Sassenach

[sas-uh-nuhkh, -nak]

noun

Often Disparaging.

1. a term used by the Gaelic inhabitants of the British Isles to refer to the English inhabitants.

Sassenach

/ ˈsæsəˌnæk, -næx /

noun

1. an English person or a Lowland Scot

Word History and Origins

Origin of Sassenach¹

1765–75; < Scots Gaelic Sasunnach, Irish Sasanach English, English person, Protestant, Middle Irish Saxanach, derivative of Saxain, Sagsuin, Sachsain the Saxons, England ≪ Late Latin Saxonēs; Saxon

Word History and Origins

Origin of Sassenach¹

C18: from Scot Gaelic Sasunnach, Irish Sasanach, from Late Latin saxonēs Saxons

Example Sentences

You also have a whisky called Sassenach, the name of which will be familiar to “Outlander” fans.

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Had they come, with typical Sassenach cunning, so as to take King Lot in the rear?

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Its institutions, from Parliament to its diplomatic corps and the BBC, remain dominated by Sassenachs.

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The less polite muttered under their breath about the “bloody Sassenachs.”

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But Scottish nationalism also has deep emotional roots. The vote marks the culmination of decades—nay, centuries—of campaigning for independence by Scots who dislike being ruled by the Sassenachs.

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