Celtic

How to spell celtic

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce celtic

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does celtic mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to the Celts, their languages, or their cultures, including the Irish, Welsh, Scottish, Breton, and Cornish.

Celtic in a sentence

• The museum devoted a whole wing to ancient celtic jewellery and metalwork.

• She enrolled in a course on celtic languages to trace her Irish ancestry.

Where does celtic come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word comes from the Latin Celticus, meaning 'relating to the Celts', which was built on Celtae, the Roman name for the peoples living across much of ancient Gaul and central Europe. The Romans in turn borrowed the term from the Greek Keltoi, the name Greek writers used for these northern tribes, though its ultimate root is uncertain and may go back to a native word meaning something like 'the hidden ones' or 'the tall ones'. English adopted the form in the 1600s, mainly as a scholarly label for the languages and cultures of the Welsh, Irish, Scots, Bretons, and Cornish. The spelling keeps the classical 'c' from celt-, and that single letter is the trap, since the word is most often pronounced with a hard 'k' sound that tempts some writers toward a 'k'. Its close relative is the noun Celt itself, and the name of the football club Celtic preserves an older soft 's' pronunciation of the same spelling.

How the word is built

• celt- (from Latin Celtae, the Celts)
• -ic (adjective suffix: relating to)