Gaul

Meanings

Proper Noun

• A historical region roughly corresponding to modern France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switzerland, and parts of Northern Italy (Lombardy), the Netherlands, and Germany west of the Rhine.

Noun

• A person from Gaul.

Origin

• , from Frankish *Walhaland ("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. Akin to Old High German Walh, Walah, Old English Wealh, Walh, 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; the similarity is coincidental. 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.