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welsh

UK /wɛlʃ/verb

welsh is spelled W-E-L-S-H: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 14 times per million words in written English, the 5,595th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a derogatory, offensive verb, welsh means “To cheat or swindle someone, often by not paying a debt, especially a gambling debt” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).

How many letters and syllables are in welsh?

Letters5: W-E-L-S-H
Syllables1
In writing14 times per million words; the 5,595th most frequent word form
Wrong spellings searchednone measured in search

Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How common is welsh?

Welsh appears 14 times per million words in written English, the 5,595th most frequent word form in the list.

Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).

How do you pronounce welsh?

  • UK /wɛlʃ/

Welsh has one syllable.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-welsh.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).

Forms of welsh

  • welshes present, singular, he/she/it
  • welshing participle, present
  • welshed participle, past
  • welch
  • more welsh comparative
  • most welsh superlative

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What does welsh mean?

The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).

verb

  1. 1

    derogatoryoffensiveTo cheat or swindle someone, often by not paying a debt, especially a gambling debt.

  2. 2

    derogatoryoffensiveTo go back on one's word.

adjective

as Welsh
  1. 1

    Of or pertaining to Wales.

  2. 2

    Of or pertaining to the Celtic language of Wales.

  3. 3

    Designating plants or animals from or associated with Wales.

  4. 4

    Indigenously British; pertaining to the Celtic peoples who inhabited much of Britain before the Roman occupation.

noun

as Welsh
  1. 1

    The people of Wales.

  2. 2

    A breed of pig, kept mainly for bacon.

adjective

  1. 1

    obsoleteForeign.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

Welsh in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese

LanguageWords
Frenchgallois (of or pertaining to Wales), Gallois (collectively, people of Wales)
Germanwalisisch (of or pertaining to Wales), Waliser (collectively, people of Wales), Walisisch, Kymrisch (language)
Portuguesegalês, galesa (of or pertaining to Wales)
Spanishgalés (of or pertaining to Wales), galeses, galesas (collectively, people of Wales)

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.

Where does welsh come from?

Sometimes held to derive from disparaging stereotypes about the Welsh, though firm evidence of this derivation is lacking. Compare gyp (“swindle”), probably from Gypsy, and jew (“defraud”), from Jew.

Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).

What to look up after welsh