Old Frisian
- noun
- Specialized
:
frisón antiguo
- Some modern Frisian words are directly descended from their Old Frisian ancestors.
Examples
-
Scholars compare Old Frisian texts to better understand the history of West Germanic languages.
-
Many legal documents from medieval Friesland were written in Old Frisian.
-
The Old Frisian language has a rich history.
-
Many linguists study Old Frisian to understand its evolution.
-
Many legal documents from medieval Friesland were written in Old Frisian.
-
Scholars compare Old Frisian texts to better understand the history of West Germanic languages.
-
Some modern Frisian words are directly descended from their Old Frisian ancestors.
Synonyms
A Germanic language spoken in coastal Netherlands and Germany until the 1500s that later became modern Frisian
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'the earlier/historical form of the Frisian language' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'old' (earlier/historical) with 'Frisian' (the language). The 'Old X' naming pattern (e.g. Old English, Old French) is cross-linguistically common and follows standard compounding/naming conventions, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the meaning.
Etymology
The name Old Frisian simply names the earlier form of Frisian once spoken in the region of Friesland; the word Old shows it is the older version of the language. So, Old Frisian is the 'ancestor' or 'grandparent' of modern Frisian, which is why many modern Frisian words come from it.
