Meanings
celt1
plural celts
- A prehistoric chisel-bladed tool.
The later division of the Bronze age is characterised by the appearance of swords, spears, palstaves, and socketed celts.
1880, William Boyd Dawkins, Early Man in Britain and His Place in the Tertiary Period
Celt2
plural Celts
- historicalA member of one of the ancient peoples of Western Europe called Celtae by the Romans.
The holiday evolved over centuries as it was observed by different groups, from the Celts to Germans to the Pennsylvania Dutch and eventually, by those in other parts of the US.
2023 February 1, Scottie Andrew, “The bizarre history of Groundhog Day”, in CNN, archived from the original on 18 Jul 2024Synonyms: Keltoi
- A member of any of the (modern, Celtic) peoples who speak Celtic languages.
comparative more Celt · superlative most Celt
- Synonym of Celtic.
In the thick of parties we become very Celt, disgusting the dull.
1972 spring–summer, John Tripp, “Anglo-Welsh Testimony”, in Transatlantic Review, number 42/43, →ISSN, page 893 more examples
Like Pris, he took after their mother, more Celt than English, wild and dramatic and mercurially alive.
2006, Stephanie Laurens, What Price Love?, London: Piatkus, Little, Brown Book Group, published 2011, →ISBN, page 5But his bitch queen was Saxon to the bone and her legacy showed in the sons that Vortigern bred off her. Katigern Minor might be young, but he has become what his grandfather never was – more Saxon than Celt.
2009, M. K. Hume, King Arthur: Dragon’s Child, London: Headline Review, →ISBN, page 340She answered with a smile and a nod. The woman was more Celt than Arienh had thought, and had clearly been deprived of women too long.
2010, Delle Jacobs, Loki’s Daughters, Las Vegas, Nev.: Montlake Romance, →ISBN, page 159Synonyms: Celtic
CELT3
- abbreviationacronymcomputingAcronym of Constrained Energy Lapped Transform: a royalty-free lossy audio compression format for use in low-latency audio communication.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA member of one of the ancient peoples of Western Europe called Celtae by the Romans.
adjectiveSynonym of Celtic.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna member of a European people who once occupied Britain and Spain and Gaul prior to Roman times
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
celt · noun
- Latinceltis“chisel”
- Englishcelt
From Latin celtis (“chisel”), very probably a ghost word originating from a copyist's error in the Vulgate Bible, but taken as genuine and subsequently used in Medieval Latin.
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Celt · noun, adjective
- Ancient GreekΚελτοί
- LatinCeltae
- EnglishCelt
From Latin Celtae (singular Celta) from Ancient Greek Κελτοί (Keltoí). English Celts is from the 17th century. Until the mid 19th century, /sɛlt/ is the only recorded pronunciation. A consciously archaizing pronunciation /kɛlt/ was advocated during Irish and Welsh nationalism beginning in the 1850s.
More words from Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek Κελτός
- Κελτός (Keltós)ancient
Arabic قِلْطِيّ
- قِلْطِيّ (qilṭiyy)ancient
Catalan celta
- celtaancient
Chinese Mandarin 凱爾特人 /凯尔特人, 塞爾特人 /塞尔特人
- 凱爾特人 /凯尔特人 (Kǎi'ěrtèrén)ancient
- 塞爾特人 /塞尔特人 (Sài'ěrtèrén)ancient
- 凱爾特人 /凯尔特人 (Kǎi'ěrtèrén)modern
- 塞爾特人 /塞尔特人 (Sài'ěrtèrén)modern
Czech Kelt
- Keltancient
Danish kelter, kelter
- kelterancient
- keltermodern
Dutch Kelt
- Keltancient
Finnish keltti, keltti
- kelttiancient
- kelttimodern
French Celte
- Celteancient
German Kelte
- Kelteancient
Hebrew קלטי, קלטית
- קלטי (qelti)ancient
- קלטית (qeltit)ancient
Hungarian kelta
- keltaancient
Irish Ceilteach, Ceilteach
- Ceilteachancient
- Ceilteachmodern
Italian celta
- celtaancient
Japanese ケルト人
- ケルト人 (kerutojin)ancient
Korean 켈트족, 셀트족
- 켈트족 (kelteujok)ancient
- 셀트족 (selteujok)ancient
Latvian ķelts, ķeltiete
- ķeltsancient
- ķeltieteancient
Māori Kereti, Kereti
- Keretiancient
- Keretimodern
Polish Celt
- Celtancient
Portuguese celta
- celtaancient
Romanian celți
- celțiancient
Russian кельт, кельт
- кельт (kelʹt)ancient
- кельт (kelʹt)modern
Scottish Gaelic Ceilteach, Ceilteach
- Ceilteachancient
- Ceilteachmodern
Slovak Kelt
- Keltancient
Spanish celta
- celtaancient
Swedish kelt, kelt
- keltancient
- keltmodern
Tamil கெல்ட்டியர்
- கெல்ட்டியர் (kelṭṭiyar)ancient
Turkish Kelt
- Keltancient
Welsh Celt, Celtiad
- Celtancient
- Celtiadancient
- Celtmodern
- Celtiadmodern
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with celt
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
celt. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/celt
“celt.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/celt. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “celt,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/celt.
Source: celt on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.