Walnut Means Foreign Nut
A walnut is the nut of a tree in the genus Juglans. The name means foreign nut, from the same Old English word that gave us Wales.
A walnut is a wrinkled edible nut, and the tree that bears it. The name is a piece of Anglo-Saxon geography: Old English *wealh* meant foreign, specifically Celtic or Roman, so *wealhhnutu* was the foreign nut, brought from the continent rather than gathered in English woods. The same *wealh* gives us *Wales* and *Welsh* — names the Anglo-Saxons applied to the people already living there.
- The nut. *A bowl of walnuts.*
- The wood. *A walnut table.*
- Walnut oil — pressed from the nut. *Walnut oil in the dressing.*
- Walnut whip — a British confection. *A walnut whip.*
- Wealh — the Old English word for foreign. *The root of Wales.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | walnut | A shelled walnut. |
| Plural | walnuts | Chopped walnuts. |
| Adjective | walnut | Walnut veneer. |
| Old English | wealh | Foreign. |
| Related | Wales | The country. |
- The dresser is solid walnut.Timber.
- Walnuts ripen in early autumn.The crop.
- Wealh meant foreign, and gave both walnut and Wales.Etymology.
Other words from wealh
- Wales and Welsh — names given by outsiders, not by the people themselves
- Walnut — the foreign nut
- Cornwall — contains the same element
- Wallonia — in Belgium, from a related Germanic use
- The pattern appears across Europe wherever Germanic speakers met Celtic or Roman ones
Old English *walhhnutu*, foreign nut, from *wealh*, foreign, and *hnutu*, nut. The tree is native to south-east Europe and Asia, not to Britain.
Why is a walnut called foreign?
Because it came from abroad. English already had hazelnuts and acorns; the walnut arrived from the continent and was named accordingly.
Are Wales and walnut related?
Yes. Both contain the Old English word wealh, meaning foreign or Celtic.