What does gaelic mean

Need even more definitions? Just between us: it's complicated. Ask the Editors 'Everyday' vs. What Is 'Semantic Bleaching'? How 'literally' can mean "figuratively". Literally How to use a word that literally drives some pe Is Singular 'They' a Better Choice? The awkward case of 'his or her'. Sign up now or Log in. Definitions Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English. Click on the arrows to change the translation direction. Follow us. Choose a dictionary.

Clear explanations of natural written and spoken English. Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English. Grammar Thesaurus. Word Lists. Choose your language. My word lists. Tell us about this example sentence:. The word in the example sentence does not match the entry word. The sentence contains offensive content. Cancel Submit. However, both countries have seen recent revivals of their native tongues.

While Irish is recognized as an official language by the European Union , Gaelic is not, as it is classified as an Indigenous Language. Roughly The Gaelic and Irish languages are both rooted in Ogham, an ancient Irish alphabet that evolved into early and later Middle Irish, which spread across the island of Ireland and into the northern and western parts of Scotland via trade and farming practices.

After Gaelic moved from Ireland to Scotland, two distinct languages began to develop independently of one another. Irish is a recognized indigenous language, with ancient roots that evolved into the preferred literary language of Ireland between the 13 th and 18 th centuries.

The Tudors were the first British rulers to attempt to diminish the impact of Irish by restricting legal and administrative proceedings to English, though later English monarchs fluctuated between encouraging and discouraging its use. For centuries, Irish remained the common language of the people. It was ultimately the introduction of a national education system in the s in Ireland by the British government that prohibited Irish to be spoken in schools, leaving poor, uneducated Irish people as the primary speakers of the language.

The Great Famine in the s had the most devastating effect on poor communities and, by association, the Irish language. Though Irish experienced a dramatic decline during the 19 th century, it was considered a source of Irish national pride, particularly during the independence movement in the early 20 th century.

Irish was listed as an official language in both the and the constitutions. Gaelic was brought to Scotland from the Kingdom of Dalriada in Northern Ireland around the 1 st century, though it was not a politically prominent language until the 9 th century, when Kenneth MacAlpin, a Gaelic king, united the Picts and the Scots.

By the 11 th century, Gaelic was the most commonly spoken language in most of Scotland. Though the Norman invasion of the British Isles during the 11 th and 12 th centuries had little impact on Irish, it effectively isolated Gaelic speakers to the northern and western parts of Scotland.

In fact, Gaelic was never traditionally spoken in the southern areas of Scotland, including Edinburgh. Word in Definition. Princeton's WordNet 0. Wiktionary 0. Gaelic noun Goidelic; any Goidelic language.

Gaelic noun Scottish Gaelic. Webster Dictionary 0. It is a branch of the Celtic Etymology: [Gael. Etymology and Origins 0. How to pronounce Gaelic? Alex US English. David US English. Mark US English. Daniel British.