celtic
celtic — adjective
1. relating to the ancient Celts or to the modern peoples, languages, and cultural
relating to the ancient Celts or to the modern peoples, languages, and cultural traditions that come from them, such as those of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, and Brittany
Priya learned to play several traditional Celtic tunes on her violin for the festival.
collocation: Celtic tunes / Celtic music
The museum's new exhibit explores the history of Celtic art across Europe.
collocation: Celtic art
Kofi's grandmother taught him how to draw the intricate patterns of Celtic knots.
The tour guide pointed out the remains of an ancient Celtic village in the valley.
- gaelic
narrower — Gaelic refers only to the Goidelic branch (Irish, Scots Gaelic, Manx), while Celtic covers all branches including Brythonic (Welsh, Breton, Cornish)
用法筆記
The word is typically capitalised, as it derives from a proper noun (the Celts).
常見錯誤
celtic — noun
1. a group of related languages that developed from the speech of the ancient Celts
a group of related languages that developed from the speech of the ancient Celts, including Welsh, Irish, Scots Gaelic, and Breton, now spoken in parts of Britain, Ireland, and France
Noa is writing a paper comparing the grammar of Celtic with that of Germanic languages.
uncountable noun for language family
Celtic was once spoken across much of central Europe before Latin spread through the region.
The Celtic language family split into two main branches, known as Brythonic and Goidelic.
A dictionary of place names shows that many British river names come from Celtic.
用法筆記
As a noun, Celtic is uncountable and refers to the entire language family, not to any single language within it. For a specific language, use 'Irish', 'Welsh', 'Scots Gaelic', etc.