Germanic

See also: germanic and germànic

English

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Latin germānicus, equivalent to German +‎ -ic.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒɜːˈmæn.ɪk/
• (US) IPA^(key): /d͡ʒɝˈmæn.ɪk/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Proper noun

Germanic

1. (linguistics) The early, undocumented ancestral language from which other Germanic languages developed, such as Afrikaans, Danish, Dutch, Frisian, English, German, Faroese, Icelandic, Yiddish, Norwegian and Swedish.

   Synonyms: Ur-Germanic, Proto-Germanic, Common Germanic

   • 2017 April 5, Emily Dreyfuss, “That Cool Dialect on The Expanse Mashes Up 6 Languages”, in Wired‎^[1], San Francisco, Calif.: Condé Nast Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 30 September 2026:

     Belter is composed mainly of Chinese, Japanese, Slavic, Germanic, and romance languages because Earth's most common tongues would be the ones to survive to form the new brogue of the cosmos.

2. (linguistics) The group of Indo-European languages that developed from (Ur-)Germanic.

Derived terms

• non-Germanic
• North Sea Germanic

Related terms

• Proto-North-West Germanic
  • Proto-West Germanic, Proto-West-Germanic
• East Germanic
• North Germanic
• West Germanic

• German
• Germanish
• Teutonic (archaic)

Translations

early language — see also Proto-Germanic

• Afrikaans: Germaans (af)
• Arabic: الجِرْمَانِيَّة f (al-jirmāniyya)

  Hijazi Arabic: جرماني m (jirmāni)

• Catalan: germànic (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 日耳曼語 / 日耳曼语 (jat⁶ ji⁵ maan⁶ jyu⁵)

  Mandarin: 日耳曼語 / 日耳曼语 (zh) (rì'ěrmànyǔ)

• Danish: germanskt n
• Dutch: Germaans (nl) n
• Faroese: germanskt n
• Finnish: germaaninen kantakieli
• French: germanique (fr) m
• German: Germanisch (de) n
• Hebrew: גרמאנית (he)
• Hindi: जर्मनिक f (jarmanik)
• Hungarian: germán (hu)
• Irish: Gearmáinic f
• Italian: germanico (it) m
• Japanese: ゲルマン語 (ゲルマンご, gerumango)
• Khmer: ហ្គឺរម៉ាននីឝ (gɨɨmaanniih)
• Latin: Germanici
• Macedonian: ге́рмански m (gérmanski)
• Persian: ژرمنی (fa) (žermani)
• Polish: germański (pl) m
• Portuguese: germânico (pt) m
• Romanian: germanică f
• Russian: герма́нский язы́к m (germánskij jazýk)
• Spanish: germánico (es) m
• Swahili: Kijerumaniki class 7
• Swedish: germanska (sv)
• Welsh: Germanaidd
• Yiddish: גערמאַניש (germanish)

group of Indo-European languages

• Belarusian: герма́нскія мо́вы (hjermánskija móvy)
• Catalan: germànic (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 日耳曼語族 / 日耳曼语族 (jat⁶ ji⁵ maan⁶ jyu⁵ zuk⁶)

  Mandarin: 日耳曼語族 / 日耳曼语族 (rì'ěrmàn yǔzú)

• Danish: germansk (da)
• Dutch: Germaans (nl) n
• Finnish: germaaninen (fi)
• French: germanique (fr) m
• Galician: xermánico (gl) m
• Georgian: გერმანიკული ენები (germaniḳuli enebi)
• German: Germanisch (de) n
• Hungarian: germán (hu)
• Icelandic: germönsk
• Irish: Gearmáinic f
• Italian: germanico (it) m
• Japanese: ゲルマン諸語 (ゲルマンしょご, geruman shogo), ゲルマン語派 (ゲルマンごは, geruman goha)
• Kazakh: герман тілдері pl (german tilderi)
• Korean: 게르만 어파 (gereuman eopa)
• Macedonian: германски (germanski)
• Norwegian: germansk (no)
• Polish: germańskie nvir
• Portuguese: germânico (pt) m
• Romanian: germanic (ro) m or n
• Russian: герма́нские языки́ m pl (germánskije jazykí)
• Scots: Germanic
• Spanish: germánico (es) m
• Swahili: Kijerumaniki class 7
• Swedish: germanska (sv)

See also

• Category:Terms derived from Germanic languages by language

Further reading

• ISO 639-5 code gem [2]

Adjective

Germanic (comparative more Germanic, superlative most Germanic)

1. Relating to the Germanic peoples (such as Germans, Scandinavians or Anglo-Saxons).

   a Germanic tribe

2. (linguistics) Relating to the language or group of languages known as Germanic.

   Synonyms: Teutonic; see also Thesaurus:Germanic language

   a Germanic language

   • 1945, E[lizabeth] G[idley] Withycombe, “Introduction”, in The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page xii:

     Sanskrit, Greek, Slavonic, Germanic, and Celtic names were all of this type, but there are also shorter names formed from the compound ones; […] .

3. (sometimes proscribed) Having German characteristics.

   Synonyms: German, Teutonic

   He arrived with Germanic punctuality.

Derived terms

• Celto-Germanic
• Germanically
• Germanic h
• Germanicist
• Germanicity
• Romano-Germanic

Translations

relating to the Germanic peoples

• Arabic: جَرْمَانِيّ (jarmāniyy)
• Aragonese: chermanico
• Armenian: գերմանական (hy) (germanakan)
• Belarusian: герма́нскі (hjermánski)
• Bulgarian: герма́нски (bg) (germánski)
• Catalan: germànic (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 日耳曼 (zh) (rì'ěrmàn)

• Czech: germánský (cs)
• Danish: germansk (da)
• Dutch: Germaans (nl)
• Esperanto: ĝermana (eo)
• Faroese: germanskur
• Finnish: germaaninen (fi)
• French: germanique (fr)
• Galician: xermánico (gl)
• Georgian: გერმანიკული (germaniḳuli)
• German: germanisch (de)
• Hungarian: germán (hu)
• Irish: ^{(please verify)} Gearmánach
• Italian: germanico (it)
• Japanese: ゲルマン (ja) (geruman)
• Korean: 게르만 (gereuman)
• Latin: germanicus (la)
• Luxembourgish: germanesch
• Macedonian: германски (germanski)
• Norwegian: germansk (no)
• Occitan: germanic (oc)
• Persian: ژرمنی (fa) (žermani)
• Polish: germański (pl)
• Portuguese: germânico (pt), alemão (pt)
• Romanian: germanic (ro)
• Russian: герма́нский (ru) (germánskij)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: гѐрма̄нскӣ

  Latin: gèrmānskī (sh)

• Slovak: germánsky (sk)
• Slovene: germanski
• Spanish: germano (es), germánico (es)
• Swahili: Mjerumaniki
• Swedish: germansk (sv)
• Turkish: Cermen (tr)
• Ukrainian: герма́нський (hermánsʹkyj)
• Yiddish: גערמאַניש (germanish)

relating to the language or group of languages known as Germanic

• Arabic: جَرْمَانِيّ (jarmāniyy)
• Armenian: գերմանական (hy) (germanakan)
• Belarusian: герма́нскі (hjermánski)
• Bulgarian: герма́нски (bg) (germánski)
• Catalan: germànic (ca)
• Czech: germánský (cs)
• Danish: germansk (da)
• Dutch: Germaans (nl)
• Faroese: germanskur
• Finnish: germaaninen (fi)
• French: germanique (fr)
• Galician: xermánico (gl)
• Georgian: გერმანიკული (germaniḳuli)
• German: germanisch (de)
• Hungarian: germán (hu)
• Irish: ^{(please verify)} Gearmánach
• Italian: germanico (it)
• Latin: germanicus (la)
• Macedonian: ге́рмански (gérmanski)
• Norwegian: germansk (no)
• Occitan: germanic (oc)
• Persian: ژرمنی (fa) (žermani)
• Polish: germański (pl)
• Portuguese: germânico (pt)
• Romanian: germanic (ro)
• Russian: герма́нский (ru) (germánskij)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: гѐрма̄нскӣ

  Latin: gèrmānskī (sh)

• Spanish: germánico (es)
• Swahili: -a Kijerumaniki
• Swedish: germansk (sv)
• Turkish: Cermen (tr)
• Yiddish: גערמאַניש (germanish)

having German characteristics

• Armenian: գերմանական (hy) (germanakan)
• Bulgarian: герма́нски (bg) (germánski)
• Catalan: alemany (ca), germànic (ca)
• Danish: tysk (da)
• Dutch: Germaans (nl)
• Faroese: týskur
• Finnish: saksalainen (fi)
• French: germanique (fr)
• Galician: xermánico (gl)
• Georgian: გერმანული (ka) (germanuli)
• German: deutsch (de), deutsch klingend, typisch deutsch
• Hungarian: germán (hu)
• Irish: Gearmánach
• Italian: germanico (it)
• Macedonian: ге́рмански (gérmanski)
• Norwegian: tysk (no), germansk (no)
• Occitan: germanic (oc)
• Persian: ژرمنی (fa) (žermani)
• Polish: germański (pl)
• Portuguese: germânico (pt), alemão (pt)
• Romanian: germanic (ro)
• Russian: неме́цкий (ru) (neméckij), герма́нский (ru) (germánskij)
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: њѐмачкӣ

  Latin: njèmačkī (sh)

• Swahili: -a Kijerumaniki
• Yiddish: דײַטש (yi) (daytsh)

Noun

Germanic (plural Germanics)

1. (historical, nonstandard) Synonym of German (“member of a Germanic tribe”)

Anagrams

• amercing, creaming