Editing Celts (section)

===Modern===
For at least 1,000 years, the ethnonym ''Celt'' was not used at all. No ethnic group called themselves Celts or Celtic until about 1700. After the word 'Celtic' was rediscovered in classical texts, it was applied for the first time to the distinctive culture, history, traditions, and language of the modern Celtic nations – Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, Brittany, and the Isle of Man.<ref>[https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/uk/who-were-the-celts-it-s-complicated-1.2410501 Who were the Celts? It's complicated] {{Webarchive|url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230417195847/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/uk/who-were-the-celts-it-s-complicated-1.2410501 |date=17 April 2023 }}, ''Irish Times'', Denis Staunton, 20 October 2015, accessed 17 April 2023.</ref> 'Celt' is a modern English word, first attested in 1707 in the writing of [[Edward Lhuyd]], whose work, along with that of other late 17th-century scholars, brought academic attention to the languages and history of the early Celtic inhabitants of Great Britain.<ref>Lhuyd, E. ''Archaeologia Britannica; An account of the languages, histories, and customs of the original inhabitants of Great Britain.'' (reprint ed.) Irish University Press, 1971, p. 290. {{ISBN|0-7165-0031-0}}.</ref> The English words ''Gaul'', ''Gauls'' ({{abbr|pl.|plural}}) and ''Gaulish'' (first recorded in the 16–17th centuries) come from French {{lang|fr|Gaule}} and {{lang|fr|Gaulois}}, a borrowing from [[Frankish language|Frankish]] *{{lang|frk|Walholant}}, 'Roman-land' {{crossref|(see [[Gaul#Name|Gaul: Name]])}}, the root of which is [[Proto-Germanic language|Proto-Germanic]] {{lang|gem-x-proto|[[walhaz|walha-]]}}, 'foreigner, Roman, Celt', whence the English word ''Welsh'' ([[Old English]] {{lang|ang|wælisċ}}). Proto-Germanic {{lang|gem-x-proto|walha}} comes from the name of the [[Volcae]],<ref>{{cite book |last=Koch |first=John T. |title=Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia |url= https://archive.org/details/celticculturehis00koch_128 |url-access=limited |date=2006 |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |isbn=978-1-85109-440-0 |page=[https://archive.org/details/celticculturehis00koch_128/page/n567 532]}}</ref> a Celtic tribe who lived first in southern Germany and central Europe, then migrated to Gaul.<ref>{{cite book |last=Mountain |first=Harry |title=The Celtic Encyclopedia |volume=1 |date=1998 |publisher=[[uPublish.com|uPublish]] |isbn=978-1-58112-889-5 |page=252}}</ref> This means that English ''Gaul'', despite its superficial similarity, is not actually derived from Latin {{lang|la|Gallia}} (which should have produced *{{lang|fr|Jaille}} in French),{{citation needed|date=April 2022}} though it does refer to the same ancient region.

''Celtic'' refers to a [[language family]] and, more generally, means 'of the Celts' or 'in the style of the Celts'. Several archaeological cultures are considered Celtic, based on unique sets of artefacts. The link between language and artefact is aided by the presence of inscriptions.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kruta |first=Venceslas |title=The Celts |date=1991 |publisher=[[Thames & Hudson]] |pages=95–102 |display-authors=etal}}</ref> The modern idea of a Celtic [[culture|cultural]] identity or "Celticity" focuses on similarities among languages, works of art, and classical texts,<ref>Paul Graves-Brown, Siân Jones, Clive Gamble, {{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=9BsG0pXp61sC&pg=PA242 |title=Cultural Identity and Archaeology: The Construction of European Communities |pages=242–244 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=978-0-415-10676-4 |date=1996}}</ref> and sometimes also among material artefacts, [[social organisation]], [[homeland]] and [[Celtic mythology|mythology]].<ref>Carl McColman, {{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=71oefF7-73MC&q=%22Celticity%22&pg=PA32 |title=The Complete Idiot's Guide to Celtic Wisdom |pages=31–34 |publisher=[[Alpha Books]] |access-date=7 June 2010 |isbn=978-0-02-864417-2 |date=2003}}</ref> Earlier theories held that these similarities suggest a common "racial" ([[Race (human categorization)|race]] is now a contested concept) origin for the various Celtic peoples, but more recent theories hold that they reflect a common cultural and linguistic heritage more than a genetic one. Celtic cultures seem to have been diverse, with the use of a Celtic language being the main thing they had in common.<ref name="Koch encyclopedia" />

Today, the term 'Celtic' generally refers to the languages and cultures of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, [[Cornwall]], the [[Isle of Man]], and [[Brittany]]; also called the [[Celtic nations]]. These are the regions where Celtic languages are still spoken to some extent. The four are [[Irish language|Irish]], [[Scottish Gaelic]], [[Welsh language|Welsh]], and [[Breton language|Breton]]; plus two recent revivals, [[Cornish language|Cornish]] (a [[Brittonic languages|Brittonic language]]) and [[Manx language|Manx]] (a [[Goidelic languages|Goidelic language]]). There are also attempts to reconstruct [[Cumbric]], a Brittonic language of northern Britain. Celtic regions of mainland Europe are those whose residents claim a Celtic heritage, but where no Celtic language survives; these include western Iberia, i.e. [[Portugal]] and north-central [[Spain]] ([[Galicia (Spain)|Galicia]], [[Asturias]], [[Cantabria]], [[Castile and León]], [[Extremadura]]).<ref>{{cite book |last=Monaghan |first=Patricia |title=The Encyclopedia of Celtic Mythology and Folklore |date=2008 |publisher=[[Facts on File Inc.]] |isbn=978-0-8160-7556-0}}</ref>

Continental Celts are the Celtic-speaking people of mainland Europe and Insular Celts are the Celtic-speaking people of the British and Irish islands, and their descendants. The Celts of Brittany derive their language from migrating Insular Celts from Britain and so are grouped accordingly.<ref>{{cite book |last=Chadwick |first=Nora |title=The Celts with an introductory chapter by J.X.W.P. Corcoran |date=1970 |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |page=81}}</ref>