GERMAN

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does German mean? 

• GERMAN (noun)
  The noun GERMAN has 2 senses:

1. a person of German nationality

2. the standard German language; developed historically from West Germanic

  Familiarity information: GERMAN used as a noun is rare.

• GERMAN (adjective)
  The adjective GERMAN has 1 sense:

1. of or pertaining to or characteristic of Germany or its people or language

  Familiarity information: GERMAN used as an adjective is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• GERMAN (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A person of German nationality

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Hypernyms ("German" is a kind of...):

European (a native or inhabitant of Europe)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "German"):

Teuton (someone (especially a German) who speaks a Germanic language)

East German (a native or inhabitant of the former republic of East Germany)

Boche; Hun; Jerry; Kraut; Krauthead (offensive term for a person of German descent)

Berliner (an inhabitant of Berlin)

Prussian (a German inhabitant of Prussia)

Bavarian (a native or an inhabitant of Bavaria)

Instance hyponyms:

Armin; Arminius; Hermann (German hero; leader at the battle of Teutoburger Wald in AD 9 (circa 18 BC - AD 19))

Holonyms ("German" is a member of...):

Deutschland; Federal Republic of Germany; FRG; Germany (a republic in central Europe; split into East Germany and West Germany after World War II and reunited in 1990)

Derivation:

German (of or pertaining to or characteristic of Germany or its people or language)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The standard German language; developed historically from West Germanic

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

German; German language; High German

Hypernyms ("German" is a kind of...):

West Germanic; West Germanic language (a branch of the Germanic languages)

Domain member category:

Fraulein (a German courtesy title or form of address for an unmarried woman)

Herr (a German courtesy title or form of address for a man)

Frau (a German courtesy title or form of address for an adult woman)

Domain region:

Deutschland; Federal Republic of Germany; FRG; Germany (a republic in central Europe; split into East Germany and West Germany after World War II and reunited in 1990)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "German"):

Old High German (High German prior to 1200)

Middle High German (High German from 1100 to 1500)

Yiddish (a dialect of High German including some Hebrew and other words; spoken in Europe as a vernacular by many Jews; written in the Hebrew script)

Pennsylvania Dutch (a dialect of High German spoken in parts of Pennsylvania and Maryland)

Derivation:

German (of or pertaining to or characteristic of Germany or its people or language)

Germanic (of or pertaining to the ancient Teutons or their languages)

Germanic (of or relating to the language of Germans)

• GERMAN (adjective)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Of or pertaining to or characteristic of Germany or its people or language

Classified under:

Relational adjectives (pertainyms)

Context example:

German literature

Pertainym:

Germany (a republic in central Europe; split into East Germany and West Germany after World War II and reunited in 1990)

Derivation:

German (the standard German language; developed historically from West Germanic)

German (a person of German nationality)

 Context examples 

But no sign of him or the German could be seen.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

‘My accomplishments, sir, may be less than you imagine,’ said I. ‘A little French, a little German, music, and drawing—’

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

In a tight sky-blue suit that made his arms and legs like German sausages, or roly-poly puddings, he was the merriest and most miserable of all the boys.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Thank Gott, we Germans believe in sentiment, and keep ourselves young mit it.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

I found my smattering of German very useful here; indeed, I don't know how I should be able to get on without it.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

When Norton wandered into the intricacies of Kant, Kreis reminded him that all good little German philosophies when they died went to Oxford.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

The flies, however, who understood no German, would not be turned away, but came back again in ever-increasing companies.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

These papers, he continued as the old lady vanished, are not of very great importance, for, of course, the information which they represent has been sent off long ago to the German government.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Then came the Germans, and they also fought very bravely, so that one or two broke through the archers and came as far as the feather-bed, but all to no purpose.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

Her mother was a German and had died on giving her birth.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)