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germanic

1 American  
[jer-man-ik, -mey-nik] / dʒərˈmæn ɪk, -ˈmeɪ nɪk /

adjective

Chemistry.
  1. of or containing germanium, especially in the tetravalent state.


Germanic 2 American  
[jer-man-ik] / dʒərˈmæn ɪk /

adjective

  1. of or relating to the Teutons or their languages.

  2. German.

  3. of, relating to, or noting the Germanic branch of languages.


noun

  1. 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.

  2. Proto-Germanic.

  3. an ancient Indo-European language, the immediate linguistic ancestor of the Germanic languages. Gmc, Gmc.

Germanic 1 British  
/ dʒɜːˈmænɪk /

noun

  1.  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

  2. the unrecorded language from which all of these languages developed; Proto-Germanic

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

adjective

  1. of, denoting, or relating to this group of languages

  2. of, relating to, or characteristic of Germany, the German language, or any people that speaks a Germanic language

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
germanic 2 British  
/ dʒɜːˈmænɪk /

adjective

  1. of or containing germanium in the tetravalent state

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • Germanically adverb
  • anti-Germanic adjective
  • non-Germanic adjective
  • pre-Germanic adjective
  • pro-Germanic adjective
  • pseudo-Germanic adjective
  • trans-Germanic adjective

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”; 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.

In the humanities division, the cutbacks mean the school is pausing Ph.D. admissions for a year in disciplines like comparative literature, Germanic studies and art history.

From The Wall Street Journal

The question of where to donate the art came next, and Jane said there weren’t many places that came into play when she was looking for institutions with a long-standing commitment to Germanic modernism.

From Los Angeles Times

"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

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

There is a strong connection to the local identity, a mix of French and Germanic culture.

From BBC