Walloon - Etymology, Origin & Meaning of the Name (original) (raw)

Origin and history of Walloon

Walloon(adj.)

1520s, in reference to a people of what is now southern and southeastern Belgium, also of their language, from French Wallon, literally "foreigner," a word of Germanic origin (compare Old High German walh "foreigner"), perhaps via Frankish.

The people are of Gaulish origin, descendants of the ancient Belgae, and speak a French dialect. The name is a form of the common appellation of Germanic peoples to Romanic-speaking neighbors. Compare Vlach, Wallach, also walnut and Welsh. As a noun from 1560s; as a language name from 1640s. In colonial New York, one of the Huguenot settlers from Artois in northeastern France.

Entries linking to Walloon

"member of a Latin-speaking race of the Balkans, a Walachian or Rumanian," 1841, from Bulgarian vlakh or Serbian vlah, from Old Church Slavonic vlakhu, a Slavic adoptation of Germanic *walh (source of Old English wealh) "foreigner," especially applied to Celts and Latins (compare Welsh).

also Walach, one of a Rumanian people, 1786, from German Wallache, from Old Church Slavonic Vlachu, from Old High German wahl "foreigner, one speaking a foreign language," a name applied by ancient Germanic peoples on one side to their Slavic neighbors and on the other to the Celts of Britain (see Vlach and compare Welsh). Related: Wallachia, former Danubian principality; Wallachian.

• walnut
• Welsh
• See All Related Words (4)

More to explore

[c. 1200, frensh, frenche, "pertaining to France or the French," from Old English frencisc "French," originally "of the Franks," from franca, the people name (see Frank). A similar contraction of -ish is in Dutch, Scotch, Welsh, suggesting the habit applies to the names of only th](/word/French "c. 1200, frensh, frenche, "pertaining to France or the French," from Old English frencisc "French," originally "of the Franks," from franca, the people name (see Frank). A similar contraction of -ish is in Dutch, Scotch, Welsh, suggesting the habit applies to the names of only th")

[early 15c., "a prompting" (a sense now obsolete), from Old French instinct (14c.) or directly from Latin instinctus "instigation, impulse, inspiration," noun use of past participle of instinguere "to incite, impel," from in- "into, in, on, upon" (from PIE root *en "in") + stingue](/word/instinct "early 15c., "a prompting" (a sense now obsolete), from Old French instinct (14c.) or directly from Latin instinctus "instigation, impulse, inspiration," noun use of past participle of instinguere "to incite, impel," from in- "into, in, on, upon" (from PIE root *en "in") + stingue")

Share Walloon

Dictionary entries near Walloon