A cornerstone of Welsh identity and culture is the Welsh language, and the deep-rooted influence of this Celtic language on the everyday speech of people in Wales is evident in the many words and phrases that English has borrowed from it.

Ten more of these Welsh borrowings have just been added to the OED, the oldest of which date all the way back to the 18th century.

Calennig, a noun first attested in 1749, combines the Welsh word calan, meaning New Year’s Day, or first day of the month, with –ig, a Welsh diminutive suffix or a suffix expressing belonging.

Calan itself comes from the post-classical Latin word *calandae, a variant of the classical Latin calendae, which is also the origin of the English word calendar.

Welsh words added to the Oxford English Dictionary
Welsh words added to the Oxford English Dictionary (N/a)

Calennig can simply mean a New Year’s gift, but it can also refer to a Welsh New Year’s custom.

On the morning of New Year’s Day, children go from door to door requesting food, money, or other gifts—and unsurprisingly for Wales, the land of song, these requests are traditionally sung.

Children taking part in this custom typically carry an apple or orange pierced with sticks and decorated with sprigs of herbs or foliage, as well as cloves, nuts, or raisins, so that calennig can also sometimes be used to indicate the decorated apple or orange itself.

Other expressions of Welsh origin in this batch are iechyd da (earliest seen in English in 1907), an exclamation used as a toast or salutation before drinking, and ych a fi (1860), an interjection expressing disgust or disdain.

Twp (1925) is an adjective used to describe someone or something stupid or idiotic.

Senedd (1970) is the name of the Welsh Parliament, the devolved, unicameral legislative assembly of Wales, and also of the building in Cardiff in which the Parliament meets.

Cawl (1880) is a traditional Welsh soup typically made with lamb or beef, and vegetables such as leeks, potatoes, swedes, and carrots, while sglods (1994) is the Welsh English word for chips or French fries.

Also among the OED’s new additions are Welsh terms of address for one’s grandparents. Grandmothers in South Wales are called mamgu (1831), while grandfathers are called tadcu (1876).

In north Wales, grandfathers are addressed as taid (1887)—its female counterpart, nain (1887), was added to the OED in an earlier update.