Walha

)] It is attested in the Roman Iron Age Tjurkö Bracteate inscription as "walhakurne" "Roman/Gallic grain", apparently a kenning for "gold" (referring to the "bracteate" itself). The term was used by the ancient Germanic peoples to describe the inhabitants of the former Roman Empire, which were largely romanised and spoke Latin or Celtic languages. Today in German, "Welsche" refers to Latin (or Romanic) peoples: the Italians in particular, but also the French, thus the Romanic neighbours of the German speakers in general.

From "*Walhaz" to "welsch"

Walh is probably derived from the name of the tribe which was known to the Romans as Volcae (in the writings of Julius Caesar) and to the Greeks as Ouólkai (Strabo and Ptolemy). With the Old Germanic name "*Walhaz", plural "*Walhôz", adjectival form "*walhiska-", this neighbouring people of the Germanics were meant some centuries before C. It is assumable, that this term specifically referred to the Celtic Volcae, because by a precise application of the first or Germanic sound shift the exact Germanic equivalent "*Walh-" would have come out. Subsequently, this term "Walhôz" has rather indiscriminately been applied to the southern neighbours of the Germanics, which is shown in geographic names such as Walchgau and Walchensee in Bavaria. Arend Quak 2005: 'Van Ad WELSCHEN naar Ad WAALSEN of toch maar niet?', in: [http://cf.hum.uva.nl/dsp/nederlandsetaalkunde/NTKonderzoek-quak.pdf] (nl)] . These southern neighbours, however, were then already completely romanised. Thus, by Germanic speakers this name was generalized first onto all Celts, and later onto all Romans. Old High German "Walh" became "Walch" in Middle High German, and adjectival OHG. "walhisk" became MHG. "welsch", e.g. in the Romance of Alexander by Rudolf von Ems – resulting in "Welsche" in Early New High German and Modern German as the exonym for all Romanic speakers.

Toponyms and exonyms

Numerous names of non-Germanic European regions derive from the word "Walh", in particular the exonyms:
*Walachia and Wallachians → "see also" Vlach and Etymology of Vlach

but also in several other Eastern European languages:
*in Polish: 'Włochy', the name of Italy, and historical 'Wołochowie' - Vlachs
*In Hungarian: "Oláh", referring to Romanians; "Olasz", referring to Italians, "Vlachok" referring to Vlachs, generally.
*In Slavonic: Stari Vlah ("the Old Vlach") region around the city of Užice, and the name "Starovlahs" for the medieval local Celtic population.→ "See also" History of the term Vlach"

In Western European languages:
*in English:
**Wales,
**Cornwall (with the suffix "-wall")
**In English usage the words "Gaul" and "Gaulish" are used synonymously with Latin "Gallia", "Gallus" and "Gallicus". However the similarity of the names is probably accidental: the English words are borrowed from French "Gaule" and "Gaulois", which appear to have been borrowed themselves from "walha-". Germanic "w" is regularly rendered with French "gu" / "g" (cf. "guerre" = "war", "garder" = "ward"), and the diphthong "au" is the regular outcome of "al" before a following consonant (cf. "cheval" ~ "chevaux"). "Gaule" or "Gaulle" can hardly be derived from Latin "Gallia", since "g" would become "j" before "a" (cf. "gamba" > "jambe"), and the diphthong "au" would be incomprehensible; the regular outcome of Latin "Gallia" would have been *"Jaille" in French. ["Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology" (OUP 1966), p. 391.] "Nouveau dictionnaire étymologique et historique" (Larousse 1990), p. 336.]

*Numerous attestations in German:
**in village names ending in -walchen, such as Straßwalchen or Seewalchen, mostly located in the Salzkammergut region and indicating Roman settlement
**In German "Welsch" or "Walsch", outdated for "Romanic", and still in use in Swiss German for Romands.
**in numerous placenames, for instance Walensee and Walenstadt, as well as Welschbern and Walschtirol (now almost always Verona and Trentino), also in:
*** "Welschbillig", in the Moselle valley, where "Moselle romanic" was spoken;
*** "Welschen Ennest" (community of Kirchhundem, district Olpe, Sauerland);
*** "Welschenrohr" in the Swiss canton of Solothurn;
*** "Welschensteinach" in the district Ortenau in Baden-Württemberg;
**in several German exonyms like: "Welschkohl", "Welschkorn", "Welschkraut" Ad Welschen: 'Herkomst en geschiedenis van de familie "Welschen" en de geografische verspreiding van deze familienaam.' part II, in: "Limburgs Tijdschrift voor Genealogie" 30 (2002), 68-81; separate bibliography in: "Limburgs Tijdschrift voor Genealogie" 31 (2003), 34-35 (nl). ]
**The walnut was originally a "Welsh nut", i.e. it came through France and/or Italy to Germanic speakers (German: "Walnuss", Dutch "Okkernoot" or "Walnoot", "Danish "Valnød", Swedish "Valnöt")
** There is a street in Regensburg named "Wahlenstrasse", seemingly once inhabited by Italian merchants. In other German places like Duisburg one can find a "Welschengasse", or an "Am Welschenkamp", referring to French speaking inhabitants
**In Southern Austria, "welsch" is a prefix that generally means Italian. E.g. the wine variety "welschriesling", common in Styria, Slovenia, Croatia and Hungary (actually not related to the white riesling variety). It is often used as a rather sweeping, pejorative word for the nearest people of Latin/romanic origin (the remaining neighbours of Austria being "Tschuschen" - Slavs - and "Piefke" (Germans).
**"Kauderwelsch" (Danish: "kaudervælsk", Norwegian: "kaudervelsk") is a German word for gibberish and derives from the Rhaetoroman dialect from Chur in Graubünden in Switzerland, cf. Dutch "koeterwaals".→ "See also" http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welsche

*In Dutch:
**The Belgian region of Wallonia, cf. Dutch "Waals" ('Walloon'), "Walenland".

Pennsylvania Dutch

In Pennsylvania German, "Welsch" generally means "strange" as well as "Welsh," and is sometimes, although with a more restricted meaning, compounded with other words. For example, the words in Pennsylvania German for "turkey" is "Welschhaahne" and "Welschhinkel," which literally mean "French (or Romanic) chicken". "Welschkann" is the word for maize and literally translates to "French (or Romanic) grain." The verb "welsche" means "to jabber."

"Welsch/Walsch" in family names

The element "Wels(c)h/Wals(c)h" also shows up in family names:
*in German and Dutch:
**Welsch, Welschen, Welzen , Welches, Wälsch, Walech, Walch, Wahl, Wahle, Wahlen, Wahlens, Wahlich, Wälke (in part indirectly through forenames such as "Walcho") [Konrad Kunze: "dtv-Atlas Namenkunde", dtv 2004, p. 89, ISBN 3423032669] , De Waal, De Waele, Waelhens, Swalen, Swelsen ; but not van der Waals (< river or water name Waal) .
* in English:
**Welsh, Welch, Walsh, Walch
* Slavic:
**Vlach, Vlah (cyr. Влах) (forename, also for Blaise)
* Greek:
**Vlachos, Vlachou
* Jewish-Polish:
** Bloch, a Jewish family name, that derives from Polish "Włochy"
* in Polish:
**Włoch, Wołoch, Wołos, Wołoszyn, Wołoszek, Wołoszczak, Wołoszczuk, Bołoch, Bołoz

Historic persons:
* Geremia da Valacchia (Jon Stoika, 1556–1625), b. in Tzazo, Romania, beatificated in 1983
* Sveti Vlaho i Dubrovnik, Saint Blaise, patron saint of Dubrovnik [ Sveti Vlaho i Dubrovnik ] , an Albanian martyr. [Robert Elsie: "The Christian Saints of Albania." In: "Balkanistica" 13/2000, p. 35-37 ( [http://home.olemiss.edu/~mldyer/balk/article2.html web document] , home.olemiss.edu)]

References

ee also

*Theodiscus
*Etymology of Vlach
*Names of the Celts