This is a list of

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the is ...

words of

Welsh language Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic language family, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales, by some in England, and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut P ...

origin. As with the Goidelic languages, the Brythonic tongues are close enough for possible derivations from

Cumbric Cumbric was a variety of the Common Brittonic language spoken during the Early Middle Ages in the ''Hen Ogledd'' or "Old North" in what is now the counties of Westmorland, Cumberland and northern Lancashire in Northern England and the souther ...

, Cornish or

Breton Breton most often refers to: *anything associated with Brittany, and generally ** Breton people ** Breton language, a Southwestern Brittonic Celtic language of the Indo-European language family, spoken in Brittany ** Breton (horse), a breed **Ga ...

in some cases. Beyond the acquisition of common nouns, there are numerous English toponyms, surnames, personal names or nicknames derived from Welsh (see Celtic toponymy, Celtic onomastics).

List

As main word choice for meaning

;

bara brith Bara brith is a traditional Welsh tea bread flavoured with tea, dried fruits and spices. A decrease in its popularity led to supermarket Morrisons removing it from their shelves in 2006, and a year later a survey showed that 36% of teenagers in ...

: ''speckled bread''. Traditional Welsh bread flavoured with tea, dried fruits and mixed spices. ;

bard In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise t ...

: from Old Celtic ''bardos'', either through Welsh ''bardd'' (where the bard was highly respected) or Scottish ''bardis'' (where it was a term of contempt); Cornish ''bardh'' ; cawl : a traditional Welsh soup/stew; Cornish ''kowl'' ; coracle : from ''corwgl''. This Welsh term was derived from the Latin ''corium'' meaning "leather or hide", the material from which coracles are made. ; corgi : from ''cor'', "dwarf" + ''gi'' ( soft mutation of ''ci''), "dog". ; cwm : (very specific geographic sense today) or coomb/combe (dated). Cornish; ''komm''; passed into Old English where sometimes written 'cumb' ; flannel : the Oxford English Dictionary says the etymology is "uncertain", but Welsh ''gwlanen'' = "flannel wool" is likely. An alternative source is Old French ''flaine'', "blanket". The word has been adopted in most European languages. An earlier English form was ''flannen'', which supports the Welsh etymology. Shakspeare's

The Merry Wives of Windsor ''The Merry Wives of Windsor'' or ''Sir John Falstaff and the Merry Wives of Windsor'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare first published in 1602, though believed to have been written in or before 1597. The Windsor of the play's title is a ref ...

contains the term "the Welsh flannel"... ;

flummery Flummery is a starch-based, sweet, soft dessert pudding known to have been popular in Britain and Ireland from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries. The word has also been used for other semi-set desserts. History and etymology The name is f ...

: from ''llymru'' ; pikelet : a type of small, thick pancake. Derived from the

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

''bara pyglyd'', meaning "pitchy .e. dark or stickybread", later shortened simply to ''pyglyd'';Edwards, W. P. ''The Science of Bakery Products'', Royal Society of Chemistry, 2007, p. 198Luard, E. ''European Peasant Cookery'', Grub Street, 2004, p. 449 The early 17th century lexicographer, Randle Cotgrave, spoke of "our Welsh barrapycleds".''The folk-speech of south Cheshire'', English Dialect Society, 1887, p. 293'' Notes & Queries'', 3rd. ser. VII (1865), 170 The word spread initially to the West Midlands of England,Wilson, C. A. ''Food & drink in Britain'', Barnes and Noble, 1974, p. 266 where it was anglicised to ''picklets'' and then to ''pikelets''. The first recognisable crumpet-type recipe was for ''picklets'', published in 1769 by

Elizabeth Raffald Elizabeth Raffald (; 1733 – 19 April 1781) was an English author, innovator and entrepreneur. Born and raised in Doncaster, Yorkshire, Raffald went into domestic service A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works wit ...

in '' The Experienced English Housekeeper''.Davidson, A. ''The Penguin Companion to Food'', 2002, p. 277 ;

wrasse The wrasses are a family, Labridae, of marine fish, many of which are brightly colored. The family is large and diverse, with over 600 species in 81 genera, which are divided into 9 subgroups or tribes. They are typically small, most of them le ...

: a kind of sea fish (derived via Cornish ''wrach'', Welsh ''gwrach'' (meaning hag or witch)).

Esoteric or specialist

; cist : (archaeological) a stone-lined coffin ; cromlech : from ''crom llech'' literally "crooked flat stone" ; crwth : "a bowed lyre" ; kistvaen : from '' cist'' (chest) and ''maen'' (stone). ; lech /lɛk/ : capstone of a cromlech, see above ; tref : meaning “hamlet, home, town.”; Cornish ''tre''.

Words with indirect or possible links

Similar cognates across Goidelic (gaelic), Latin, Old French and the other Brittonic families makes isolating a precise origin hard. This applies to ''cross'' from Latin ''crux'', Old Irish ''cros'' overtaking Old English ''rood'' ; appearing in Welsh and Cornish as ''Croes'', ''Krows''. It complicates

Old Welsh Old Welsh ( cy, Hen Gymraeg) is the stage of the Welsh language from about 800 AD until the early 12th century when it developed into Middle Welsh.Koch, p. 1757. The preceding period, from the time Welsh became distinct from Common Brittonic ...

attributions for, in popular and technical topography,

Tor Tor, TOR or ToR may refer to: Places * Tor, Pallars, a village in Spain * Tor, former name of Sloviansk, Ukraine, a city * Mount Tor, Tasmania, Australia, an extinct volcano * Tor Bay, Devon, England * Tor River, Western New Guinea, Indonesia Sc ...

(OW ''tŵr'') and

crag Crag may refer to: * Crag (climbing), a cliff or group of cliffs, in any location, which is or may be suitable for climbing * Crag (dice game), a dice game played with three dice * Crag, Arizona, US * Crag, West Virginia, US * Crag and tail, a g ...

(Old Welsh ''carreg'' or ''craig'') with competing Celtic derivations, direct and indirect, for the Old English antecedents. ; adder: The Proto-Indo-European root ''netr-'' led to Latin ''natrix'', Welsh ''neidr'', Cornish ''nader'', Breton ''naer'', West Germanic ''nædro'', Old Norse ''naðra'', Middle Dutch ''nadre'', any of which may have led to the English word. ; bow: May be from Old English ''bugan'' "to bend, to bow down, to bend the body in condescension," also "to turn back", or more simply from the Welsh word ''bwa''. A reason for the word Bow originating from Welsh, is due to Welsh Bowmen playing a major role in the

Hundred Years War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantagen ...

, such as the Battle of Crécy,

Battle of Agincourt The Battle of Agincourt ( ; french: Azincourt ) was an English victory in the Hundred Years' War. It took place on 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day) near Azincourt, in northern France. The unexpected English victory against the numerica ...

and the Battle of Patay, and the bows were often created in Wales. ; coombe: meaning "valley", is usually linked with the Welsh ''cwm'', also meaning "valley", Cornish and Breton ''komm''. However, the OED traces both words back to an earlier Celtic word, *'. It suggests a direct

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain, Anglo ...

derivation for "coombe". ::(Coumba, or coumbo, is the common western-alpine vernacular word for "glen", and considered genuine gaulish (celtic-ligurian branch). Found in many toponyms of the western Alps like Coumboscuro (Grana valley), Bellecombe and Coumbafréide (Aoste), Combette (Suse), Coumbal dou Moulin (Valdensian valleys). Although seldom used, the word "combe" is included into major standard-french dictionaries. This could justify the celtic origin thesis). ; crockery : It has been suggested that crockery might derive from the Welsh ''crochan'', as well as the Manx ''crocan'' and Gaelic ''crogan'', meaning "pot". The OED states that this view is "undetermined". It suggests that the word derives from Old English ''croc'', via the Icelandic ''krukka'', meaning "an earthenware pot or pitcher". ; crumpet: Welsh ''crempog, cramwyth'', Cornish ''krampoeth'' or Breton ''Krampouezh''; 'little hearth cakes' ;

druid A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Whi ...

: From the Old Celtic ''derwijes''/''derwos'' ("true knowledge" or literally "they who know the oak") from which the modern Welsh word ''derwydd'' evolved, but travelled to English through Latin (''druidae'') and French (''druide'') ; gull: from either Welsh or Cornish; Welsh ''gwylan'', Cornish ''guilan'', Breton ''goelann''; all from O.Celt. *- "gull" (OE ''mæw'') ; iron: or at least the modern form of the word "iron" (c/f Old English ''ísern'', proto-Germanic ''*isarno'', itself borrowed from proto-Celtic), appears to have been influenced by pre-existing Celtic forms in the British Isles: Old Welsh ''haearn'', Cornish ''hoern'', Breton ''houarn'', Old Gaelic ''íarn'' (Irish ', ''iarun'', Scottish ''iarunn'') ; lawn: from Welsh ''Llan'' Cornish ''Lan'' (cf. Launceston, Breton ''Lann''); Heath; enclosed area of land, grass about a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

site of worship from Cornish Lan (e.g. Lanteglos, occasionally Laun as in Launceston) or Welsh Llan (e.g. Llandewi) ;

penguin Penguins (order (biology), order List of Sphenisciformes by population, Sphenisciformes , family (biology), family Spheniscidae ) are a group of Water bird, aquatic flightless birds. They live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere: on ...

: possibly from ''pen gwyn'', "white head". "The fact that the penguin has a black head is no serious objection." It may also be derived from the

Breton language Breton (, ; or in Morbihan) is a Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family spoken in Brittany, part of modern-day France. It is the only Celtic language still widely in use on the European mainland, albeit as a member of t ...

, or the

Cornish Language Cornish (Standard Written Form: or ) , is a Southwestern Brittonic language, Southwestern Brittonic language of the Celtic language family. It is a List of revived languages, revived language, having become Extinct language, extinct as a livin ...

, which are all closely related. However, dictionaries suggest the derivation is from

''pen'' "head" and ''gwyn'' "white", including the Oxford English Dictionary,Oxford English Dictionary
Accessed 2007-03-21 the American Heritage Dictionary,American Heritage Dictionary at wordnik.com
Accessed 2010-01-25 the Century DictionaryCentury Dictionary at wordnik.com
Accessed 2010-01-25 and

Merriam-Webster Merriam-Webster, Inc. is an American company that publishes reference books and is especially known for its dictionaries. It is the oldest dictionary publisher in the United States. In 1831, George and Charles Merriam founded the company as ...

,Merriam-Webster
Accessed 2010-01-25 on the basis that the name was originally applied to the

great auk The great auk (''Pinguinus impennis'') is a species of flightless alcid that became extinct in the mid-19th century. It was the only modern species in the genus ''Pinguinus''. It is not closely related to the birds now known as penguins, wh ...

, which had white spots in front of its eyes (although its head was black). ''Pen gwyn'' is identical in Cornish and in Breton. An alternative etymology links the word to Latin ''pinguis'', which means "fat". In Dutch, the alternative word for penguin is "fat-goose" (vetgans see: Dutch wiki or dictionaries under Pinguïn), and would indicate this bird received its name from its appearance. ;Mither :An English word possibly from the Welsh word "moedro" meaning to bother or pester someone. Possible links to the Yorkshire variant "moither"

In Welsh English

These are the words widely used by Welsh English speakers, with little or no Welsh, and are used with original spelling (largely used in Wales but less often by others when referring to Wales): ; afon : river ; awdl : ode ;bach : literally "small", a term of affection ; cromlech : defined at esoteric/specialist terms section above ; cwm : a valley ; crwth : originally meaning "swelling" or "pregnant" ;cwrw : Welsh ale or beer ;cwtch : hug, cuddle, small cupboard, dog's kennel/bed ;

cynghanedd In Welsh-language poetry, ''cynghanedd'' (, literally "harmony") is the basic concept of sound-arrangement within one line, using stress, alliteration and rhyme. The various forms of ''cynghanedd'' show up in the definitions of all formal Welsh v ...

; eisteddfod : broad cultural festival, "session/sitting" from eistedd "to sit" (from sedd "seat," cognate with L. sedere; see sedentary) + bod "to be" (cognate with O.E. beon; see be). ;;Urdd Eisteddfod (in Welsh "Eisteddfod Yr Urdd"), the youth Eisteddfod ;

englyn (; plural ) is a traditional Welsh and Cornish short poem form. It uses quantitative metres, involving the counting of syllables, and rigid patterns of rhyme and half rhyme. Each line contains a repeating pattern of consonants and accent know ...

;

gorsedd A gorsedd (, plural ''gorseddau'') is a community or meeting of modern-day bards. The word is of Welsh origin, meaning "throne". It is spelled gorsedh in Cornish and goursez in Breton. When the term is used without qualification, it usually r ...

; hiraeth : homesickness tinged with grief or sadness over the lost or departed. It is a mix of longing, yearning, nostalgia, wistfulness, or an earnest desire. ;hwyl ;iechyd da : cheers, or literally "good health" ;mochyn : pig ;nant : stream ; : latter contrasts to Welsh plural which is sglodion. Chips (England); fries (universally); french-fried potatoes such as from takeaways (used in Flintshire) ;twp/dwp : idiotic, daft ;ych â fi : an expression of disgust

References

Sources

* '' Oxford English Dictionary'' {{DEFAULTSORT:List Of English Words Of Welsh Origin Welsh language

Words Welsh English