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Seaxan. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
Seaxan, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
Seaxan in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
Seaxan you have here. The definition of the word
Seaxan will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
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Old English
Etymology
Proto-Indo-European *sek- Proto-West Germanic *sahs Old English Seaxan
From Proto-West Germanic *sahsan.
Pronunciation
Proper noun
Seaxan m pl
- the Saxons
- Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, Manuscript E, year 605
Augustīnus cwæþ, "Ġif Wēalas nyllaþ sibbe wiþ ūs, hīe sċulon æt Seaxna handa forweorðan."- Augustine said, "If the Celts don't want peace with us, they'll have to perish at the hands of the Saxons."
Usage notes
- The genitive plural is Seaxna, not regular Seaxena. Syncopated -na was apparently the inherited gen. pl. ending in weak nouns; but *a was then inserted by analogy with the nom.-acc. pl., subsequently dissimilating to *e. By the literary period, the syncopated form is uncommon except in poetry and in some weak names of peoples. The syncope is preserved consistently in Seaxan, often in Francan (“the French”) and Frīsan (“Frisians”), and never in Gotan (“Goths”) and Siġelhearwan (“Ethiopians”), though for the last two few examples survive.
Declension
Weak:
Derived terms
See also
References
- ^ Ringe, Donald, Taylor, Ann (2014) The Development of Old English (A Linguistic History of English; 2), Oxford: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 154