Celtic

American  

[kel-tik, sel-] / ˈkɛl tɪk, ˈsɛl- /

Also Keltic

noun

• Celtics
  plural

1. a branch of the Indo-European family of languages, including especially Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, and Breton, which survive now in Ireland, the Scottish Highlands, Wales, and Brittany. Celt, Celt.

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adjective

1. of the Celts or their languages.

Celtic British  

/ ˈsɛl-, ˈsɛl-, ˈkɛltɪk, ˈkɛltɪˌsɪzəm /

noun

1. a branch of the Indo-European family of languages that includes Gaelic, Welsh, and Breton, still spoken in parts of Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and Brittany. Modern Celtic is divided into the Brythonic (southern) and Goidelic (northern) groups

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the Celts or the Celtic languages

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Celticism
  noun
• Celticist
  noun
• non-Celtic
  adjective
• pre-Celtic
  adjective
• Celtically
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Celtics
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Celtic

First recorded in 1600–10; from Latin Celticus, equivalent to Celt(ae) “the Celts” + -icus adjective suffix; see origin at Celt, -ic ( def. 1 )

Compare meaning

How does celtic compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Gaelic vs. Celtic

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Celtic Celtics

I really like some of their signings too - Daizen Maeda is a player I know well and is a really good piece of business, coming in from Celtic.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

On Wednesday, Celtic scored more goals from distance than they did from the penalty spot that night.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

In a shoot-out of lamentable quality, Celtic missed three of their five penalties and exited the tournament.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

Spending is something that Celtic have done a lot of over the years.

From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026

Near the dead tree there w'as a slight mound of earth and a leaning Celtic cross cut from plywood.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole

The LA Lakers have 17 NBA titles - 11 of which were won under the ownership of the Buss family - one less than the record tally held by the Boston Celtics.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

The Lakers have won 17 NBA championships, second only to the Boston Celtics.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

The first bizarre shake-up of the offseason came on July 1, when the Boston Celtics shocked the world by trading Jaylen Brown for an oft-injured replacement and a pair of draft picks.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026

Doncic missed games against the Toronto Raptors and Boston Celtics to be present at the birth.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026

A Celtics player—Felix was too disoriented to know which one—ruffled his hair.

From "Millionaires for the Month" by Stacey McAnulty