germanic
1 Americanadjective
adjective
-
of or relating to the Teutons or their languages.
-
of, relating to, or noting the Germanic branch of languages.
noun
-
a branch of the Indo-European family of languages including German, Dutch, English, the Scandinavian languages, Afrikaans, Flemish, Frisian, and the extinct Gothic language. Gmc, Gmc.
-
an ancient Indo-European language, the immediate linguistic ancestor of the Germanic languages. Gmc, Gmc.
noun
-
Gmc. a branch of the Indo-European family of languages that includes English, Dutch, German, the Scandinavian languages, and Gothic See East Germanic West Germanic North Germanic
-
the unrecorded language from which all of these languages developed; Proto-Germanic
adjective
-
of, denoting, or relating to this group of languages
-
of, relating to, or characteristic of Germany, the German language, or any people that speaks a Germanic language
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of germanic1
First recorded in 1885–90; german(ium) + -ic
Origin of Germanic2
First recorded in 1625–35; from Latin Germānicus “pertaining to Germany or the Germans”; see origin at German, -ic
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
I caught a whole germanic diet of these creatures from the fragrant flower-cups, and imprisoned them in the box.
From The Campaner Thal and Other Writings by Jean Paul
It looks a little as if the ancient english empirism, so long put out of fashion here by nobler sounding germanic formulas, might be repluming itself and getting ready for a stronger flight than ever.
From A Pluralistic Universe Hibbert Lectures at Manchester College on the Present Situation in Philosophy by James, William
He had been very lucky with his fishing, having caught several germanic, weighing from twenty to forty pounds apiece, and an abundance of other fish.
From The Cruise of the 'Alerte' The narrative of a search for treasure on the desert island of Trinidad by Knight, E. F. (Edward Frederick)
They cremated their dead, spoke the Germanic ancestors of Old English and were pagans.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
"It's a remarkable mixture - a vessel from the southern, classical world containing the remains of a very northern, very Germanic cremation," she said.
From BBC ● May 20, 2025
The day before Germany’s 1937 “degenerate” art exhibit debuted, Hitler opened another art show, also in Munich — an apotheosis of Germanic taste, the “great German art exhibition.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2025
So they replaced it with a Germanic “sun wheel” or a Sig rune.
From Salon ● Dec. 22, 2023
It is wiros, meaning man in Indo-European, taken as weraldh in Germanic and weorold in Old English, emerging, flabbergast- ingly, as “world.”
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
![]()
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.