Teuton

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. A member of any of the ancient Germanic peoples who lived in northern and central Europe, especially the tribe that clashed with Rome
2. One of the early Germanic tribespeople of northern Europe, a group historically associated with the Germanic-speaking populations of the region
3. A person belonging to one of the ancient Germanic-speaking tribes of north-central Europe, particularly those known from classical accounts

Etymology: The Teutons were a people known to the Romans long before the English word existed. Latin "Teutonēs" was borrowed into English only in the early 1700s, so the name reached English as a learned term, not through ordinary speech. The Latin form itself comes from Greek "Teútones," the name Greek writers used for the people, and it may trace back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "people," though that link is uncertain. Because the word arrived so late, English speakers borrowed it directly from classical texts, which is why it keeps the Latin spelling pattern rather than an Old English or Germanic form. The English word has since been used broadly for Germanic-speaking peoples, and it is the basis of "Teutonic," which had to be built from the same stem.

Synonyms: German