The story
- Proto-Celtic*wolkos?
- Proto-Celtic*Wolkosbor.?
- Proto-Germanic*wólkos
- Proto-Germanic*walhaz
- Proto-West Germanic*walh
- Old Englishwealh
- Old EnglishWēalas
- Middle EnglishWales
- English todayWales
From Middle English Wales, from Old English Wēalas, plural of wealh (“Celt, Welsh person”), from Proto-West Germanic *walh, from Proto-Germanic *walhaz (“Celt, Roman”). Compare the second element in Cornwall, and also Gaul.
Words from the same roots
Proto-West Germanic*walh all →
Gaul
Proto-Germanic*walhaz all →
wallGaulWalloonVlach
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.