Meanings
- A branch of Old Low Franconian, with a Frisian substrate, spoken and written during the Middle Ages (c. 9th to 12th century) in the Netherlands and the northern part of present-day Belgium, as well as in areas of northern France along the North Sea coast and adjoining Belgium. This language represents the first attested stage of the Dutch language and its dialects, being succeeded by Middle Dutch in the later Middle Ages.
The earliest extant material in Old Low Franconian (or Old Dutch) is from the 9th century (psalm fragments translated in or around the south of Limburg, i.e. the south-east corner of the Netherlands).
1989, Hans Frede Nielsen, The Germanic Languages: Origins and Early Dialectal Interrelations, The University of Alabama Press, page 2f1 more example
The earliest extant material in Old Dutch (or Old Low Franconian) is from the ninth century (psalm fragments translated in or around the south of Limburg, i.e. the south-east corner of the Netherlands).
1998, Hans Frede Nielsen, The Continental Backgrounds of English and its Insular Development until 1154, Odense University Press, page 43Synonyms: Old West Low Franconian
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounA branch of Old Low Franconian, with a Frisian substrate, spoken and written during the Middle Ages (c. 9th to 12th century) in the Netherlands and the northern part of present-day Belgium, as well as in areas of northern France along the North Sea coast and adjoining Belgium. This language represents the first attested stage of the Dutch language and its dialects, being succeeded by Middle Dutch in the later Middle Ages.
Translations
Chinese Mandarin 古荷蘭語 /古荷兰语
- 古荷蘭語 /古荷兰语 (Gǔhélányǔ)language
Dutch Oudnederlands
- Oudnederlandslanguage
Finnish muinaishollanti
- muinaishollantilanguage
French vieux néerlandais
- vieux néerlandaislanguage
German Altniederländisch
- Altniederländischlanguage
Polish język staroholenderski
- język staroholenderskilanguage
Portuguese holandês antigo
- holandês antigolanguage
Swedish fornnederländska
- fornnederländskalanguage
Cite this entry
Old Dutch. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Old%20Dutch
“Old Dutch.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Old%20Dutch. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Old Dutch,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Old%20Dutch.
Source: Old Dutch on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.