Does anyone know the roots and history of the words Wales & Welsh?
Where does the word Wales come from? The origin of the word Wales is a strange one. It is a variation on a common word used hundreds of years ago by the Anglo Saxons to mean foreigners or outsiders. Variations of the same word can be found in other countries, such as Walloon part of Belgium. Since this word is one given to the principality by the Anglo-Saxons rather than by ourselves, it could be argued that Cymru (meaning friends/companions) is a preferable one to Wales, although the origins are long enough in the past for us to be equally proud of both names today. Interestingly, a variation on Cymru can also be found outside Wales, as the name of the northern English county of Cumbria has similar linguistic origins. NAME The name Wales has been given to this country not by its inhabitants but by the Teutonic occupiers of England, and means “the territory of the alien race”. “Welsh” (German Wälsch) implies a people of either Latin or Celtic origin living in a land near or adjoining t
