Welsh (?), a. [AS. wælisc,
welisc, from wealh a stranger, foreigner, not of Saxon
origin, a Welshman, a Celt, Gael; akin to OHG. walh, whence G.
wälsch or welsch, Celtic, Welsh, Italian, French,
Foreign, strange, OHG. walhisc; from the name of a Celtic tribe.
See Walnut.] Of or pertaining to Wales, or its
inhabitants. [Sometimes written also Welch.]
Welsh flannel, a fine kind of flannel made from
the fleece of the flocks of the Welsh mountains, and largely manufactured
by hand. -- Welsh glaive, or Welsh
hook, a weapon of war used in former times by the Welsh,
commonly regarded as a kind of poleax. Fairholt. Craig.
-- Welsh mortgage (O. Eng. Law), a species of
mortgage, being a conveyance of an estate, redeemable at any time on
payment of the principal, with an understanding that the profits in the
mean time shall be received by the mortgagee without account, in
satisfaction of interest. Burrill. -- Welsh
mutton, a choice and delicate kind of mutton obtained from a
breed of small sheep in Wales. -- Welsh onion
(Bot.), a kind of onion (Allium fistulosum) having hollow
inflated stalks and leaves, but scarcely any bulb, a native of Siberia. It
is said to have been introduced from Germany, and is supposed to have
derived its name from the German term wälsch foreign. --
Welsh parsley, hemp, or halters made from hemp.
[Obs. & Jocular] J. Fletcher. -- Welsh rabbit.
See under Rabbit.
Welsh, n.
1. The language of Wales, or of the Welsh
people.
2. pl. The natives or inhabitants of
Wales.
☞ The Welsh call themselves Cymry, in the plural, and
a Welshman Cymro, and their country Cymru, of which the
adjective is Cymreig, and the name of their language Cymraeg.
They are a branch of the Celtic family, and a relic of the earliest known
population of England, driven into the mountains of Wales by the Anglo-
Saxon invaders.
Welsh (?), v. t. & i.
(a) To cheat by avoiding payment of bets; -- said
esp. of an absconding bookmaker at a race track. [Slang]
(b) To avoid dishonorably the fulfillment of a
pecuniary obligation. [Slang]