Saxon

Meanings

Noun

• A member of an ancient West Germanic tribe that lived at the eastern North Sea coast and south of it.
• A native or inhabitant of Saxony.
• A size of type between German and Norse, 2-point type.
• An English/British person.
• A kind of rapidly spinning ground-based firework.

Proper Noun

• The language of the ancient Saxons.
• The dialect of modern High German spoken in Saxony.
• A male given name from surnames or directly from the noun Saxon.

Adjective

• Of or relating to the Saxons.
• Of or relating to Saxony.
• Of or relating to the Saxon language.
• Of or relating to England, typically as opposed to a Celtic nationality.

Origin

• Partially from Middle English Saxe, Sax; from Old English *Seaxa (attested in plural Seaxan), and Saxoun, from Old French, Saxon, from Late Latin Saxonem, accusative of Saxo, both from Proto-West Germanic *sahs, from Proto-Germanic *sahsą ("rock, knife"), from Proto-Indo-European *sek- ("to cut").
• Cognate with Middle Low German sasse ("someone speaking Saxon, i.e. (Middle) Low German"), Old English Seaxa ("a Saxon"), Old High German Sahso ("a Saxon"), Icelandic Saxi ("a Saxon"), Estonian saks ("lord; German"), Finnish Saksa ("Germany"). Also cognate to Old English seax ("a knife, hip-knife, an instrument for cutting, a short sword, dirk, dagger"); more at sax.