Walhaz

200px|thumb|Brass replica of the Tjurkö bracteates|Tjurkö bracteate showing the word ᚹᚨᛚᚺᚨᚲᚢᚱᚾᛖ walhakurne ('Roman grain', i.e. gold coin) 200px|thumb|Map of Walhaz-derived exonym variants for Romance speakers '*Walhaz''''' is a reconstructed Proto-Germanic word meaning 'foreigner', or more specifically 'Roman', 'Romance-speaker' or '(romanised) Celt', and survives in the English words of 'Wales/Welsh' and 'Cornwall'. The term was used by the ancient Germanic peoples to describe inhabitants of the former Roman Empire, who were largely romanised and spoke Latin languages ( in Old Norse). The adjectival form is attested in Old Norse '''', meaning 'French'; Old High German '''', meaning 'Romance'; New High German ', used in Switzerland and South Tyrol (Walisch) for Romance speakers; Dutch ' 'Walloon'; Old English ', ', '''', meaning 'Brythonic'. The forms of these words imply that they are descended from a Proto-Germanic form *walhiska-.

==From *Walhaz to welsch== is a loanword derived from the name of the Celtic tribe which was known to the Romans as Volcae (in the writings of Julius Caesar) and to the Greeks as (Strabo and Ptolemy). The Volcae tribe occupied territory neighbouring that of the Germanic people and seem to have been referred to by the proto-Germanic name (plural , adjectival form ). It is assumed that this term specifically referred to the Volcae, because application of Grimm's law to that word produces the form . Subsequently, this term was applied rather indiscriminately to the southern neighbours of the Germanic people, as evidenced in geographic names such as Walchgau and Walchensee in Bavaria or Walensee in Switzerland. Place names containing the element *walhaz denote communities or enclaves in the Germanic-speaking world where Romance was spoken.