Where does “Wales” come from?
Wales derives from Middle English Wales, from Old English Wealas, the plural of Old English wealh, from Proto-Germanic walhaz, ultimately from Proto-Celtic wolkos.
Ancestry of “Wales”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | Wales | — |
| 2 | Old English | Wēalas | — |
| 3 | Old English | wealh | foreigner; Briton or Welshman; slave |
| 4 | Old English | īeġ | island |
| 5 | Proto-West Germanic | auwju | floodplain; meadow; island |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | awjō | floodplain; meadow; island |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | agwjō | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | h₂ékʷeh₂ | water |
Words derived from “Wales”