Anglo-Saxon

American  

[ang-gloh-sak-suhn] / ˈæŋ gloʊˈsæk sən /

noun

1. an English person of the period before the Norman Conquest.

2. Old English.

3. the original Germanic element in the English language.

4. plain and simple English, especially language that is blunt, monosyllabic, and often rude or vulgar.

5. a person whose native language is English.

6. a person of English descent.

7. (in the U.S.) a person of colonial descent or British origin.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of the Anglo-Saxons.

2. of or relating to Anglo-Saxon.

3. English-speaking; British or American.

4. (of words, speech, or writing) blunt, monosyllabic, and often vulgar.

Anglo-Saxon British  

noun

1. a member of any of the West Germanic tribes (Angles, Saxons, and Jutes) that settled in Britain from the 5th century _ad and were dominant until the Norman conquest

2. the language of these tribes See Old English

3. any White person whose native language is English and whose cultural affiliations are those common to Britain and the US

4. informal plain blunt English, esp English containing taboo words

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adjective

1. forming part of the Germanic element in Modern English

   ``forget'' is an Anglo-Saxon word

2. of or relating to the Anglo-Saxons or the Old English language

3. of or relating to the White Protestant culture of Britain, Australia, and the US

4. informal (of English speech or writing) plain and blunt

5. of or relating to Britain and the US, esp their common legal, political, and commercial cultures, as compared to continental Europe

Etymology

Origin of Anglo-Saxon

1605–15; based on New Latin, Medieval Latin Anglo-Saxōnēs, Anglī Saxōnēs (plural); from 10th cent., collective name for WGmc-speaking people of Britain (compare Old English Angulseaxan ); Angle, Saxon

Example Sentences

The plan was to pay Stern and Andrew through a company called Witan, named after “Witenagemot,” an ancient council that advised Anglo-Saxon kings.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 17, 2026

Thought to be made from a cattle femur, this decorated Anglo-Saxon spindle whorl, used to provide weight while spinning yarn, was unearthed from farmland near Bishopstone, Buckinghamshire.

From BBC • Jan. 30, 2026

French museums will in exchange be loaned ancient treasures mainly from the Anglo-Saxon Sutton Hoo site, one of England's most important archaeological locations.

From Barron's • Jan. 15, 2026

I’ve read “The Lord of the Rings” many times, but I had no idea that “nearly all of the names of the kings of Rohan are Anglo-Saxon words for king.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025

The new proslavery argument, then, drew on assumptions about the white Anglo-Saxon character of the emerging American nation that were latent but long-standing.

From "Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation" by Joseph J. Ellis