overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

German.

A native or inhabitant of Germany; a person of German citizenship or nationality.

6 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈd͡ʒɜː.mən/Received-Pronunciation/ˈd͡ʒɝ.mən/General-American
  1. A native or inhabitant of Germany; a person of German citizenship or nationality.

    countable
  2. A member of a Germanic tribe.

    countable · historical · uncountable
    Rome was sacked by Germans and the Western Roman Empire collapsed.
  3. A German wine.

    countable · uncountable
  4. A size of type between American and Saxon, 1+¹⁄₂-point type.

    US · dated · rare · uncountable
  5. A Germany-produced car, a “German whip”.

    Multicultural-London-English · countable · slang · uncountable
  6. A prison warder.

    UK · countable · slang · uncountable
  7. Ellipsis of German cockroach.

    abbreviation · alt-of · countable · ellipsis · uncountable
Where this word comes from

From Latin Germānus, Germānī (“the peoples of Germānia”), as distinct from Gauls (in the writings of Caesar and Tacitus), and of uncertain ultimate origin (possibly Celtic/Gaulish). Not related to german (“closely related”) or germane (from the Latin adjective germānus, through Old French). Attested since at least 1520. Replaced the older terms Almain and Dutch (from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz) in English. Besides cognates of German, Almain, and Dutch, two other categories of words for the Germans in other languages are cognates of Saxon and descendants of Proto-Slavic *němьcь; see those entries for more. The surname is generally from the noun, though sometimes confused with Herman, Hermann under Russian influence. As a German surname, Americanized from Germann. Compare Germán, Germain, Jerman.

name/ˈd͡ʒɜː.mən/Received-Pronunciation/ˈd͡ʒɝ.mən/General-American
  1. An Indo-European (Indo-Germanic) language, primarily spoken in Germany, Austria, Liechtenstein, South Tyrol, Switzerland, Luxembourg, and a small part of Belgium.

    uncountable
    German has three genders: masculine, feminine and neuter.
  2. A surname.

  3. A male given name from Russian.

  4. A number of townships in the United States, listed under German Township.

  5. A parish of the sheading of Glenfaba, Isle of Man.

Where this word comes from

From Latin Germānus, Germānī (“the peoples of Germānia”), as distinct from Gauls (in the writings of Caesar and Tacitus), and of uncertain ultimate origin (possibly Celtic/Gaulish). Not related to german (“closely related”) or germane (from the Latin adjective germānus, through Old French). Attested since at least 1520. Replaced the older terms Almain and Dutch (from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz) in English. Besides cognates of German, Almain, and Dutch, two other categories of words for the Germans in other languages are cognates of Saxon and descendants of Proto-Slavic *němьcь; see those entries for more. The surname is generally from the noun, though sometimes confused with Herman, Hermann under Russian influence. As a German surname, Americanized from Germann. Compare Germán, Germain, Jerman.

adj/ˈd͡ʒɜː.mən/Received-Pronunciation/ˈd͡ʒɝ.mən/General-American
  1. Of or relating to the nation of Germany.

  2. Of or relating to the natives or inhabitants of Germany; to people of German descent; to their cultures.

    Her German husband has blond hair.
  3. Of, in or relating to the German language.

    Because the instructions were German, Yves couldn't read them.
Where this word comes from

From Latin Germānus, Germānī (“the peoples of Germānia”), as distinct from Gauls (in the writings of Caesar and Tacitus), and of uncertain ultimate origin (possibly Celtic/Gaulish). Not related to german (“closely related”) or germane (from the Latin adjective germānus, through Old French). Attested since at least 1520. Replaced the older terms Almain and Dutch (from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz) in English. Besides cognates of German, Almain, and Dutch, two other categories of words for the Germans in other languages are cognates of Saxon and descendants of Proto-Slavic *němьcь; see those entries for more. The surname is generally from the noun, though sometimes confused with Herman, Hermann under Russian influence. As a German surname, Americanized from Germann. Compare Germán, Germain, Jerman.

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

German has 6 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

German studioGerman workshello, German

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.