West Germanic

noun

1. a subbranch of Germanic that includes English, Frisian, Flemish, Dutch, Plattdeutsch, Yiddish, and German. WGmc, W. Gmc.

adjective

1. of or relating to this subbranch of Germanic.

West Germanic

noun

1. a subbranch of the Germanic languages that consists of English, Frisian, Dutch, Flemish, Afrikaans, Low German, German, Yiddish, and their associated dialects

Word History and Origins

Origin of West Germanic¹

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

To translate her into English is to excavate linguistic strata: Panska reads like a Japonic parody of Nordic syntax translated into a West Germanic language.

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“Same arrogance of centuries past that did down native Celtic languages for the Germanic import,” he wrote, referring to the English language’s West Germanic roots.

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Together with English and Frisian, the German language forms part of the West Germanic group of languages.

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A few Latin appellatives learned from the Romans in the German wars had been adopted into the common West Germanic tongue, and are found in English as in the allied dialects.

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These, with High German, constitute the 'West Germanic' branch, as Gothic and the Scandinavian tongues constitute the 'East Germanic' branch, of the Teutonic family.

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