1. A member of a West Germanic tribal group that inhabited northern Germany and invaded Britain in the fifth and sixth centuries a.d. with the Angles and Jutes. 2. A person of English or Lowland Scots birth or descent as distinguished from one of Irish, Welsh, or Highland Scots birth or descent. 3. A native or inhabitant of Saxony. 4. The West Germanic language of any of the ancient Saxon peoples. 5. The Germanic element of English as distinguished from the French and Latin elements.

ETYMOLOGY: Middle English, from Late Latin Sax or Saxon-, , of Germanic origin. See sek-.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton