celt

[ selt ]

/ sɛlt /

noun Archaeology.

an ax of stone or metal without perforations or grooves, for hafting.

Nearby words

Origin of celt

1705–15; < Late Latin *celtis chisel, found only in the ablative case celte (Vulgate, Job XIX, 24)

Definition for celt (2 of 3)

Celt

[ kelt, selt ]

/ kɛlt, sɛlt /

noun

a member of an Indo-European people now represented chiefly by the Irish, Gaels, Welsh, and Bretons.

Also Kelt.

Origin of Celt

1695–1705; < Latin Celtae (plural); in Greek Keltoí (plural)

Definition for celt (3 of 3)

Celt.

or Celt

abbreviation

Celtic.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for celt

The light-heartedness of the Celt is another feature which strikes the least observant stranger.
The Reminiscences of an Irish Land Agent|S.M. Hussey
The name given to the short dark man is usually Iberian; the name given to the tall fair man who followed him is Celt.
A Short History of Wales|Owen M. Edwards
But the Teuton left little impression on the alien culture, while Achæan and Celt leavened the whole mass.
The New Stone Age in Northern Europe|John M. Tyler
Nor from the Teutons, from whose deities those of the Celt equally differ.
Harold, Complete|Edward Bulwer-Lytton

I heard the wild wailing cry with which the Celt mourns for his dead, and glanced impulsively to the window.
An Illustrated History of Ireland from AD 400 to 1800|Mary Frances Cusack

British Dictionary definitions for celt (1 of 2)

celt

/ (sɛlt) /

noun

archaeol a stone or metal axelike instrument with a bevelled edge

Word Origin for celt

C18: from Late Latin celtes chisel, of obscure origin

British Dictionary definitions for celt (2 of 2)

Celt

Kelt

/ (kɛlt, sɛlt) /

noun

a person who speaks a Celtic language

a member of an Indo-European people who in pre-Roman times inhabited Britain, Gaul, Spain, and other parts of W and central Europe

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for celt (1 of 2)

celt

"stone chisel," 1715, from a Latin ghost word (apparently a misprint of certe) in Job xix:24 in Vulgate: "stylo ferreo, et plumbi lamina, vel celte sculpantur in silice;" translated, probably correctly, in KJV as, "That they were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock for ever." But assumed by others to be a genuine carving tool, partly because it was in the Bible, and thereafter adapted by archaeologists as a name for a class of prehistoric implements.

Word Origin and History for celt (1 of 2)

Celt

also Kelt, c.1600, from Latin Celta, singular of Celtae, from Greek Keltoi, Herodotus' word for the Gauls (who also were called Galatai). Used by the Romans of continental Gauls but apparently not of the British Celtic tribes. Originally in English in reference to ancient peoples; extention to their modern descendants is from mid-19c., from French usage.