Anglo-Saxon
/ˌæŋ.ɡloʊˈsæk.sən/noun
Relating to the English people and culture of England before the Norman Conquest, or to the Old English language.
Did you know?The term comes from Latin writers who needed a label for the Germanic settlers in Britain, and it eventually became one of the most loaded identity-words in English history.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Germanic
Proto-Germanic
*angulaz
“angle, hook; also the name of the Angles, likely connected with a hooked or curved shape”
Ancient Germanic
Proto-Germanic
*sahsą
“knife, dagger, short sword”
1st–5th Century
Latin
Angli / Saxones
“the Angles and the Saxons, Germanic peoples known to Roman and post-Roman writers”
7th–9th Century
Old English / Medieval Latin
Englisc / Anglo-Saxones
“English; the Anglo-Saxon peoples of Britain”
12th Century
Latin / English
Anglo-Saxon
“the Anglo-Saxon people or their language in historical reference”
Modern English
English
Anglo-Saxon
“relating to early English history, language, or culture”