Anglo-Saxon

Anglo-Saxon
/ang"gloh sak"seuhn/, n.
1. an English person of the period before the Norman Conquest.
2. See Old English (def. 1).
3. the original Germanic element in the English language.
4. plain and simple English, esp. language that is blunt, monosyllabic, and often rude or vulgar.
5. a person whose native language is English.
6. a person of English descent.
7. (in the U.S.) a person of colonial descent or British origin.
adj.
8. of, pertaining to, or characteristic of the Anglo-Saxons.
9. of or pertaining to Anglo-Saxon.
10. English-speaking; British or American.
11. (of words, speech, or writing) blunt, monosyllabic, and often vulgar.
[1605-15; based on NL, ML Anglo-Saxones, Angli Saxones (pl.); from 10th cent., collective name for WGmc-speaking people of Britain (cf. OE Angulseaxan); see ANGLE, SAXON]

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▪ people
      any member of the Germanic peoples that inhabited and ruled England from the 5th century AD to the time of the Norman Conquest (1066). According to the Venerable Bede (Bede the Venerable, Saint), the Anglo-Saxons were the descendants of three different Germanic peoples—the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes—who originally migrated from northern Germany to England in the 5th century at the invitation of the British chieftain Vortigern to defend his country against Pictish and Irish invaders. Archaeological evidence suggests that the first arrivals antedated the Roman withdrawal from Britain in c. 410 and that settlers from Frisia also joined the migration. Their subsequent settlements in what is now England laid the foundation for the later kingdoms of Essex, Sussex, and Wessex (Saxons), East Anglia, Middle Anglia, Mercia, and Northumbria (Angles), and Kent (Jutes). The various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms spoke dialects of what is now known as Old English and produced an exceptionally rich vernacular literature, including the masterpiece Beowulf. Ethnically, the “Anglo-Saxons” actually represented an admixture of Germanic peoples with England's preexisting Celtic inhabitants and subsequent Viking and Danish invaders.

      The term “Anglo-Saxon” seems to have been first used by continental writers in the late 8th century to distinguish the Saxons of Britain from those of the European continent, whom the Venerable Bede had called Antiqui Saxones (“Old Saxons”). After the Norman Conquest, the term simply came to mean “the English.” The name formed part of a title, rex Angul-Saxonum (“king of the Anglo-Saxons”), which was sometimes used by King Alfred (d. 899) and was revived by 11th-century kings.

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  • anglo-saxon — anglo saxon, onne [ ɑ̃glosaksɔ̃, ɔn ] adj. et n. • 1664; de anglo et saxon 1 ♦ Hist. Relatif aux envahisseurs germaniques (Angles, Saxons, Jutes) de la Grande Bretagne au VIe s. N. m. L anglo saxon, leur langue, le vieil anglais. 2 ♦ (1863) …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Anglo-Saxon — Anglo Saxons 1) ADJ: usu ADJ n The Anglo Saxon period is the period of English history from the fifth century A.D. to the Norman Conquest in 1066. Excavations have revealed Roman and Anglo Saxon remains in the area. ...the grave of an early Anglo …   English dictionary

  • Anglo-Saxon — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Anglo-Saxon — An glo Sax on, n. [L. Angli Saxones English Saxons.] 1. A Saxon of Britain, that is, an English Saxon, or one the Saxons who settled in England, as distinguished from a continental (or Old ) Saxon. [1913 Webster] 2. pl. The Teutonic people… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Anglo-Saxon — Anglo Saxon1 noun 1. ) count one of the people who came to England in the 5th century and ruled it until 1066 2. ) uncount the language of the Anglo Saxons: OLD ENGLISH Anglo Saxon ,Anglo Saxon 2 adjective 1. ) relating to the history, culture,… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • anglo-saxon — anglo saxon, onne (entrée créée par le supplément) (an glo sa kson, kso n ) adj. Qui appartient au mélange d Angles et de Saxons, peuples germains qui s emparèrent de l île de Bretagne, à la chute de l empire romain.    La langue anglo saxonne,… …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • Anglo-Saxon — O.E. Angli Saxones (pl.), from L. Anglo Saxones, in which ANGLO (Cf. Anglo ) is an adjective, thus lit. English Saxons, as opposed to those of the Continent (now called Old Saxons ). Properly in reference to the Saxons of ancient Wessex, Essex,… …   Etymology dictionary

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  • Anglo-Saxon — n 1.) someone who belonged to the race of people who lived in England from about 600 AD 2.) [U] the language used by the Anglo Saxons 3.) a white person, especially someone whose family originally came from England >Anglo Saxon adj …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Anglo-Saxon — [aŋ′glō sak′sən] n. [< ML Anglo Saxones: see ANGLE & SAXON] 1. a member of the Germanic peoples (Angles, Saxons, and Jutes) that invaded England (5th 6th cent. A.D. ) and were there at the time of the Norman Conquest 2. the language of these… …   English World dictionary

  • Anglo-Saxon — ► NOUN 1) a Germanic inhabitant of England between the 5th century and the Norman Conquest. 2) a person of English descent. 3) chiefly N. Amer. any white, English speaking person. 4) the Old English language. 5) informal plain English, in… …   English terms dictionary

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