Gaule

Meaning

Gaul (a historical region of Western Europe referring to areas occupied by Celts during Roman times, roughly corresponding to modern France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switzerland, and parts of Northern Italy (Lombardy), the Netherlands, and Germany west of the Rhine)

Concepts

Gaul

frog

🐸

Gallia

Galia

Synonyms

gaulois

grenouille

🐸

Translations

Galia

Gallië

Gallien

Gallia

Gàl·lia

Gallia

Gália

Galya

Γαλατία

Gàllia

Galya

Galliër

gallo

🐓

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɡol/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle French: Gaule

Inherited from Old French: Gaule

Cognate with Old High German: Walh

Cognate with Old English: wealh

Cognate with Old Norse: Valir

Cognate with Latin: Gallia

In summary

Inherited from Middle French Gaule, from Old French Gaule, Waulle (“Gaul”), from Frankish *Walhaland (“Gaul”, literally “land of the Romans or foreigners”).
Cognate with Old High German Walh, Walah (“Celt, Roman, Gaul”), Old English wealh, walh (“a non-germanic foreigner, Celt”), Old Norse Valir (“Gauls, Frenchmen”). More at Wales, Cornwall, Walloon.
Despite their similar appearance, Latin Gallia is not the origin of French Gaule. 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.