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

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

From The Gypsies by Leland, Charles Godfrey

I have always supposed that the tinkers’ language spoken of by Shakespeare was Romany; but I now incline to think it may have been Shelta.

From The Gypsies 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

This is the history of many such lingoes; but unfortunately Owen’s opinion, even if it be legendary, will not prove that the Painted People spoke the Shelta tongue. 

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