Pennsylvania Dutch

American  

noun

1. the descendants of 17th- and 18th-century settlers in Pennsylvania from southwest Germany and Switzerland.

2. Also called Pennsylvania German.  a dialect of High German with an admixture of English spoken mainly in eastern Pennsylvania, developed from the language of these settlers. PaD, PaG

3. the folk style of applied and decorative art developed by the Pennsylvania Dutch.

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Pennsylvania Dutch British  

noun

1. Also called: Pennsylvania German.  a dialect of German spoken in E Pennsylvania

2. (functioning as plural) a group of German-speaking people in E Pennsylvania, descended from 18th-century settlers from SW Germany and Switzerland

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Pennsylvania Dutch Cultural  

1. The German and Swiss settlers of Pennsylvania in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and their descendants. “Dutch” is a version of the German Deutsch, meaning “German.” The Pennsylvania Dutch are known for their tidy farms and their distinctive crafts and customs. A considerable number of them belong to strict religious denominations, such as the Amish.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Pennsylvania-Dutch
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of Pennsylvania Dutch

First recorded in 1815–25

Example Sentences

Growing up in a Pennsylvania-Dutch family, store-bought was not part of our vocabulary when it came to cooking and baking.

From Slate • Feb. 16, 2019

Ten smart Esso stations, finished Pennsylvania-Dutch fashion in native wood and stone, specialize in restroom toilet seats sterilized by ultraviolet ray after every use.

From Time Magazine Archive

Rivals of HotchKiss, the Hill School boys arrived last week in Pottstown, Pennsylvania-Dutch town, where the phrase "the coffee is all" means "there is no more coffee."

From Time Magazine Archive

Dorothea Fisher, Pennsylvania-Dutch soprano from Allentown, Pa. The musical reporters bustled away to tap out the ideas that had come to them while they listened to the Manager Gatti's rolling syllables.

From Time Magazine Archive