Frisian

alternative Friesic

1. A Germanic language group or language (see Usage notes), or a lect thereof, which descended from Old Frisian, with speakers in the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark.
   1. specificallyThe West Frisian (or Western Frisian) lect, spoken in the northern Netherlands.

      Many Frisians speak Frisian at home and Dutch at work.

      2005, Pat Seward, Sunandini Arora Lal, Netherlands, page 89

      2 more examples

      In the province of Friesland, in the north of the Netherlands, a high percentage of the population, about 350000, speak Frisian as their first language.

      1998, Colin Baker, Sylvia Prys Jones, Encyclopedia of bilingualism and bilingual education, page 405

      This means that full competence in both Frisian and Dutch (ie understanding, speaking, reading and writing ability) is aimed at all pupils in the province, whether they speak Frisian or Dutch at home.

      2000, Jasone Cenoz, Ulrike Jessner, English in Europe: the acquisition of a third language, page 223

   2. specificallySaterland Frisian, the last surviving dialect of the East Frisian lect, spoken in Northern Germany close to the Dutch border.
   3. specificallyThe North Frisian lect, spoken in northwestern Schleswig-Holstein in Germany.

plural Frisians · alternative Friesic

1. A member of the Germanic ethnic group which is native to the region of Frisia (which is in the Netherlands, northern Germany, and southern Denmark).

   King Hygelac of the Geats had been struck down by one might swipe of the foemen, the Frisians.

   1961, Norma Lorre Goodrich, “Beowulf”, in The Medieval Myths, New York: The New American Library, page 41

2. A native or inhabitant of the Dutch province of Friesland.

comparative more Frisian · superlative most Frisian · alternative Friesic

1. Of, in or relating to the Frisian language or a Frisian language.

   Because the instruction manual was Frisian, Yves couldn't read it.

2. Of, from or relating to the region of Frisia: Either West Frisia (the Dutch province of Friesland); North Frisia (in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, near the Danish border); or East Frisia (in the German state of Lower Saxony, near the Dutch border).
3. Of or relating to people of Frisian descent.
4. specificallyOf, from or relating to West Frisia, i.e. the Dutch province of Friesland