English
german
see also: German
Pronunciation
  • (British) IPA: /ˈd͡ʒɜː.mən/
  • (America) IPA: /ˈd͡ʒɝ.mən/
Adjective

german

  1. (obsolete except in set terms) Having the same mother and father; a full (brother or sister).
    brother-german
  2. (obsolete except in set terms) Being born to one’s blood aunt or uncle, a first (cousin).
    cousin-german
    • 1567 Arthur Golding trans., Ovid's Metamorphoses, Book 1, lines 460-2:
      quote en
  3. (obsolete) Closely related, akin.
    • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, [http://quod.lib.umich.edu/c/cme/MaloryWks2/1:4.11?rgn=div2;view=fulltext chapter xj], in Le Morte Darthur, book II:
      After this Merlyn told vnto kynge Arthur of the prophecye / that there shold be a grete batail besyde Salysbury and Mordred his owne sone sholde be ageynste hym / Also he tolde hym that Basdemegus was his cosyn and germayn vnto kynge Vryence
    • 1602, William Shakespeare, Hamlet, V.2:
      The phrase would bee more Germaine.
    • c. 1605-1608, William Shakespeare, Timon of Athens
    Wert thou a leopard, thou wert german to the lion.
Translations Translations
  • French: germain, germaine
  • Russian: двою́родный брат
  • Spanish: primo carnal
Noun

german (plural germans)

  1. (obsolete) A near relative.
    • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, II.viii:
      Which when his german saw, the stony feare / Ran to his hart, and all his sence dismayd […]
Translations Noun

german (plural germans)

  1. An elaborate round dance, often with a waltz movement.
    • 1985, Betty Casey, Dance Across Texas (page 49)
      Through the years, though, the german was replaced by new and more popular dances, but in many instances the name stayed on.
  2. A social party at which the german is danced.
German
Pronunciation
  • (RP) IPA: /ˈd͡ʒɜː.mən/
  • (GA) IPA: /ˈd͡ʒɝ.mən/
Noun

german

  1. (countable) A native or inhabitant of Germany; a person of German citizenship or nationality.
  2. A member of the Germanic ethnic group which is the most populous ethnic group in Germany; a person of German descent.
  3. (historical) A member of a Germanic tribe.
    Synonyms: Teuton
    Rome was sacked by Germans and the Western Roman Empire collapsed.
  4. A German wine.
  5. (uncountable, US printing, rare, dated) A size of type between American and Saxon, frac 1-point type.
  6. (uncountable) An Indo-European (Indo-Germanic) language, primarily spoken in Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, South Tyrol, Switzerland, Luxembourg and a small part of Belgium.
    Synonyms: High German
    German has three genders: masculine, feminine and neuter.
Synonyms Translations Translations Translations Translations
  • German: Achtelcicero
Translations Proper noun
  1. Surname
Adjective

german

  1. Of or relating to the nation of Germany.
  2. Of or relating to the natives or inhabitants of Germany; to people of German descent.
    Her German husband has blond hair.
  3. Of, in or relating to the German language.
    We take German classes twice a week.
    Because the instructions were German, Yves couldn't read them.
    • 1816, George Henry Noehden, A Grammar of the German Language, 3rd edition, page 3:
      In this manner there existed, about the time of the Reformation, three grand divisions of the German language, viz. the Upper German (Ober Deutsch), the Low German (Nieder Deutsch, or Platt Deutsch), and lastly the High German (Hoch Deutsch).
    • 1838, Joseph Bosworth, A Dictionary of the Anglo-saxon Language, page xiii:
      To trace its progress, it will be necessary to enter into detail, and to examine the German language in its two great divisions, the Low and High German.
Synonyms Translations Translations Translations

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