n. [ L. Angli-Saxones English Saxons. ] 1. A Saxon of Britain, that is, an English Saxon, or one the Saxons who settled in England, as distinguished from a continental (or “Old”) Saxon. [ 1913 Webster ] 2. pl. The Teutonic people (Angles, Saxons, Jutes) of England, or the English people, collectively, before the Norman Conquest. [ 1913 Webster ] It is quite correct to call Æthelstan “King of the Anglo-Saxons, ” but to call this or that subject of Æthelstan “an Anglo-Saxon” is simply nonsense. E. A. Freeman. [ 1913 Webster ] 3. The language of the English people before the Norman conquest in 1066 (sometimes called Old English). See Saxon. Syn. -- Old English [ 1913 Webster ] 4. One of the race or people who claim descent from the Saxons, Angles, or other Teutonic tribes who settled in England; a person of English descent in its broadest sense. [ 1913 Webster ] 5. a person of Anglo-Saxon (esp British) descent whose native tongue is English and whose culture is strongly influenced by English culture as in "WASP for `White Anglo-Saxon Protestant'"; "this Anglo-Saxon view of things". [ WordNet 1.5 ] |