English
German
German comes from Latin Germānus ‘the peoples of Germānia’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEGermānus‘the peoples of Germānia’
- Englishearliest quotation 1816German
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEGermānus‘the peoples of Germānia’
- Englishearliest quotation 1816German
Earliest quotation: 1816, George Henry Noehden, A Grammar of the German Language: “In this manner there existed, about the time of…”
The story
Not related to german (‘closely related’) or germane (from the Latin adjective germānus, through Old French). Attested since at least 1520. Replaced the older terms Almain and Dutch (from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz) in English. Besides cognates of German, Almain, and Dutch, two other categories of words for the Germans in other languages are cognates of Saxon and descendants of Proto-Slavic *němьcь; see those entries for more.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰer- ‘short’
girl, card, chart, rocket, chronic, cartoon, chorus, cartel, cartridge, carton, carte, synchronous, urchin, crony, synchronize, cartography, cron, cartouche, 34 more
Today it means
noun A native or inhabitant of Germany; a person of German citizenship or nationality.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin Germānus / German