Gaul

Gaul · proper noun

1. Celtic
2. Proto-Germanic*walhaz“an outlander, foreigner, Celt”
3. Proto-West Germanic*walh“foreigner, Roman, Celt”
4. Frankish*Walha(land)“Gaul, Land of the Romans, foreigners”
5. Old FrenchGaule
6. Middle FrenchGaule“Gaul”
7. FrenchGaule“Gaul”
8. EnglishGaul

Borrowed from French Gaule (“Gaul”), from Middle French Gaule (“Gaul”), from Old French Gaule, Waulle (“Gaul”, a term used to translate unrelated Latin Gallia (“Gaul”)), from Frankish *Walha(land) (“Gaul, Land of the Romans, foreigners”), from Proto-West Germanic *walh (“foreigner, Roman, Celt”), from Proto-Germanic *walhaz (“an outlander, foreigner, Celt”), probably of Celtic origin, from the same source as Latin Volcae (name of a Celtic tribe in South Germany, which later emigrated to Gaul). Akin to Old High German Walh, Walah (“a Celt, Roman, Gaul”), Old English wealh (“a non-Germanic foreigner, Celt/Briton/Welshman”), Old Norse Valir (“Gauls, Frenchmen”). More at Wales/Welsh, Cornwall, Walloon, and Vlach/Wallachia. Despite their similar appearance, Latin Gallia is not the origin of French Gaule. During the evolution from Latin to French, stressed initial /ˈɡa-/ yielded /dʒa/ > /ʒa/ (cf. Latin gamba > French jambe), while unstressed final /-lia/ yielded /ʎə/ > /j/ (cf. Latin filia > French fille). Thus, the regular outcome of Latin Gallia is /ʒaj/ ⟨Jaille⟩, which is attested in several French toponyms: La Jaille-Yvon, Saint-Mars-la-Jaille, etc.

More words from French, Middle French, Old French

Gaul · noun

1. LatinGallus
2. Middle EnglishGall
3. EnglishGaul

From Middle English Gall, from Latin Gallus. The change in spelling is due to the influence of the place-name Gaul, which is thought to be etymologically unrelated (see above).

More words from Middle English, Latin