West Germanic

American  

noun

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

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adjective

1. of or relating to this subbranch of Germanic.

West Germanic British  

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of West Germanic

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

In the Roman West, Germanic peoples became both allies and enemies of the Roman state.

From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023

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.

From New York Times • Mar. 1, 2022

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

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 7 "Geoponici" to "Germany" by Various

The spearhead was Lombard, and Lombard, dire reflection to one who had gained fame by maintaining the contrary, belonged to the West Germanic group of the Teutonic tongues.

From The Collectors by Mather, Frank Jewett

He dismissed the observation, however, as unworthy a philologer and went to sleep pondering a new destruction for the knaves who held the Lombard tongue to be not East but West Germanic.

From The Collectors by Mather, Frank Jewett