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Saxons

Saxons

The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. | 2008 | Copyright

Saxons Germanic people, first mentioned in the 2d cent. by Ptolemy as inhabiting the southern part of the Cimbric Peninsula (S Jutland). Holding the area at the mouth of the Elbe River and some of the nearby islands, they gradually extended their territory southward across the Weser River. A politically unified people, the Saxons were ruled by princes or chieftains. Their assemblies, in which all classes except slaves were represented, were consulted on all issues of war and peace. In the 3d and 4th cent. the Saxons were active in raiding expeditions along the coasts of the North Sea. The European coast from the Loire to the Scheldt rivers and the southeastern coast of Britain, where defenses were erected against their piratical raids, were known to the Romans as litora Saxonica [Saxon shores]. By the 5th cent. Saxons had established settlements along the north shore of Gaul, especially at the mouth of the Loire, and eventually these Saxons came under Frankish domination. As the Roman occupation of Britain weakened, the Saxons increased their marauding attacks and also began (c.450) to make settlements there, resisting all efforts to drive them off. By the end of the 6th cent. they and their neighbors the Angles were firmly established in the island, laying the foundations of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms (see Anglo-Saxons ). Wessex, the kingdom of the West Saxons, became dominant. After the migration to Britain, the Saxons on the Continent came to be identified by historians as the Old Saxons. By virtue of their conquest (531) of Thuringia, they occupied NW Germany. In 566 they were subjugated by the Franks and forced to pay tribute. The Old Saxons waged intermittent war with the Franks until the end of the 8th cent., when they were conquered by Charlemagne and absorbed into his empire. After this conquest they were forcibly converted to Christianity. In the division of the empire by the Treaty of Verdun (843), the lands of the Saxons were included in the section that formed the basis for modern Germany.

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"Saxons." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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SAXON

Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language | 1998 | | Copyright

SAXON.
1. A member of a Germanic people that once lived near the mouth of the Elbe, and in Roman times spread across Germany from Schleswig to the Rhine. Some (the Anglo-Saxons: that is, those who joined the Angles) migrated in the 5–6c to Britain; others (the Ealdseaxe, Old Saxons) became the founding people of Saxony, the name of a German territory that has changed its location and political standing several times over the centuries.

2. The DIALECTS spoken by the Saxons in southern England, in Essex (home of the East Saxons), Middlesex (the Middle Saxons), Sussex (the South Saxons). and Wessex (the West Saxons). The term has sometimes been used instead of OLD ENGLISH and ANGLO-SAXON, as the name of the language carried to Britain by the Angles and Saxons.

3. A native of Saxony.

4. The Low German dialect of Saxony.

5. An English man or woman, especially in medieval times, in contrast to Norman, and sometimes in more recent times in contrast to Latin and Celt.

6. Also Saxon English, Saxon language. Formerly, a name for native or VERNACULAR English in contrast to French and Latinate usage: ‘Our vulgar Saxon English standing most vpon wordes monsillable’ ( George Puttenham, The Arte of English Poesie, 1589).

7. Relating to any of the above: Saxon traditions.
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TOM McARTHUR. "SAXON." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

TOM McARTHUR. "SAXON." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-SAXON.html

TOM McARTHUR. "SAXON." Concise Oxford Companion to the English Language. 1998. Retrieved February 10, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O29-SAXON.html

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Saxon

The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English | 2009 | Copyright

Sax·on / ˈsaksən/ • n. 1. a member of a Germanic people that inhabited parts of central and northern Germany from Roman times, many of whom conquered and settled in southern England in the 5th–6th centuries. ∎  a native of modern Saxony in Germany. 2. the language of the Saxons, in particular: ∎  (Old Saxon) the West Germanic language of the ancient Saxons. ∎  the Low German dialect of modern Saxony. • adj. 1. of or relating to the Anglo-Saxons, their language (Old English), or their period of dominance in England (5th–11th centuries). 2. of or relating to Saxony or the continental Saxons or their language. DERIVATIVES: Sax·on·ize / -ˌnīz/ v.

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Saxons

A Dictionary of World History | 2000 | Copyright

Saxons Germanic tribes, possibly named from their single-edged seax (‘sword’). Under pressure from the migrating FRANKS they spread from their homelands on the Danish peninsula into Italy and the Frisian lands and engaged in piracy on the North Sea and English Channel between the 3rd and 5th centuries. They appear to have entered Britain, together with ANGLES and JUTES as mercenaries in the late period of the Roman occupation. By the 5th century their settlements had marked the beginning of ANGLO-SAXON England. Their name survives in Wessex (‘West Saxons’), Essex (‘East Saxons’), and Sussex (‘South Saxons’) in England, as well as in Saxony in Germany.
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Saxon

The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable | 2006 | | Copyright

Saxon a member of a people that inhabited parts of central and northern Germany from Roman times, many of whom conquered and settled in much of southern England in the 5th–6th centuries. The name comes ultimately from late Latin and Greek Saxones (plural), of West Germanic origin; related to Old English Seaxan, Seaxe (plural), perhaps from the base of seax ‘knife’.

In modern English usage (primarily as a term used by Celtic speakers), Saxon means an English person as distinct from someone of Welsh, Irish, or Scots origin, a Sassenach.
Saxon Shore the coast of Britain, from Norfolk to Hampshire, as fortified by the Romans.
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ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Saxon." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "Saxon." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-Saxon.html

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Saxon

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology | 1996 | | Copyright

Saxon one of a Germanic people, of which one portion took part in the Anglo-Saxon invasions of Britain, while the other, the Old Saxons, remained in Germany. XIII. — (O)F. Saxon — L. Saxō, -ōn- — WGmc. *Saxan- (OE. pl. Seaxan, Seaxe, OHG. pl. Sahso, G. Sachse), perh. f. *saχsam knife (see SAW1), as the name of the characteristic weapon of the people.
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T. F. HOAD. "Saxon." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Saxons

A Dictionary of British History | 2004 | | Copyright

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JOHN CANNON. "Saxons." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

JOHN CANNON. "Saxons." A Dictionary of British History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (February 10, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O43-Saxons.html

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Saxons

The Oxford Companion to British History | 2002 | | Copyright

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Saxon

A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture | 2000 | | Copyright

Saxon. See Anglo-Saxon.
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JAMES STEVENS CURL. "Saxon." A Dictionary of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 10 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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Saxon

Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes | 2007 | Copyright

Saxon •Masson •flaxen, Jackson, klaxon, Sachsen, Saxon, waxen •Samson •Branson, Jansen, Manson, Nansen •arson, Carson, fasten, parson, sarsen •Bresson, delicatessen, Essen, lessen, lesson •Texan •Belsen, keelson, Nelson •Mendelssohn • Empson •Benson, ensign •Stetson •basin, caisson, chasten, diapason, hasten, Jason, mason •Bateson • handbasin • washbasin •Freemason • stonemason • Nielsen •Stevenson •christen, glisten, listen •Gibson, Ibsen •Blixen, Nixon, vixen •Nilsson, Stillson, Wilson •Nicholson • Simpson • Whitsun •Robinson • Acheson •Addison, Madison •Edison •Atkinson • Dickinson • Alison •Tennyson, venison •unison •caparison, comparison, garrison, Harrison •Ericsson • Morrison •archdiocesan, diocesan •jettison • Davisson •bison, Meissen, Tyson •Michelson • Robson •coxswain, oxen •Mommsen, Thompson •Johnson, Jonson, sponson, Swanson •Watson •coarsen, hoarsen, Orson •boatswain, bosun •Robeson • Jolson • moisten • loosen •Wolfson • Cookson • Hudson •Bunsen • tutsan •Grierson, Pearson •Culbertson • Richardson • Anderson •Jefferson • Ferguson • Rowlandson •Amundsen • Emerson • Jespersen •Saracen • Peterson • Williamson •person, worsen •Bergson • chairperson • layperson •salesperson • sportsperson •spokesperson

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