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Glite Dictionary
North Germanic

North Germanic

7.7
A group of languages spoken in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : germánico del norte
  • Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian all belong to the North Germanic group.

Examples

  • The North Germanic languages include Danish and Swedish.

  • Many linguists specialize in the study of North Germanic languages such as Swedish and Icelandic.

  • The North Germanic family is distinct from West Germanic languages like English and German.

  • I am studying North Germanic languages this semester.

  • Danish is one of the most widely spoken North Germanic languages, particularly in Denmark and Greenland.

  • Many people in Norway communicate primarily in North Germanic languages like Norwegian and Sami.

  • Icelandic, a North Germanic language, has preserved many ancient features not found in other Germanic languages.

Synonyms

Nordic
vsNorth Germanic
3 6.3

A group of northern Germanic languages like Danish and Swedish

is an alternative term with identical coverage
Scandinavian
vsNorth Germanic
1 6.6

A group of languages spoken in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands

is an alternative label with the same language list

Surface Forms

North Germanic singular
North Germanics plural

Morphology

north + Germanic

The compound is compositionally transparent: 'north' modifies 'Germanic' to mean the Germanic languages of the northern region (i.e., Scandinavian languages). This meaning is directly inferable from the constituents and matches common cross-linguistic naming patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both words would understand it.

Etymology

North Germanic comes from putting North and Germanic together: it simply names the 'Germanic' languages spoken in the north of Europe, in places like Scandinavia and Iceland. So today North Germanic means that group of languages, for example Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Icelandic and Faroese.