Welsh

Welsh, a. and n.
  (wɛlʃ)
  Forms: α. 1 Wilisc, Wilsc, 1–2 Wylisc, 2 Wylsc. β. 1 Uuelesc, 1–3 Welisc, 4–5 Welische (Welisse); 2–3 Welsc, 4 Welsse, 6 Welshe (7 Welse), 6–9 Welch, 6– Welsh. γ. 1–2 Wælisc, 3 Walisc, 4 Walish, Walysch, 5 Walische, Walysshe, Wallish, Wallych, 6 Walyssh; 2 Wælsc, 3 Wailsc, 3–4 Wals, 4–5 Walsch(e, Walssh, 4–6 Walshe (6 Walche), 5 Walsshe, 6–7 Walsh.
  [OE. (West Saxon) Wilisc, Wylisc, (Anglian and Kentish) Welisc, Wælisc, f. Wealh, Walh, Celt, Briton, = OHG. Walh, Walah (MHG. Walch, G. Wahle) Celt, Roman, etc., ON. *Valr (pl. Valir, Gauls, Frenchmen): see etym. note to walnut, and cf. Walach and Vlach. To the English adj. correspond OHG. wal(a)hisc, walesc (MHG. walh-, wälhisch, walsch, etc., G. wälsch, welsch), Roman, Italian, French, Du. waalsch Walloon, ON. valskr Gaulish, French (MSw. valskr; Sw. välsk, Da. vælsk Italian, French, southern); cf. the note to walshnut.
  In OE. the final h of the stem normally disappeared before the adjectival ending. The West Saxon type *Wielisc (from Wealh) did not survive beyond the OE. period; the two Anglian and Kentish types (from Walh) existed concurrently till the 16th cent., after which Welsh became the sole form in general use, Walsh remaining only as a surname. (The AF. Waleis, which is rarely employed in ME., also survives in the surname Wallace.)
  The spelling Welch is retained in the title of the Royal Welch Fusiliers.]
  A. adj.
  1. Of persons: a. Originally: belonging to the native British population of England in contrast to the Anglo-Saxons. Obs. exc. Hist. b. In later use: belonging to Wales by birth and descent; forming (part of) the native population of Wales.

α 688–695 Laws Ine §32 Be Wilisces monnes lond⁓hæfene. Ᵹif Wilisc mon hæbbe hide londes [etc.]. c 1000 Ags. Laws, Dunsetas §3, 2, xii lahmen scylon riht tæcean Wealan & ænglan: vi Englisce & vi Wylisce. c 1100 O.E. Chron. (MS. D.) an. 1052 Griffin se Wylisca cing. Ibid. (MS. C.) an. 1055 Tremerig se Wylsca biscop. Ibid. (Laud MS.) an. 1097 Ða Wylisce menn syððon hi fram þam cynge ᵹebuᵹon.

β c 1100 O.E. Chron. (MS. C.) an. 1052 Eac man sloh Hris þæs Welscan cynges broþer. c 1205 Lay. 31632 Þa iwærð abolȝen a Welisc king in þe hepe. 1360–1 Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 562 Cuidam Welsharpour d'ni Will'i de Dalton, 3s. 4d. 1513 Life Hen. V (1911) 10 And this sufficeth of the Welsh conspiracies and battailes. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. ii. i. 209 Sir, there is a fray to be fought, betweene Sir Hugh the Welch Priest, and Caius the French Doctor. 1628 Mad Pranks Robin Goodfellow (Percy Soc.) 9 As infamous as a Welch-harper that playes for cheese and onions. 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. vi. §135 Here a Welsh regiment of the King's..assaulted the works. 1796 Morse Amer. Geog. II. 147 Henry I of England, planted a colony of Flemings on the frontiers of Wales,..none of the Welsh princes being powerful enough to oppose them. 1836 Southey Lett. (1856) IV. 475 Here I have found out who the Welsh attorney was who [etc.]. 1862 Borrow Wales xlix, Why, you told me you were of Welsh parents. 1905 ‘G. Thorne’ Lost Cause x, The sly Welsh girl was indubitably awed.

γ c 1100 O.E. Chron. (MS. D.) an. 1050 Mid Gryfines fultume þæs Wæliscan cynges. 1338 R. Brunne Chron. (1725) 241 Had þei had a spie among þe Walssh oste..þei had bien men lyuand, þat þer to dede went. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 320 ‘A! A!’ sais the Walsche kynge ‘wirchipid be Criste!’ c 1420 Contin. Brut 368 Þere was a man þat was clepid ‘þe walsch clerke,’ and apelyd a kniȝt..of treson. 1470–85 Malory Arthur xviii. xxiii. 767 And there with al he aspyed a walysshe knyghte where he was to repose him. [a 1577 Sir T. Smith Commonw. Eng. i. xiii. (1583) 15 To defende themselues yet from them which were walsh and strangers,..[they] agreed..to consult in common.]

  2. a. Of things: Of or pertaining to Wales or its inhabitants, † or to the British race in Anglo-Saxon times.
  In OE. the wider sense of ‘foreign’ appears also to have been current, but clear instances are rare.

688–95 Laws Ine §46. 1 Gif hit ðonne bið Wilisc onstal, ne bið se að na ðy mara. Ibid. §70, xii ambra Wilisc ealað. 805–10 in Birch Cartul. Sax. I. 459 Selle mon..xxx. ombra godes uuelesces aloð. a 1122 O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 852 Wulfred scolde ᵹifen..twa tunnan fulle hlutres aloð..& ten mittan Wælsces aloð. c 1205 Lay. 13021 Vortiger hafde Walisc [c 1275 Wals] lond. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) App. G. 146 Fram þe walische see ywis, Fram seint dauid to þe see. 1300–1400 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) App. XX. 591 Edward his sone..þat of þe welische londe clanliche al out I wan þe seignoriȝe. 1532 Prayer & Compl. Ploweman F j, They haue enclosed it [God's leasow]..so hygh, there may no shepe come there within, but yef it be a walyssh lepre [= leaper] of the mountaynes. 1555 L. Saunders in Coverdale Lett. Martyrs (1564) 188 Not in hope of rebellion or fulfillyng vnprofitable, yea pestilent welshe prophecies. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, iv. vii. 112 All the water in Wye, cannot wash your Maiesties Welsh plood out of your pody. Ibid. v. i. 83 Henceforth let a Welsh correction, teach you a good English condition. 1612 Selden Illustr. Drayton's Poly-olb. ix. 390 In the Welsh Prouerb Mon mam Cymbry. 1761 Goldsm. Ess., Taste, The native, genuine, and salutary taste of Welch beef. 1771 Smollett Humph. Cl. 26 Apr. (1) At eight..we go..to the Pump-room; which is crowded like a Welsh fair. 1774 Johnson in Boswell Life (1904) II. 538 Yesterday I returned from my Welch journey. 1781 Gibbon Decl. & F. xxxviii. (1787) III. 623 Their subjects, of Welsh or Cambrian extraction, assume the respectable station of inferior freemen. 1862 Borrow Wales l, I reached a large village, the name of which, like those of most Welsh villages, began with Llan.

Proverbial (and allusively). a 1661 Fuller Worthies, Wales (1662) 7 As long as a Welsh pedigree. 1725 Young Love of Fame iii. 121 Till I surpass in length..A Welch descent. a 1764 Churchill Serm. Ded. 60 (1771) p. iii, When thou art to thyself, thy Sire unknown, A whole Welsh genealogy alone?

  b. In the names of various products of, and commodities obtained from, Wales, as † Welsh cloth (see Welsh cotton); Welsh coal, coal obtained from the South Wales coal-fields; anthracite; † Welsh cotton, a kind of woollen cloth with a nap; Welsh dresser (see quot. and dresser¹ 2); Welsh flannel (see quot. 1858); † Welsh frieze = Welsh cotton; Welsh glaive (see quot.); Welsh lay, a class of roofing-slates; † Welsh lining, a woollen cloth without a nap (cf. cotton n.² and frieze n.¹ 1); Welsh lump, a kind of fire-brick made in large pieces; Welsh mutton, mutton obtained from a small breed of sheep pastured on the Welsh mountains, highly esteemed for the delicacy of its flavour; Welsh oilstone (see quot.); † Welsh plain = Welsh flannel; Welsh rag = rag n.² 1 b; † Welsh scarlet (see scarlet n.¹); Welsh snuff (see quot.); † Welsh stone-coal = Welsh coal. Also Welsh bill, Welsh hook.

1566 Act 8 Eliz. c. 7 §1 *Welsh Clothe and Linyng, commonly called Cottons Fryzes and Playnes.

a 1618 Ralegh Invent. Shipping 41 Our Newcastle, or our *Welsh Coales. 1743 London & Country Brewer iii. (ed. 2) 177 At a famous Town in the West for brewing Beer, they burn this Welch Coal in a moveable Iron Grate. 1842 Loudon Suburban Hort. 211 Welsh coal..is a very durable fuel, peculiarly well suited to these boilers.

1546–7 in Feuillerat Revels Edw. VI (1914) 5, iij yardes d. *wellshe Cotton at vj{supd} yard. 1551–2 Act 5 & 6 Edw. VI, c. 6 §1 And that..Walshe Cottonne..shall not be streched on the Tentor..above a nayle of a yarde in bredith. 1580 Welsh cotton [see Manchester 1].

1910 Encycl. Brit. VIII. 578/1 A peculiarly effective combination of oak and mahogany is found in the dressers..made on the borders of Staffordshire and Shropshire... The expression ‘*Welsh dresser’..is now no more than a trade term,..applied to all dressers of this type.

[1598 Welsh flannel; used allusively in referring to a Welshman: see flannel 1 d.] 1771 Smollett Humph. Cl. I. 126 These sums she has more than doubled, by..dealing in cheese and *Welsh flannel, the produce of his flocks and dairy. 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, Welsh-flannel, the finest kind of flannel, made from the fleeces of the flocks of the Welsh mountains. 1860 Hunt Ure's Dict. Arts, etc. s.v. Flannel, Wales is the country in which flannel was originally made, and the Welsh flannel is still held in much estimation.

1551–2 Act 5 & 6 Edw. VI, c. 6 §1 All *Walshe Frices..made and wrought within the Shires of Cardigan and Pembroke..or elsewhere of lyke makinge.

1786 Grose Anc. Armour 56 The *Welch glaive is a kind of bill, sometimes reckoned among the pole axes.

1891 Century Dict. s.v. Lay1 n. 8 *Welsh lay, a slate measuring 3 by 2 feet.

1557–8 Act 4 & 5 Phil. & Mar. c. 5 §5 Everie Gode of *Welche lyning shall..be three quarters of a yarde in Breadthe.

1833 Loudon Encycl. Archit. §599 The most convenient fire bricks are what are called *Welsh or Stourbridge lumps. 1842 Gwilt Archit. §1826 Fire bricks... This sort of brick is made also in various parts of Wales, whence they are called Welsh lumps. 1892 Dict. Arch. (Arch. Publ. Soc.) Welsh lump... It can be had up to 3 ft. long, 10 ins. by 5 ins. thick.

1771 Smollett Humph. Cl. II. 228, I dined upon a delicate leg of *Velsh mutton and cully⁓flower. 1830 Le Keux Illustr. Nat. Hist. I. 141 The genuine Welsh mutton is highly esteemed.

1910 Encycl. Brit. XIII. 653/1 Idwal or *Welsh oilstone, used for small articles.

1584 in Feuillerat Revels Q. Eliz. (1908) 370 For ix yardes of *welshe playne. 1725 [see plain n.1 9].

1823 Nicholson Pract. Builder 396 Patent slating was originally composed of slates called the *Welsh Rags. 1887 Dict. Arch. (Arch. Publ. Soc.), Rag slate, or Welsh rag.

14.. Langland's P. Pl. A. v. 113 (MS. T.), I may hit not leue He scholde wandre on þat *walsshe scarlet, so was it þred-bare.

1845 Dodd Brit. Manuf. v. 148 There are many kinds of snuff called ‘high-dried’, such as ‘*Welsh’ and ‘Lundyfoot’.

1833 N. Arnott Physics (ed. 5) II. 143 *Welch stone-coal.

  c. in the names of plants, beasts, insects, etc., indigenous to or found chiefly in Wales, as Welsh cattle, Welsh pony, Welsh runt (see runt n. 2); Welsh Black, a black-coated ox or cow of a breed originally developed in north Wales, now usually kept for both meat and milk production; Welsh clearwing, club-moss (see quots.); Welsh hound, a dog similar to an English foxhound but wire-haired; Welsh mountain (sheep), a small, hardy sheep of a breed developed in high regions of Wales; Welsh poppy, a perennial poppy of the genus Meconopsis (see poppy n. 3); Welsh sorrel, speedwell, wave (see quots.); Welsh terrier, a stocky, rough-coated, usually black and tan terrier with a square muzzle and drop ears, belonging to a breed originally developed in Wales to hunt vermin.

1919 K. J. J. Mackenzie Cattle xi. 149 *Welsh Black Cattle. Some 20 years ago there were two distinct types of black cattle in Wales. 1953 A. Fraser Beef Cattle Husbandry ix. 134 The modern Welsh Black is the outcome of two types or breeds. 1977 S. Wales Guardian 27 Oct. 2/3 (Advt.), Welsh Black cow, 5th calver, with Cross-Friesian Steer calf at heel.

1747 H. Glasse Art of Cookery xiii. 129 Take the leg of a fat but small Beef, the Fat Scotch or *Welch Cattle is best. 1834 Youatt Cattle 47 Howell Dha..describes some of the Welsh cattle in the tenth century, as being ‘white with red ears’.

1869 E. Newman Brit. Moths 15 The *Welsh Clearwing (Sesia Scoliæformis).

1796 Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 3) III. 759 Pilularia annotinum... *Welsh Clubmoss. On the mountains of Caernarvonshire.

1893 R. B. Lee Mod. Dogs (Sporting Division) iv. 86 The harrier is oftener coarser in his coat than the foxhound, which may be ascribed to crossing with a rough *Welsh hound that I believe is still to be found in some parts of the principality. 1930 J. D. D. Evans in C. Frederick et al. Foxhunting xxxi. 306 The Welsh hound is probably in some degree of later origin. 1973 Country Life 27 Dec. 2173/2 The three Welsh hounds he is shown holding have long, hairy coats, whitish-grey in colour.

1899 W. J. Malden Sheep Raising & Shepherding ii. 5 Such breeds as the *Welsh Mountain..have soft short wool. 1960 [see Exmoor]. 1979 Country Life 7 June 1769/3 A black version of the Welsh Mountain sheep.

1771 Smollett Humph. Cl. 26 Apr. (3), Patience is like a stout *Welsh poney; it bears a great deal, and trots a great way; but it will tire at the long run. 1831 Youatt Horse 58 The Welsh pony..has a small head, high withers, deep yet round barrel, short joints, flat legs, and good round feet.

1741 Compl. Family-Piece ii. iii. 374 *Welsh-poppy. 1829 Loudon Encycl. Plants (1836) 462 Meconopsis cambrica Vig. Welsh Poppy. 1882 Garden 20 May 353/1 A broad blue china bowl is brilliant with..Welsh Poppy.

1659 Howell Lex. Tetragl., New Sayings v. 8/1 He thrives as well as a *Welch Runt in Rumney Marsh. 1727 E. Laurence Duty of Steward 76 The Steward should be advis'd to stock the Ground with Scotch Keylys or Welch Runts. 1768, 1886 [see runt n. 2]. 1910 Encycl. Brit. V. 540/2 Welsh cattle are well known in the Midland counties..where, under the name of ‘Welsh runts’, large herds of bullocks are fattened on the pastures.

1640 Parkinson Theat. Bot. vi. x. 745 Acetosa Cambro-Britanica Montana. Mountaine *Welsh Sorrell. c 1710 Petiver Cat. Ray's Eng. Herbal Tab. iii, Welsh Sorrel.

1731 Miller Gard. Dict. s.v. Veronica, *Welsh spiked Speedwell, with a hairy Bugle Leaf. 1796 Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 3) II. 12 Veronica hybrida... Welsh Speedwell. Bugle-leaved Speedwell.

1885 Kennel Chron. & Pedigree Register VI. 161/1 *Welsh terriers.—Dog: 2nd, W. C. Whiskin (Welsh Dick). 1894 R. B. Lee Mod. Dogs (Terriers) x. 231 The dog of which I write as a Welsh terrier was unknown until some eight years..ago. Then he appeared in some of our shows; he was given a place in the Stud Book; a club was formed in 1886 to look after his welfare. 1950 A. C. Smith Dogs since 1900 xi. 193 In 1942 Welsh Terriers came into prominence in the United States. 1980 E. Leather Duveen Letter i. 13 The Welsh terrier removed himself from the tapestry⁓covered Gainsborough chair.

1869 E. Newman Brit. Moths 76 The *Welsh Wave (Venusia cambricaria).

  d. in other collocations: Welsh acre (see quot.); Welsh ambassador, a name for (a) the cuckoo; † (b) the owl (cf. Welsh falconer); Welsh aunt (see quot.); Welsh bait, a rest, without other refreshment, given to a horse on reaching the top of a hill (see bait n. 5); also fig.; † Welsh brief (meaning obscure); Welsh cake, a kind of individual spicy cake made in Wales with currants and ginger; Welsh carpet (see quot.); † Welsh comb (see quot.); hence Welshcomb v. trans., to comb one's hair by using one's thumb and fingers instead of a comb; Welsh cornice (see quot.); † Welsh cricket, a louse; Welsh diamond (see quot.); Welsh dragon, a heraldic dragon as the emblem of Wales; also fig.; Welsh drake, the gadwall or gray duck, Chaulelasmus streperus; † Welshdraper, a maker of, or dealer in, ‘Welsh cotton’; a woollen draper; Welsh ejectment (see quot.); † Welsh falconer = Welsh ambassador (b); † Welsh fiddle (see quot.); Welsh groin, groining Arch. (see quots.); Welsh ham (see quot.); Welsh main Cockfighting (see main n.³ 3); Welsh mile, a distance of a mile and more; a long and tedious mile (chiefly proverbial); Welsh mortgage (see quot.); Welsh Nationalist, someone wanting home rule for Wales; spec. a member of the Welsh Nationalist Party; Welsh niece, a first cousin (cf. Welsh aunt, W. uncle); Welsh Office, an administrative department of the British Government with responsibility for Welsh affairs; the building where this is housed; Welsh onion = chibol 1; † Welsh parsley (see quots.); † Welsh pearl, ? an inferior or counterfeit pearl; † Welsh-pot shell (see quot.); Welsh road (see quot.); Welsh springer, a kind of spaniel (see springer¹ 8 b); Welsh uncle (see uncle 1 d); Welsh vault, vaulting Arch. = Welsh groin, groining; Welsh Wales colloq., the parts of Wales where Welsh culture is especially strong or which are most distinctively Welsh; Welsh wig, a worsted cap; Welsh wizard or Wizard, a nickname for David Lloyd George (1863–1945), Welsh politician and British prime minister. Also Welsh bean, Welsh harp, Welsh rabbit.

1704 Dict. Rust., *Welch-acre; it's usually two English Acres.

1608 Middleton Trick to catch Old One iv. H 1, Thy Sound is like the cuckowe, the *welch Embassador. c 1620 Welsh Embass. iv. 1501 (Malone Soc.) Pray m{supr} Reese..what is the reason that wee english men when the Cuckoe is vppon entrance saie the welsh embassador is Cominge. 1637 in Retrosp. Rev. (1853) I. 312 Two dozen of Welsh ambassodars. 1683–4 in Macray Reg. Magd. Coll. N.S. IV. (1904) 135 Mr. Clerke, commoner, complain'd of Sir Chernock, demy, for abusing him.., calling him foole, Welsh ambassadour (an expression for an owle). 1894 G. F. Northall Folk-phr. Four Counties 25 The Welsh ambassador = The cuckoo.

1878 N. & Q. 10 Aug. 105/1 Some Radnorshire Words... *Welsh Aunt, first cousin of father or mother.

1603 T. Powell (title) *Welch Bayte to spare Prouender. Or, A looking backe vpon the Times past. 1658 Harrington Prerog. Pop. Govt. i. vi. 32 In this place he takes a Welsh bait, and looking back makes a Muster of his Victories. a 1661 Fuller Worthies, Wales (1662) 7 The Proverbs... Give your horse a Welch-bait.

1626 B. Jonson Staple of N. v. i, It is a thing of greater consequence, Then to be borne about in a blacke boxe, Like a Low-countrey vorloffe or *Welsh-briefe.

1932 Dylan Thomas Sel. Lett. (1966) 6 Mother has made *Welshcakes. 1975 B. Meyrick Behind Light xiv. 184 Sandwiches, spice buns, Welsh cakes and bread and margarine. 1980 B. Freeman First catch your Peacock viii. 163 Welsh Cakes (Pice ar y maen). There are two ways of making these traditional little spicy cakes. The most usual is on the bakestone or griddle, which produces them in a rather dry, biscuity form... The other method is to make them..in a Dutch oven, and this produces cakes which are firm on the outside, soft and melting within.

1854 Househ. Words 2 Sept. 53/1 This *Welsh carpet is a pattern produced on the brick floor by staining the brick squares in figures with dockleaf juice.

1796 Grose's Dict. Vulgar T. (ed. 3), *Welch Comb, the thumb and four fingers.

1922 Joyce Ulysses 125 He took off his silk hat and..*welshcombed his hair with raking fingers. 1971 ‘A. Burgess’ MF x. 111 Dressed and welshcombed, I pocketed my luggage and went downstairs.

1833 Loudon Encycl. Archit. §459 These walls..should have what is called a *Welsh cornice (two or three oversailing (protruding) courses of brickwork, one of which has dentils formed by the ends of bricks projecting at equal and regular distances) to finish with at top.

1592 Greene Upst. Courtier D 2, A..Gentle⁓man Marchant Tailor, giuing armes and the holye Lambe in his creast, where before he had no other cognisance, but a plaine Spanish needle with a *welsh cricket on the toppe.

1884 F. J. Britten Watch & Clockm. 215 Rock crystal..also known as ‘Bristol’, ‘*Welsh’..or ‘Irish’ diamond, is also used by watch jewellers.

1857 C. M. Yonge Dynevor Terrace I. xxi. 349 If she had let the *Welsh dragon show his teeth in style, he would only have had to make unpleasant apologies. 1909 A. C. Fox-Davies Compl. Guide Heraldry xiii. 225 His Majesty the King has recently added the Welsh dragon differenced by a label of three points argent as an additional badge to the achievement of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. 1980 Times 16 Dec. 3/6 They..see the Welsh dragon flying over public buildings in the principality.

1844 J. P. Giraud Birds of Long Island 306 At Egg Harbor a few [gadwalls] are seen..and are there known by the name of ‘*Welsh Drake’ or ‘German Duck’.

1481 Coventry Leet Bk. 480 Hugh Walker..*welch⁓draper.

1811 Lex. Balatron., *Welsh Ejectment, to unroof the house, a method practised by landlords in Wales to eject a bad tenant.

a 1647 Fletcher, etc. Lovers Progr. 111, I hear by th' Owls, There are many of your *Welch falkoners about it [sc. a house].

a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, *Welsh⁓fiddle, the Itch.

1778 W. Pain Carpenter's Repos. Pl. 58 Make a semi-circular Arch..that is commonly called a *Welch Groin.

1875 Encycl. Brit. II. 465/2 Groins, Welsh, or Underpitch... The system of vaulting is called underpitch groining, or, as termed by the workmen, *Welsh groining. a 1878 Sir G. Scott Lect. Archit. II. 173 Vaulting..in which the side vaults..cut the higher and main vault at a level lower than its crown..is vulgarly known as ‘Welsh’ groining.

1877 Cassell's Dict. Cookery 1107 A *Welsh ham is simply the name given to a fat leg of mutton which has been cured and smoked like an ordinary ham.

c 1450 Merlin xv. 247 All the contrey was of hem covered the length of a *walshe myle. 1652 J. Taylor (Water P.) Journ. Wales (1859) 21, I hired a guide who brought me to Swansey (sixteen well stretch'd Welch mountainous miles). 1796 Grose's Dict. Vulgar T. (ed. 3), Welch Mile. Like a Welch mile, long and narrow. His story is like a Welch mile, long and tedious.

1818 Cruise Digest II. xv. i. §19 There is another kind of mortgage..called a *Welsh mortgage, in which there is a perpetual right of redemption. 1911 Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 878/1 A Welsh mortgage is one in which..a creditor..takes the rents and profits in lieu of interest.., the estate being redeemable at any time on payment of the principal.

1891 Dod's Parl. Compan. 1890–91 246 George, David Lloyd... ‘A *Welsh Nationalist’, supporting ‘Home Rule’, ‘Temperance’, ‘Disestablishment’, and other items in the programme of the Advanced Liberal Party. 1925 North Wales Observer 13 Aug. 5/3 The proposals of the new Welsh Nationalist Party were calmly received..at the Baptist Church, Pwllheli, on Thursday. 1937 W. H. Jones What is happening in Wales? iii. 9 What makes the Welsh Nationalist movement essentially a literary movement? 1966 M. Woodhouse Tree Frog xviii. 131 ‘Patriotism dictates,’ he said. ‘Don't give me that,’ I said. ‘I'm a Welsh Nationalist.’ 1972 Guardian 19 June 24/8 Welsh Nationalists intend to set up a mobile pirate radio station.

1886 Sir F. Doyle Remin. viii. 156 A young cousin, or rather..*Welsh niece of mine.

[1964 Times 20 Nov. 6/7 Mr. Harold Wilson, Prime Minister.., in a statement defining the responsibilities of the Secretary of State for Wales, said:—. The interests of Wales are now represented in the Cabinet by the Secretary of State... He will have a Welsh office in Cardiff..and a small ministerial office in London.] Ibid. 22 Dec. 10/4 Mr. Griffiths, Secretary of State for Wales, yesterday opened the first permanent home of the *Welsh Office in London. 1976 S. Wales Echo 26 Nov., Demonstrations by angry parents outside the Welsh Office now seem certain after South Glamorgan County Council's controversial decision to turn a Cardiff high school into a Welsh-speaking secondary. 1976 Flintshire Leader 10 Dec. 1/2 The call for a crossing did not meet Welsh Office conditions because there were not enough houses or people living in the village. 1977 Western Mail (Cardiff) 5 Mar. 3/2 The council has had to go to the Welsh Office for money for industrial development.

1731 Miller Gard. Dict. s.v. Cepa M m/1 The *Welch Onions are only propagated for Spring Use also: These never make any Bulb, and are therefore only fit to be us'd green for Sallads, &c. 1824 Loudon Encycl. Gard. (ed. 2) §3813 Welsh onion, or ciboule (Allium fistulosum, L). 1778, 1832 [see cibol].

a 1625 Fletcher Elder Brother i. ii, In tough *Welsh Parsly, which, in our vulgar Tongue, is strong Hempen Halters. 1638 Randolph Hey for Honesty iv. i. (1651) 30 This is a Rascal deserves..To dance in Hemp Derricks Caranto: Lets choke him with Welch Parsley.

1681 Grew Musæum i. §vi. ii. 146 *Welsh-Pearl... They are most of them flatish, and of a shining blackish colour.

c 1711 Petiver Gazophyl. vii. Tab. 69 Fig. 5 Carolina Lattice furrowed, *Welsh-pot Shell,..Like our Garden Snail, but Lattice-furrowed and waved with yellow, like our Welsh Pot-ware.

1890 O. Crawfurd Round Calend. in Portugal 212 The scent of those deep, damp lanes, green with ferns, which in this county [Monmouthshire] we call ‘*Welsh roads’.

1910 Encycl. Brit. VIII. 375/2 [Dogs.] Sporting... spaniel..*Welsh springer.

1848 Rickman Styles Archit. Eng. p. liii, This [roof] is distinguished from the previous examples by having what are called *Welsh vaults over the clerestory windows.

1835 R. Willis Archit. Mid. Ages vii. 78 note, Such cells are termed *Welsh vaulting cells. 1858 Ecclesiologist XIX. 165 North transept, Welsh vaulting from circular shafts.

1954 G. Daniel Welcome Death x. 125 ‘The Vale of Glamorgan is legally Wales, isn't it, although no one speaks any Welsh here?’ ‘Quite right... This is Wales, if not *Welsh Wales’. 1971 D. Ayerst Guardian xxi. 290 In the hills behind the coastal resorts, Welsh Wales with its roots in the chapels had an intense cultural life of its own. 1983 A. Beevor Faustian Pact. i. 8 The sight of the sheep-cropped hills... There was Welsh Wales.

1842 J. Wilson Chr. North (1857) I. 2 Uncle Ben..is seen galloping, in a *Welsh wig and strange apparel, in the rear of a pack of Lilliputian beagles. 1848 Dickens Dombey iv, His Welsh wig..was as plain and stubborn a Welsh wig as ever was worn. 1859 Sala Gaslight & D. xi. 129 Disguised in lamp-black, pomatum, Welsh wigs dyed black.

1917 M. Macdonagh Diary 9 July in London during Gt. War. (1935) iii. iv. 203 Is not ‘L.G.’ known as the ‘*Welsh Wizard’. 1922 National Rev. July 652 We are told.. that several of His Majesty's Ministers are acutely uncomfortable in the impasse into which they have allowed themselves to be manœuvred by the Welsh Wizard. 1976 W. J. Burley Wycliffe & Schoolgirls vii. 126 There had never been a real statesman since the little Welsh wizard.

  3. As the designation of the language of the Welsh people; hence, written or spoken in the Welsh language; of or belonging to the language or literature of Wales.

1547 Salesbury Dict. Engl.-Welsh Ded., Seyng ther is many of your graces subiectes in Wales that readethe parfytlye the welshe tonge..I haue written a lytle englyshe dyctionary with the welshe interpretation. 1587 Penry æquity Supplic. 48 Vngodly welsh bookes are fraught with these Idolatries. c 1643 Ld. Herbert Autobiog. (1824) 32 Where I might learn the Welch tongue. 1682 W. Richards Wallogr. 121 One in our Company..having got a Welch Polysyllable into his Throat, was almost choak'd with Consonants. 1729 T. Innes Crit. Ess. (1879) 257 Mr. Edward Lhuyd, in his Welsh preface to his Archæologia. 1756–9 A. Butler Lives Fathers, Beuno (1821) IV. 226 Vawr, as the Welsh adjective Mawr great, is writ in several parts of Wales. Ibid., Wenefride XI. 75 Lluydh, in his catalogue of Welch manuscripts. 1840 W. J. Rees (title-p.) The Liber Landavensis... Published for The Welsh MSS. Society. 1877 Rhys (title) Lectures on Welsh Philology. 1888 Jacobi Printers' Vocab., Welsh cases, cases of special lay for composing works in that language.

  B. n. (Elliptical uses of the adj.)
  1. a. pl. The Britons as distinguished from the Anglo-Saxons. Obs. exc. Hist.

c 1100 O.E. Chron. (MS. D.) an. 1050 On þam ilcan ᵹeare comon upp on Wylisce Axa of Yrlande. a 1122 Ibid. (Laud MS.) an. 1121 Þa Wyliscean him onᵹean coman. c 1205 Lay. 5574 Bruttes & Wailsce [c 1275 Walse]. c 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 9392 Of the welsse þat mid him beþ ne dorre ȝe noȝt drede. 1729 T. Innes Crit. Ess. (1879) 40 The old Midland Britains..known..by the name of Walenses (Welch, a common name to all that spoke the British language). 1839 Keightley Hist. Eng. I. 14 The Britons or Welsh, as they were named by the conquerors, were thus driven back to the western side of the island.

  b. The inhabitants or natives of Wales.

1338 R. Brunne Chron. (1725) 237 Þe Walssh wer alle day slayn. 1530 Tindale Answ. More ii. xi. Wks. (1573) 299 Then he bringeth in how the wilde Irish and the Welch pray, when they go to steale. 1596 Spenser State Irel. (Globe) 635/2 The same was also common amongest the Brittons, and is not yet altogither left of by the Welsh which are theyr posteritye. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. i. 652 These are distinctly knowen still from the Welsh, both by their speech and manners. 1612 Selden Illustr. Drayton's Poly-olb. ix. 320 So that the Welsh may challenge priority, of finding that new world, before the Spaniard. 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XVIII. 699/1 The Welsh, in their own language, call their country Cymry, and their language Cymraeg. 1825 Scott Betrothed viii, Two very strong bodies of Welsh attempted to carry the outer defences of the castle by storm. 1862 Borrow Wales lviii, Amongst the proverbial sayings of the Welsh, which are chiefly preserved in the shape of triads, is [etc.]. 1882 Rhys Celtic Britain 130 The more legendary traditions of the Welsh.

  † c. sing. A Welshman. Obs.

1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. v. 167 Godfrei of Garlesschire and Griffin þe walsche. 1387 Trevisa Higden VIII. 265 Þe false Walsche David roos aȝenst kyng Edward in Palme Sonday. [1601 F. Tate Househ. Ord. Edw. II §91 (1876) 55 Annote the walsh.] 1646 R. Baillie Anabaptism (1647) Epist. *4 At Naisby..to beat nine thousand..soldiers, the most part raw and new levied Welshes.

  2. a. The Welsh language.

O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) Pref., Her sind on þis iᵹlande fif ᵹeþeode: Englisc, & Brittisc, & Wilsc [MS. D. Bryt-wylsc], & Scyttisc [etc.]. ? a 1400 Arthur 7 Pendragon ys in walysch ‘Dragones heed’ on Englysch. 1470–85 Caxton Malory's Arthur Pref. (Sommer) 3 Many noble volumes be made of hym..which been not had in our maternal tongue, but in walsshe ben many & also in frensshe, & somme in englysshe. 1547 W. Salesbury (title) A Dictionary in Englyshe and Welshe. a 1550 Leland Itin. v. (1908) II. 82 It [Shrewsbury] is comonly caullyd now in Walche Moythik. Writers in Walsche caul it Penguern, id est, caput Alneti. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iii. i. 193 My Wife can speake no English; I no Welsh. 1656 J. Lewis in Baxter's Certainty Worlds Spirits (1691) 130 He could perceive the whisper of a Voice in Welch, bidding him hold his peace. 1668 Shadwell Sullen Lovers iv. 74 If I don't..speak Spanish, Italian,..Welch and Irish. 1788 Priestley Lect. Hist. iv. xxv. 191 The next remains of the Britons, are Hoel Dha's Laws... Of these there are several copies, both in Welch and Latin. 1820 Scott Let. to C. Scott 19 Dec. in Lockhart, You hear the Welsh spoken much about you. 1862 Borrow Wales lix, I learned to read Welsh and to write it at the same time. 1882 Rhys Celtic Britain 145 The latter [sc. Clyde], being..Clut in old Welsh, could only yield Clûd in later Welsh.

  b. transf. A strange language; speech that one does not understand.

1648 Winyard Midsummer-Moon 5 Hebrew to them is Welch. a 1661 Fuller Worthies, Wales (1662) 33 Amel⁓corne. This English Word (which I find in the English Cambden) is Welsh to me. 1888 Sheffield Gloss. Suppl. s.v. Welsh, ‘He's talking Welsh!’ ‘That's Welsh!’ means ‘I don't understand you’.

  3. Short for: Welsh coal.

1898 Kipling Fleet in Being iv. 44 We're supposed to be burning No. 2 Welsh. 1905 Blackw. Mag. Jan. 26/2 Have you got that ‘Welsh’ trimmed?

  C. Comb.: Welsh-begotten, Welsh-born, Welsh-English, Welsh-like, Welsh-rooted, Welsh-speaking, Welsh-wrought adjs.; Welsh-Briton = Welshman 1 a; Welsh-Keltic a., Cymric.

1615 J. Stephens Satyr. Ess. 291 He is the onely friend of Lawyers (if they be *Welch begotten).

1898 Watts-Dunton Aylwin xv. xii, I wonder whether any one who is not *Welsh-born can understand my delight.

1670 Milton Hist. Brit. iv. 165 Kentwin the other West-Saxon King..chac'd the *Welch-Britans..to the very Seashoar.

1759 T. Richards (title) Antiquæ Linguæ Britannicæ Thesaurus: being a British, or *Welsh-English Dictionary.

1883 D. H. Wheeler By-Ways Lit. 100 It is believed that the *Welsh-Keltic manuscripts are unusually vicious in the texts.

1844 Brereton's Trav. (Chetham Soc.) 96 note, Of this *Welch-like name [Apthomas] I am unable to offer any explanation.

1863 W. Barnes Dorset Gloss. 8 Their cadwyn..is a *Welsh-rooted word.

1893 Harper's Mag. Dec. 43/1 A *Welsh-speaking rebel against the tithes.

1876 Morris Sigurd iii. 202 And they see the sheathed Wrath shimmer mid the restless *Welsh-wrought [= foreign] swords.

Oxford English Dictionary