Etymology Explorer › Swedish

Where does “valack” come from?

valack (Swedish) comes from German Wallach, from Middle Low German wallache, from Russian волох, from Old East Slavic волохъ, from Proto-Slavic volxъ, from Proto-Germanic walhaz, from Latin Volcae, from Proto-Celtic wolkos — wet, damp.

Ancestry of “valack”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1GermanWallach—
2Middle Low Germanwallache—
3Russianволохa member of one of the Romanic peoples, such as...
4Old East Slavicволохъ—
5Proto-Slavicvolxъa Roman, a speaker of a Romance language
6Proto-Germanicwalhazforeigner, non-Germanic person
7LatinVolcaea Gallic tribal confederation; name of a Celtic...
8Proto-Celticwolkoshawk
9Proto-Indo-Europeanwelg-wet, damp
Every word from Proto-Indo-European welg- →