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Glite Dictionary
Old Saxon language

Old Saxon language

9.9
An old language spoken in northern Germany before 1200 that later became Low German and is like Old English
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : lengua sajona antigua
  • Scholars study the Old Saxon language to understand the development of early Germanic languages.

Examples

  • The Old Saxon language shares many features with Old English.

  • Much of our knowledge of the Old Saxon language comes from ancient religious texts like the Heliand.

  • The Old Saxon language is a fascinating subject for linguists.

  • Many scholars study the Old Saxon language to understand its evolution.

  • Much of our knowledge of the Old Saxon language comes from ancient religious texts like the Heliand.

  • Scholars study the Old Saxon language to understand the development of early Germanic languages.

  • The Old Saxon language shares many features with Old English.

Synonyms

Old Saxon
vsOld Saxon language
  • Specialized
9.9

A language people spoke in northern Germany before 1200 that became Low German

is the same historical form ancestral to later dialects and related to Old English
Low German
vsOld Saxon language
8.4

A group of German dialects spoken in northern Germany and parts of the Netherlands and Denmark

is the older language spoken before 1200 that gave rise to those dialects

Surface Forms

Old Saxon language singular
Old Saxon languages plural

Morphology

old + Saxon + language

The meaning is directly compositional: 'old' + 'Saxon' + 'language' transparently denotes the historical language variety spoken by the Saxons. A B1 learner who knows the constituent words will readily infer it refers to an earlier/historical Saxon language, even if finer historical or linguistic details (dates, genealogical relations) are beyond their knowledge.

Etymology

Old Saxon language comes from the Saxons, a people in northern Germany, and it means the way they spoke before about 1200. Because many Saxons moved to England long ago, this speech is closely related to 'Old English', so studying it helps experts see how modern German and English began.