Anglo-Saxon

American  

[ang-gloh-sak-suhn] / ˈæŋ gloʊˈsæk sən /

noun

1. an English person of the period before the Norman Conquest.

2. Old English.

3. the original Germanic element in the English language.

4. plain and simple English, especially language that is blunt, monosyllabic, and often rude or vulgar.

5. a person whose native language is English.

6. a person of English descent.

7. (in the U.S.) a person of colonial descent or British origin.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the Anglo-Saxons.

2. of or relating to Anglo-Saxon.

3. English-speaking; British or American.

4. (of words, speech, or writing) blunt, monosyllabic, and often vulgar.

Anglo-Saxon British  

noun

1. a member of any of the West Germanic tribes (Angles, Saxons, and Jutes) that settled in Britain from the 5th century _ad and were dominant until the Norman conquest

2. the language of these tribes See Old English

3. any White person whose native language is English and whose cultural affiliations are those common to Britain and the US

4. informal plain blunt English, esp English containing taboo words

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adjective

1. forming part of the Germanic element in Modern English

   ``forget'' is an Anglo-Saxon word

2. of or relating to the Anglo-Saxons or the Old English language

3. of or relating to the White Protestant culture of Britain, Australia, and the US

4. informal (of English speech or writing) plain and blunt

5. of or relating to Britain and the US, esp their common legal, political, and commercial cultures, as compared to continental Europe

Etymology

Origin of Anglo-Saxon

1605–15; based on New Latin, Medieval Latin Anglo-Saxōnēs, Anglī Saxōnēs (plural); from 10th cent., collective name for WGmc-speaking people of Britain (compare Old English Angulseaxan ); Angle, Saxon

Example Sentences

Thought to be made from a cattle femur, this decorated Anglo-Saxon spindle whorl, used to provide weight while spinning yarn, was unearthed from farmland near Bishopstone, Buckinghamshire.

From BBC

When the Romans left, Anglo-Saxon place names replaced Celtic ones, but geneticists estimate that in the parts of England closest to Germany, only about 10% of the population were Anglo-Saxon.

From The Wall Street Journal

French museums will in exchange be loaned ancient treasures mainly from the Anglo-Saxon Sutton Hoo site, one of England's most important archaeological locations.

From Barron's

In exchange, British treasures including artefacts from Anglo-Saxon burial mounds at Sutton Hoo and 12th Century Lewis chess pieces are being loaned to museums in Normandy.

From BBC

The barrow was among 11 Anglo-Saxon burial mounds dating to the 6th to 7th Centuries.

From BBC