to avoid fulfilling one's debt or obligation: often with on
Origin of welsh
19th-c. slang, probably from Welsh, with reference to alleged character traits of the Welsh
adjective
- The definition of Welsh is something related to Wales, a principality of Great Britain that is located west of central England.
If a food is characteristic of Wales, this is an example of a food that would be described as Welsh.
- To welsh is defined as to go back on your word or fail to honor a promise.
When you promise to pay your son's college tuition if he gets into Harvard and then he gets in and you tell him you don't have the money after all, this is an example of a time when you welsh on your promise.
YourDictionary definition and usage example. Copyright © 2018 by LoveToKnow Corp
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"welsh." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Welsh>.
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welsh. (n.d.). Retrieved December 14th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Welsh
welsh
Welsh
the Celtic language spoken in Wales
Origin of Welsh
Middle English Wel(i)sch from Old English Welisc from Wealh, Briton, foreigner from Proto-Germanic an unverified form walh-, Celtic from Celtic name from source Classical Latin Volcae, name of a Celtic people of southern France of Wales or its people, language, or culture
Welsh Idioms
the Welsh
the people of Wales
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"welsh." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Welsh>.
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welsh. (n.d.). Retrieved December 14th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Welsh
welsh
also welch
intransitive verb
welshed, welsh·ing, welsh·es, also welched welch·ing welch·es Informal- To swindle a person by not paying a debt or wager: welsh on a bet.
- To fail to fulfill an obligation.
Origin of welsh
Origin unknownRelated Forms:
- welsh′er
noun
Welsh
adjective
Of or relating to Wales or its people, language, or culture.
noun
- The people of Wales.
- The Celtic language of Wales. Also called Cymric .
Origin of Welsh
Middle English Walische from Old English Wælisc from Wealh foreigner, Welshman, Celt probably ultimately from a Celtic tribal name Latin Volcae a confederation of Celtic tribes of the late first millennium bc from a Celtic source perhaps akin to Welsh gwalch hawkTHE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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"welsh." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Welsh>.
APA Style
welsh. (n.d.). Retrieved December 14th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Welsh
Verb
(third-person singular simple present welshes, present participle welshing, simple past and past participle welshed)
Usage notes
- The use of this term is sometimes considered offensive because it implies a negative stereotype of the Welsh.
Origin
Probably from welch, spelling influenced by Welsh, used disparagingly. Compare gyp (“swindle") (probably from gypsy (“Roma")), and jew (“defraud"), from Jew.
Adjective
(not comparable)
- (now historical) (Native) British; pertaining to the Celtic peoples who inhabited much of Britain before the Roman occupation. [from 5th c.]
- Of or pertaining to Wales. [from 11th c.]
- Of or pertaining to the Celtic language of Wales. [from 16th c.]
- Designating plants or animals from or associated with Wales. (See Derived terms.) [from 17th c.]
Proper noun
Origin
Old English wÄ«lisc, wylisc, from Proto-Germanic *walhiskaz (“Celt; later Roman"), from *walhaz (“Celt") (compare Old English wealh), from the name of the Gaulish tribe, the Volcae (recorded only in Latin contexts). Historically the tribe's name has been linked to an animal, likely Gaulish *wolco- (“wolf"), as Caesar described the Celts having fought with huge dogs, in turn from Proto-Indo-European *wĺ̥kÊ·os.
This word was borrowed from Germanic into Slavic (compare Old Church Slavonic влахъ (vlachÅ, “Vlachs, Romanians"), Byzantine Greek Βλάχος (Bláchos)).
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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Cite this page
MLA Style
"welsh." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 14 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Welsh>.
APA Style
welsh. (n.d.). Retrieved December 14th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Welsh
Sentence Examples
- The Welsh Calvinistic Methodist Church had a total membership of 1 3, 280.
- Here you find articles in the encyclopedia about Scottish, Irish and Welsh writers.
- Both these kings were slain by .Ceadwalla in the following year, but shortly afterwards the Welsh king was overthrown by Oswald, brother of Eanfrith, who reunited the whole of Northumbria under his sway and acquired a supremacy analogous to that previously held by Edwin.
- In the slow process of time they drove them into the most southerly corner of Australia, just as the Saxons drove the Celts into Cornwall and the Welsh hills.
- Rhayader has for some centuries been an important centre for Welsh mutton and wool, and its sheep fairs are largely attended by drovers and buyers from all parts.
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