belesch

Cimbrian

Alternative forms

• bèllos, belisch

Etymology

From Middle High German welisc, from Old High German walask, from Proto-Germanic *walhiskaz (“foreign; non-Germanic”). Cognate with Mòcheno balsch (“Italian”), German welsch (“concerning Romance-speaking areas of Switzerland”), Yiddish וועליש (velish, “Vellish (typeface for printed Hebrew)”), Dutch Waals (“Walloon”), English Welsh, French gaulois (“Gaulish”), Old Norse valskr (“Celtic; Roman”), also English Wallachia (“principality in southern Romania”), Latin Volcae (“a Gallic tribal confederation”).

Noun

belesch n

1. (Luserna) Italian (language)

   Dar Giulio redet belesch un azpe biar. ― Julius speaks Italian and Cimbrian.

Further reading

• Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien