Wealh

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A term historically used to denote a foreigner or stranger, especially one of Germanic or Scandinavian origin during early medieval England; also referring to a non-Anglo-Saxon inhabitant or a serf in Anglo-Saxon society
2. An old English word for an outsider or foreign subject, particularly used to describe Celtic or Briton peoples under Anglo-Saxon rule; additionally signifies a dependent or bonded individual within that societal structure
3. A designation from early English usage indicating a person not belonging to the ruling Anglo-Saxon class, often a native Briton or slave; it also embodies the concept of someone outside the core political or cultural group of the time

Etymology: The Old English "wealh" originally meant "foreigner" in a broad sense, and it was applied to the Britons whom the Anglo-Saxon settlers met in Britain. Its root is the same as the Germanic word for "foreign" that also gave rise to "Walloon", and the Anglo-Saxons used it of Celtic-speaking people generally, not only of those in what is now Wales. The word is a Germanic root that once spread far beyond England, which is why the same idea survives in the names of other peoples. The English word "Welsh" is the descendant of this Old English term, and "Wales" comes from its plural, "Wealas", meaning "the foreigners" or "the Britons." The two words grew apart over time: the people and their land took the plural as a place name, while the singular stayed closer to the original sense of an outsider. The modern term "Welsh" kept the adjective and the language, but the older meaning of simple "foreigner" faded away.

Synonyms: foreigner, stranger, outsider, Welsh, Briton

Antonyms: native, insider