GERMAN

German

(adjective) of or pertaining to or characteristic of Germany or its people or language; “German philosophers”; “German universities”; “German literature”

German, High German, German language

(noun) the standard German language; developed historically from West Germanic

German

(noun) a person of German nationality

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

German (countable and uncountable, plural Germans)

(countable) A native or inhabitant of Germany; a person of German citizenship or nationality.

A member of the Germanic ethnic group which is the most populous ethnic group in Germany; a person of German descent.

(historical) A member of a Germanic tribe.

Synonym: Teuton

A German wine.

(uncountable, US printing, rare, dated) A size of type between American and Saxon, 1-1/2-point type.

Synonyms

• (member of the German ethnic group): Boche, Fritz, Hun, Jerry, Kraut (slang)

Hypernyms

• European

Proper noun

German

(uncountable) An Indo-European (Indo-Germanic) language, primarily spoken in Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, South Tyrol, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and a small part of Belgium.

Synonym: High German

A surname.

Adjective

German (comparative more German, superlative most German or Germanest)

Of or relating to the nation of Germany.

Of or relating to the natives or inhabitants of Germany; to people of German descent.

Of, in or relating to the German language.

Synonyms

• Teutonic

Anagrams

• Engram, Magner, Manger, engram, manger, ragmen

Etymology 1

Adjective

german (comparative more german, superlative most german)

(obsolete except in set terms) Having the same mother and father; a full (brother or sister).

(obsolete except in set terms) Being born to one’s blood aunt or uncle, a first (cousin).

(obsolete) Closely related, akin.

Noun

german (plural germans)

(obsolete) A near relative.

Etymology 2

Noun

german (plural germans)

An elaborate round dance, often with a waltz movement.

A social party at which the german is danced.

Anagrams

• Engram, Magner, Manger, engram, manger, ragmen

Source: Wiktionary


Ger"man, a. Etym: [OE. german, germain, F. germain, fr. L. germanus full, own (said of brothers and sisters who have the same parents); akin to germen germ. Cf. Germ, Germane.]

Definition: Nearly related; closely akin. Wert thou a leopard, thou wert german to the lion. Shak. Brother german. See Brother german.

– Cousins german. See the Note under Cousin.

Ger"man, n.; pl. Germans Etym: [L. Germanus, prob. of Celtis origin.]

1. A native or one of the people of Germany.

2. The German language.

3. (a) A round dance, often with a waltz movement, abounding in capriciosly involved figures. (b) A social party at which the german is danced. High German, the Teutonic dialect of Upper or Southern Germany, -- comprising Old High German, used from the 8th to the 11th century; Middle H. G., from the 12th to the 15th century; and Modern or New H. G., the language of Luther's Bible version and of modern German literature. The dialects of Central Germany, the basis of the modern literary language, are often called Middle German, and the Southern German dialects Upper German; but High German is also used to cover both groups.

– Low German, the language of Northern Germany and the Netherlands,

– including Friesic; Anglo-Saxon or Saxon; Old Saxon; Dutch or Low Dutch, with its dialect, Flemish; and Plattdeutsch (called also Low German), spoken in many dialects.

Ger"man, a. Etym: [L. Germanus. See German, n.]

Definition: Of or pertaining to Germany. German Baptists. See Dunker.

– German bit, a wood-boring tool, having a long elliptical pod and a scew point.

– German carp (Zoöl.), the crucian carp.

– German millet (Bot.), a kind of millet (Setaria Italica, var.), whose seed is sometimes used for food.

– German paste, a prepared food for caged birds.

– German process (Metal.), the process of reducing copper ore in a blast furnace, after roasting, if necessary. Raymond.

– German sarsaparilla, a substitute for sarsaparilla extract.

– German sausage, a polony, or gut stuffed with meat partly cooked.

– German silver (Chem.), a silver-white alloy, hard and tough, but malleable and ductile, and quite permanent in the air. It contains nickel, copper, and zinc in varying proportions, and was originally made from old copper slag at Henneberg. A small amount of iron is sometimes added to make it whiter and harder. It is essentially identical with the Chinese alloy packfong. It was formerly much used for tableware, knife handles, frames, cases, bearings of machinery, etc., but is now largely superseded by other white alloys.

– German steel (Metal.), a metal made from bog iron ore in a forge, with charcoal for fuel.

– German text (Typog.), a character resembling modern German type, used in English printing for ornamental headings, etc., as in the words,

Note: This line is German Text.

– German tinder. See Amadou.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

18 June 2024

PARADE

(noun) an extended (often showy) succession of persons or things; “a parade of strollers on the mall”; “a parade of witnesses”


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Coffee Trivia

Contrary to popular belief, coffee beans are not technically beans. They are referred to as such because of their resemblance to legumes. A coffee bean is a seed of the Coffea plant and the source for coffee. It is the pit inside the red or purple fruit, often referred to as a cherry. Just like ordinary cherries, the coffee fruit is also a so-called stone fruit.

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