Shel·ta (sh l t )n. A secret jargon used by traditionally itinerant people in Great Britain and Ireland, based on systematic inversion or alteration of the initial consonants of Gaelic words. Also called Cant, Gammon. [From Shelta Sheldr  , perhaps alteration of Irish Gaelic béarla, language, English, from Old Irish bélrae, language, from bél, mouth.] |
Shelta [ˈʃɛltə]
n
(Linguistics / Languages) a secret language used by some itinerant tinkers in Ireland and parts of Britain, based on systematically altered Gaelic
[from earlier sheldrū, perhaps an arbitrary alteration of Old Irish bēlre speech]
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