A list of

English Language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...

words derived from the Celtic

Gaulish language Gaulish was an ancient Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switze ...

, entering English via

Old Frankish Frankish ( reconstructed endonym: *), also known as Old Franconian or Old Frankish, was the West Germanic language spoken by the Franks from the 5th to 9th century. After the Salian Franks settled in Roman Gaul, its speakers in Picardy ...

Vulgar Latin Vulgar Latin, also known as Popular or Colloquial Latin, is the range of non-formal registers of Latin spoken from the Late Roman Republic onward. Through time, Vulgar Latin would evolve into numerous Romance languages. Its literary counterpa ...

and

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intel ...

;

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or s ...

: from Old French ''embassadeur'', from Latin ''ambactus'', from Gaulish ''*ambactos'', "servant", "henchman", "one who goes about". ;

beak The beak, bill, or rostrum is an external anatomical structure found mostly in birds, but also in turtles, non-avian dinosaurs and a few mammals. A beak is used for eating, preening, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for fo ...

: from Old French ''bec'', from Latin ''beccus'', from Gaulish ''beccos''. ;

bilge The bilge of a ship or boat is the part of the hull that would rest on the ground if the vessel were unsupported by water. The "turn of the bilge" is the transition from the bottom of a hull to the sides of a hull. Internally, the bilges (usu ...

: from Old French ''boulge'', from Latin ''bulga'', from Gaulish ''bulgā'', "sack". ;

bran Bran, also known as miller's bran, is the hard outer layers of cereal grain. It consists of the combined aleurone and pericarp. Corn (maize) bran also includes the pedicel (tip cap). Along with germ, it is an integral part of whole grains, ...

: from Gaulish ''brennos'', through the French ''bren'', "the husk of wheat", "barley...". ;

branch A branch, sometimes called a ramus in botany, is a woody structural member connected to the central trunk of a tree (or sometimes a shrub). Large branches are known as boughs and small branches are known as twigs. The term '' twig'' usuall ...

: from Late Latin ''branca'' through Old French ''branche'', probably ultimately of Gaulish origin. ; brave : from Prov/Cat ''brau'', from Gaulish ''bragos''. ; budge (lambskin) : from Old French ''bulge'', from Latin ''bulga'', from Gaulish ''bulgā'', "sack". ;

brie Brie (; ) is a soft cow's-milk cheese named after Brie, the French region from which it originated (roughly corresponding to the modern ''département'' of Seine-et-Marne). It is pale in color with a slight grayish tinge under a rind of white mo ...

: from Gaulish ''briga'' "hill, height" ;

budget A budget is a calculation play, usually but not always financial, for a defined period, often one year or a month. A budget may include anticipated sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities including time, costs and expenses, environme ...

: from Old French ''bougette'', from ''bouge'', from Latin ''bulga'', from Gaulish ''bulgā''. ; bulge : from Old French ''boulge'', from Latin ''bulga'', from Gaulish ''bulgā'', "sack". ; car : from Norman French ''carre'', from L. ''carrum'', ''carrus'' (pl. ''carra''), orig. "two-wheeled Celtic war chariot," from Gaulish ''karros''. ;

carry Carry or carrying may refer to: People *Carry (name) Finance * Carried interest (or carry), the share of profits in an investment fund paid to the fund manager * Carry (investment), a financial term: the carry of an asset is the gain or cost of h ...

: From Gaulish ''karros'' "two-wheeled Celtic war chariot" via French ;

cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

: from Old French ''cresme'', from the Latin word of Gaulish origin ''crāmum''. ;

change Change or Changing may refer to: Alteration * Impermanence, a difference in a state of affairs at different points in time * Menopause, also referred to as "the change", the permanent cessation of the menstrual period * Metamorphosis, or change, ...

: from Old French ''changier'', "to change, alter", from the late Latin word ''cambiare'' derived from an older Latin word ''cambire'', "to barter, exchange", a word of Gaulish origin, from PIE root *kemb- "to bend, crook". ;

druid A druid was a member of the high-ranking class in ancient Celtic cultures. Druids were religious leaders as well as legal authorities, adjudicators, lorekeepers, medical professionals and political advisors. Druids left no written accounts. Whi ...

: From Gaulish ''Druides'' via French ;

dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

: from French ''dune'', from Middle Dutch ''dūne'', probably from Gaulish ''dunum'', "hill". ;

embassy A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually den ...

: from Middle French ', from Italian ''ambasciata'', from Old Provençal ''ambaisada'', from Latin Ambactus, from Gaulish ''*ambactos'', "servant", "henchman", "one who goes about". ;

frown A frown (also known as a scowl) is a facial expression in which the eyebrows are brought together, and the forehead is wrinkled, usually indicating displeasure, sadness or worry, or less often confusion or concentration. The appearance of a fr ...

: Probably from Gaulish ''*frogna'' "nostril" via Old French ''frognier'' "to frown or scowl, snort, turn up one's nose" ; glean : from Old French ''glener'', from

Late Latin Late Latin ( la, Latinitas serior) is the scholarly name for the form of Literary Latin of late antiquity.Roberts (1996), p. 537. English dictionary definitions of Late Latin date this period from the , and continuing into the 7th century in t ...

', from Gaulish ''glanos'', "clean". ; gob : from Old French ''gobe'', likely from Gaulish ''*gobbo-''. ; gouge : Probably from Gaulish via Late Latin/Old French ;

javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with the ...

: from Old French ''javelline'', diminutive of ''javelot'', from Vulgar Latin ''gabalus'', from Gaulish ''gabalum''. ;

mutton Lamb, hogget, and mutton, generically sheep meat, are the meat of domestic sheep, ''Ovis aries''. A sheep in its first year is a lamb and its meat is also lamb. The meat from sheep in their second year is hogget. Older sheep meat is mutton. Gen ...

: From Gallo-Roman ''*multo-s'' via Old French ;

palfrey A palfrey is a type of horse that was highly valued as a riding horse in the Middle Ages. It was a lighter-weight horse, usually a smooth gaited one that could amble, suitable for riding over long distances. Palfreys were not a specific bree ...

: from Old French ''palefrei'', from Latin ''paraverēdus'' from Greek ''para'' + Latin ''verēdus'', from Gaulish *''vorēdos''. ;

piece Piece or Pieces (not to be confused with peace) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Games * Piece (chess), pieces deployed on a chessboard for playing the game of chess * ''Pieces'' (video game), a 1994 puzzle game for the Super NES * ...

: from Old French, from Vulgar Latin ''*pettia'', likely from Gaulish. ;

quay A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths ( mooring locatio ...

: from Old French ''chai'', from Gaulish ''caium''. ;

tonsil The tonsils are a set of lymphoid organs facing into the aerodigestive tract, which is known as Waldeyer's tonsillar ring and consists of the adenoid tonsil, two tubal tonsils, two palatine tonsils, and the lingual tonsils. These organs play ...

: Perhaps of Gaulish origin via Latin"tonsil"
– Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved 17 January 2023. ;

truant Truancy is any intentional, unjustified, unauthorised, or illegal absence from compulsory education. It is a deliberate absence by a student's own free will (though sometimes adults or parents will allow and/or ignore it) and usually does not ref ...

: from Old French, from Gaulish ''*trougo-'', "miser". ;

valet A valet or varlet is a male servant who serves as personal attendant to his employer. In the Middle Ages and Ancien Régime, valet de chambre was a role for junior courtiers and specialists such as artists in a royal court, but the term "valet ...

: from French, from Gallo-Romance ''*vassallittus'', from Middle Latin ''vassallus'', from ''vassus'', from Old Celtic ''*wasso-'', "young man", "squire". ; varlet : from Middle French, from Gallo-Romance ''*vassallittus'', from Middle Latin ''vassallus'', from ''vassus'', from Old Celtic ''*wasso-'', "young man", "squire". ;

vassal A vassal or liege subject is a person regarded as having a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch, in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. While the subordinate party is called a vassal, the dominant party is called a suzerai ...

: from Old French, from Middle Latin ''vassallus'', from ''vassus'', from Old Celtic ''*wasso-'', "young man", "squire".

References

External links

Online Etymology Dictionary
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of English Words Of Gaulish Origin

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

Gaulish Gaulish was an ancient Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switze ...