Frisian

American  

[frizh-uhn, free-zhuhn] / ˈfrɪʒ ən, ˈfri ʒən /

adjective

1. of or relating to Friesland, its inhabitants, or their language.

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noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Friesland or the Frisian Islands.

2. the Germanic language most closely related to English, spoken in Friesland and nearby islands. Fris., Fris

3. Chiefly British.

   1. Friesland.

   2. Holstein.

Frisian British  

/ ˈfrɪʒən /

noun

1. a language spoken in the NW Netherlands, parts of N Germany, and adjacent islands, belonging to the West Germanic branch of the Indo-European family: the nearest relative of the English language; it has three main dialects

2. a native or inhabitant of Friesland or a speaker of the Frisian language

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adjective

1. 1. of or relating to the Frisian language or its speakers

   2. of or relating to Friesland or its peoples and culture

Etymology

Origin of Frisian

1590–1600; < Latin Frisi ( ī ) the people of a Germanic tribe + -an

Example Sentences

It will also allow the use of traditional patronymic and matronymic names used by the Frisian minority, which entail children’s surnames being based on their father’s or mother’s first name.

From Seattle Times • May 17, 2024

There is even a musical, launched in October in a specially built theatre in the Frisian capital, which has the Elfstedentocht as its central theme.

From BBC • Jan. 22, 2024

That competition aimed to find new pop music in West Frisian, a language spoken by about 450,000 people in the north of the Netherlands.

From New York Times • May 14, 2022

One side of the bridge has the words “It Sil Heve” — Frisian for “It Will Happen.”

From Washington Post • Mar. 7, 2019

By threes and fours our class was scattered over the platoons amongst Frisian fishermen, peasants, and labourers with whom we soon made friends.

From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque