Low German

American  

noun

1. the West Germanic languages not included in the High German group, as English, Dutch, Flemish, or Plattdeutsch. LG, L.G.

2. Plattdeutsch.

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Low German British  

noun

1. Also called: Plattdeutsch.   LG.  a language of N Germany, spoken esp in rural areas: more closely related to Dutch than to standard High German See also German High German

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Etymology

Origin of Low German

First recorded in 1835–45

Compare meaning

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

• High German vs. Low German

Example Sentences

The population is Low-German and Roman Catholic; the language of the educated, French.

From The Nuttall Encyclopædia Being a Concise and Comprehensive Dictionary of General Knowledge by Nuttall, P. Austin

Low-German, however, is not to be mistaken for vulgar German.

From Chips From A German Workshop. Vol. III. Essays on Literature, Biography, and Antiquities by Müller, F. Max (Friedrich Max)

The Low-German comprehends many dialects in the north or the lowlands of Germany; but in Germany proper they are hardly ever used for literary purposes.

From Lectures on The Science of Language by Müller, Max

The Germans of Schleswig-Holstein are Saxons, and all true Saxons speak Low-German, and Low-German is more different from High-German than English is from Lowland Scotch.

From Chips From A German Workshop. Vol. III. Essays on Literature, Biography, and Antiquities by Müller, F. Max (Friedrich Max)

Why should these few thousand people not have surrendered long ago this ‘useless remnant of an unschooled dialect,’ considering they learn at the same time Low and High German, or Low-German and Danish?

From Chips From A German Workshop. Vol. III. Essays on Literature, Biography, and Antiquities by Müller, F. Max (Friedrich Max)