# Wales

> English word · Proper noun · IPA /weɪlz/ · frequency rank #2,508

## Definitions
1. One of the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom, formerly a principality.
2. The area in which the Welsh language and culture predominated, roughly coincident with the modern country.
3. A surname.
4. A hamlet in Queen Camel parish, Somerset, England (OS grid ref ST6824).
5. A village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England (OS grid ref SK4883).
6. A number of places in the United States:
7. A number of places in the United States:
8. A number of places in the United States:
9. A number of places in the United States:
10. A number of places in the United States:
11. A number of places in the United States:
12. A number of places in the United States:
13. A number of places in the United States:
14. A submerged ghost town in Ontario, Canada.

## Etymology
From Middle English Wales, from Old English Wēalas, plural of wealh (“Celt, Welsh person”), from Proto-West Germanic *walh, from Proto-Germanic *walhaz (“Celt, Roman”). Compare the second element in Cornwall, and also Gaul.

## Easily confused with
- **was** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wales-vs-was)
- **Wes** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wales-vs-wes)
- **walk** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wales-vs-walk)
- **ways** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wales-vs-ways)
- **wall** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wales-vs-wall)
- **wave** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wales-vs-wave)
- **wars** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wales-vs-wars)
- **Walt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wales-vs-walt)
- **ware** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wales-vs-ware)
- **woes** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wales-vs-woes)
- **wane** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wales-vs-wane)
- **wile** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wales-vs-wile)
- **wali** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wales-vs-wali)
- **Water** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wales-vs-water)
- **wants** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wales-vs-wants)
- **walls** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wales-vs-walls)
- **waves** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wales-vs-waves)
- **walks** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wales-vs-walks)
- **wells** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wales-vs-wells)
- **wives** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/wales-vs-wives)

## Common misspellings (7)
`awles`, `waels`, `waless`, `walles`, `walse`, `wlaes`, `wwales`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/wales