wealh. Doublet of Wales (inherited, from the plural)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "wealh",
      "wealh#Old_English"
    ],
    [
      "Wales",
      "Wales#English"
    ],
    [
      "Welsh",
      "Welsh#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "In Anglo-Saxon England, a speaker of a Brythonic language, especially Welsh."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "historical"
      ],
      "recordId": "a756a5929a403559e342b56fb4e873dd5331185a68113265da418a21e3246438",
      "rawRecordSha256": "17be5419893a0fd193734ae5e83655377f1069a7a8a2b8dee1de9ff03a691e45",
      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 194809
    }
  ],
  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
    "links": 0,
    "references": 0,
    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 0,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for wealh →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-d2VhbGg