Walhaz

Brass replica of the Tjurkö bracteate showing the word walhakurne ("Roman grain", i.e. gold coin)

*Walhaz is a reconstructed Proto-Germanic word meaning "foreigner", "stranger", "Roman", "Romance-speaker", or "Celtic-speaker". The term was used by the ancient Germanic peoples to describe inhabitants of the former Western Roman Empire, who were largely romanised and spoke Latin or Celtic languages. The adjectival form is attested in Old Norse valskr, meaning "French"; Old High German walhisk, meaning "Romance"; New High German welsch, used in Switzerland and South Tyrol for Romance speakers; Dutch Waals "Walloon"; Old English welisċ, wælisċ, wilisċ, meaning "Romano-British"; and Modern English Welsh. The form of these words imply that they are descended from a Proto-Germanic form *walhiska-.[1] It is attested in the Roman Iron Age from an inscription on one of the Tjurkö bracteates, where walhakurne "Roman/Gallic grain" is apparently a kenning for "gold" (referring to the bracteate itself).

From *Walhaz to welsch

*Walhaz is almost certainly 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 Οὐόλκαι / Ouólkai (Strabo and Ptolemy).[2] This tribe occupied territory neighbouring that of the Germanic people and seem to have been referred to by the proto-Germanic name *Walhaz (plural *Walhōz, adjectival form *walhiska-). It is assumed that this term specifically referred to the Celtic Volcae, because application of Grimm's law to that word produces the form *Walh-. Subsequently, this term *Walhōz was applied rather indiscriminately to the southern neighbours of the Germanic people, as evidenced in geographic names such as Walchgau and Walchensee in Bavaria.[1] These southern neighbours, however, were then already completely Romanised. Thus, Germanic speakers generalised this name first to all Celts, and later to all Romans. Old High German Walh became Walch in Middle High German, and the adjective OHG walhisk became MHG welsch, e.g. in the 1240 Alexander romance by Rudolf von Ems – resulting in Welsche in Early New High German and modern Swiss German as the exonym for all Romance speakers. For instance, the historical German name for Trentino, the part of Tyrol with a Romance speaking majority, is Welschtirol, and the historical German name for Verona is Welschbern.

Today, welsch is not in usage in German except in Switzerland. This term is used there not only in a historical context, but also as a somewhat pejorative word to describe Swiss speakers of Italian and French.

From *Walhaz to Vlach

In Central and Eastern Europe, the word for Latin peoples was borrowed from the Goths (as *walhs) into Proto-Slavic some time before the 7th century. The first source using the word was the writings of Byzantine historian George Kedrenos in the mid-11th century.

From the Slavs the term passed to other peoples, such as the Hungarians (oláh, referring to Vlachs, more specifically Romanians, olasz, referring to Italians), Turks ("Ulahlar") and Byzantines ("Βλάχοι", "Vláhi") and was used for all Latin people of the Balkans.[3]

Over time, the term Vlach (and its different forms) also acquired different meanings. Ottoman Turks in the Balkans commonly used the term to denote native Balkan Christians (possibly due to the cultural link between Christianity and Roman culture), and locals used the term to denote "shepherd" – from the occupation of many of the Vlachs throughout Central and Eastern Europe.

The Polish words Włoch (pl. Włosi), "Italian", and Włochy, "Italy", and the Slovenian lah, a mildly derogatory word for "Italian", can also be mentioned.

Toponyms and exonyms

Numerous names of non-Germanic, and in particular Romance-speaking, European and near-Asian regions derive from the word Walh, in particular the exonyms

Consider the following terms historically present in several Central and Eastern European, and other neighbouring languages:

In Western European languages:

Pennsylvania German

In the Pennsylvania German language, 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 for "turkey" are Welschhaahne and Welschhinkel, which literally mean "French (or Roman) chicken". "Welschkann" is the word for maize and literally translates to "French (or Roman) grain." The verb welsche means "to jabber".

Yiddish

The Yiddish term "Velsh" or "Veilish" is used for Sephardi Jews and the Rashi script.

Family names

The element also shows up in family names:

Historic persons

Other words

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Arend Quak (2005). "Van Ad Welschen naar Ad Waalsen of toch maar niet?" (PDF) (in Dutch). Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  2. Ringe, Don. "Inheritance versus lexical borrowing: a case with decisive sound-change evidence." Language Log, January 2009.
  3. Kelley L. Ross (2003). "Decadence, Rome and Romania, the Emperors Who Weren't, and Other Reflections on Roman History". The Proceedings of the Friesian School. Retrieved 13 January 2008. Note: The Vlach Connection
  4. http://nase-rec.ujc.cas.cz/archiv.php?art=3323
  5. The Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology (OUP 1966), p. 391.
  6. Nouveau dictionnaire étymologique et historique (Larousse 1990), p. 336.
  7. "Avebury Concise History". Wiltshire County Council. Retrieved 1 April 2009.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 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).
  9. "Surname Database: Wallace Last Name Origin". The Internet Surname Database. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  10. "Surname Database: Waugh Last Name Origin". The Internet Surname Database. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  11. Konrad Kunze: dtv-Atlas Namenkunde, dtv 2004, p. 89, ISBN 3-423-03266-9
  12. "Online Etymology Dictionary". Etymonline.com. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
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