Shelta

American  

[shel-tuh] / ˈʃɛl tə /

noun

1. a private language, based in part on Irish, used among Travelers in the British Isles.

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Shelta British  

/ ˈʃɛltə /

noun

1. a secret language used by some itinerant tinkers in Ireland and parts of Britain, based on systematically altered Gaelic

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Etymology

Origin of Shelta

First recorded in 1875–80; origin uncertain

Example Sentences

Shelta is perhaps the last Old British dialect as yet existing which has thus far remained undiscovered. 

From The Gypsies by Leland, Charles Godfrey

He also knew others, such as Romany, of which he was proud, and the Shelta or Minklas of the tinkers, of which he was not. 

From The Gypsies by Leland, Charles Godfrey

Our informant could give only a single specimen of the Shelta literature. 

From The Gypsies by Leland, Charles Godfrey

In after years I discovered an Ogham inscription and the famed Ogham tongue, or Shelta, “the lost language of the bards,” according to Kuno Meyer and John Sampson.

From Memoirs by Leland, Charles Godfrey

Mr. Simson, had he known the “Tinklers” better, would have found that not Romany, but Shelta, was the really secret language which they employed, although Romany is also more or less familiar to them all. 

From The Gypsies by Leland, Charles Godfrey