Definition of Low German

1. Noun. A German dialect spoken in northern Germany.

Exact synonyms: Plattdeutsch
Generic synonyms: West Germanic, West Germanic Language
Specialized synonyms: Old Saxon, Middle Low German

Definition of Low German

1. Proper noun. A specific language, spoken in Northern Germany and the Netherlands and formerly widely spoken in Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and Kaliningrad, Russia. Ancestors are Middle Low German and Old Saxon. ¹

2. Proper noun. (linguistics) Any of a number of West Germanic languages, primarily spoken in northern Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, that did not undergo the High German consonant shift; the group thereof. ¹

3. Proper noun. (nonstandard) Any German dialect that is not the official standard, although they are usually only referred to as "Platt". ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Lexicographical Neighbors of Low German

Love wave
Love waves
Lovech
Lovecraft
Lovecraftian
Lovelace
Lovell
Loven reflex
Lovibond's angle
Lovibond's profile sign
Lovina
Lovoa
Lovoa klaineana
Low Archipelago
Low Countries
Low German (current term)
Low Latin
Low Saxon
Low Sunday
Lowe's syndrome
Lowe-Terrey-MacLachlan syndrome
Lowell
Lowell Jackson Thomas
Lowell Thomas
Lowellian
Lowenberg's canal
Lowenberg's forceps
Lowenberg's scala
Lowenstein-Jensen culture medium

Literary usage of Low German

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. The Encyclopedia Americana: A Library of Universal Knowledge (1919)
"From the beginning, two main groups may be distinguished: High German and Low German, the former spoken in the hilly and mountainous midland ..."

2. Encyclopaedia Britannica: A Standard Work of Reference in Art, Literature (1907)
"From Saxon the later Low German dialects (Niederdeutsche Mundarten) have sprung. The members of the third group (generally designated as ..."

3. A Grammar of the German Language: Designed for a Thoro and Practical Study by George Oliver Curme (1922)
"The confusion was increased by the fact that the people of North Germany spoke a form of Low German, a quite different language indeed. ..."

4. Macmillan's Magazine by David Masson, George Grove, John Morley, Mowbray Morris (1864)
"The Germans of Schleswig-Holstein are Saxons, and all true Saxons speak Low German,- and Low German is more different from High German than English is from ..."

5. On Early English Pronunciation: With Special Reference to Shakespeare and by Alexander John Ellis, William Salesbury, Johann Andreas Schmeller, Francis James Child, Alexander Barclay, Johan Winkler (1874)
"English is a Low German language, much altered in its present condition, ... On the flat lands in the Netherlands and North Germany the Low German language ..."

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