High German

American  

noun

1. the group of West Germanic languages that in a.d. c400–c500 underwent the second consonant shift described by Grimm's law. HG, H.G.

2. German.

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High German British  

noun

1.  HG.  the standard German language, historically developed from the form of West Germanic spoken in S Germany See also German Low German

2. any of the German dialects of S Germany, Austria, or Switzerland

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Etymology

Origin of High German

First recorded in 1700–10

Compare meaning

How does high-german compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• High German vs. Low German

Example Sentences

In Old Dutch there was "fader"; in Old Icelandic we find "faðir"; in Old High German, a precursor to modern German, it was "fater" – now "vater"; and, finally, in Old Danish, "fathær."

From Salon • Jun. 18, 2022

She noted that while places like German Switzerland also practice diglossia, the use of two languages, the difference is that both Swiss German and High German are living, spoken languages.

From The New Yorker • Apr. 10, 2017

Delve a little deeper and you also find the German term for “decoration,” from the Middle High German “smucken,” meaning “to press into.”

From New York Times • May 3, 2010

U.S. university presses usually mosey along about their useful, traditional business, publishing scholarly biographies, monographs on the pterodactyl or .the mud turtle, studies in the. syntax of Middle English or Middle High German prose.

From Time Magazine Archive

It would seem as if our settlements were made, at least in part, by a people who if not High German, had at any rate considerable High German affinities.

From Surnames as a Science by Ferguson, Robert