saxon
n. countablen. a member of a group of people from northern Germany who moved to and lived in England a long time ago. They helped form the early English culture and language.
n. a member of a Germanic people that inhabited parts of northern Germany and conquered large parts of southern and eastern Great Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries. Often used in historical contexts to describe the cultural and linguistic foundations of early England.
The Saxons lived in England many centuries ago.
Archaeologists recently discovered a burial site containing several Saxon artifacts, including iron swords and decorative jewelry.
The integration of Saxon legal traditions with existing Roman and Celtic customs significantly influenced the development of early medieval governance in the British Isles.
Partially from Middle English Saxe, Sax; from Old English Seaxa (attested in plural Seaxan), and Saxoun, from Old French Saxoun, Saxon (“Saxon”), from Late Latin Saxōnem, accusative of Saxō (“a Saxon”), both from Proto-West Germanic sahs, from Proto-Germanic sahsą (“rock, knife”), from Proto-Indo-European *sek- (“to cut”). Doublet of Sais. Cognates Cognate with Middle Low German sasse (“someone speaking Saxon, i.e. (Middle) Low German”), Old English Seaxa (“a Saxon”), Old High German Sahso (“a Saxon”), Icelandic Saxi (“a Saxon”), Estonian saks (“lord; German”), Finnish Saksa (“Germany”). Also cognate to Old English seax (“a knife, hip-knife, an instrument for cutting, a short sword, dirk, dagger”); more at sax.
When referring to the historical people or their language, the word is capitalized.