welsh
n.the language spoken by people in Wales. It is also used to describe the people who come from that country.
n.the Celtic language of Wales, or the people who inhabit Wales collectively. When referring to the language, it is treated as a singular entity; when referring to the people, it is preceded by the definite article.
“She is learning to speak Welsh.”
“Many road signs in Cardiff are written in both English and Welsh to support the local culture.”
“The survival of Welsh into the modern era is often attributed to its early use in religious texts and its subsequent integration into the national school curriculum.”
Always capitalized. When referring to the people as a group, use 'the Welsh'; for individuals, use 'Welshman' or 'Welshwoman'.
From Middle English Walsch, Welische, from Old English wīelisċ (“Briton; Roman; Celt”), from Proto-West Germanic walhisk, from Proto-Germanic walhiskaz (“Celt; later Roman”), from *walhaz (“Celt, Roman”) (compare Old English wealh), from the name of the Gaulish tribe, the Volcae (recorded only in Latin contexts). This word was borrowed from Germanic into Slavic (compare Old Church Slavonic Влахъ (Vlaxŭ, “Vlachs, Romanians”), Byzantine Greek Βλάχος (Blákhos)). Doublet of Vellish. Compare Walloon, walnut, Vlach, Walach, Gaul, Cornwall.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.