Sassenach

Sassenach

Sassenach is a word used chiefly by the Scots to designate an Englishman. It derives from the Gaelic "Sasunnach" meaning, originally, "Saxon", from the Latin "Saxones". The modern Scottish spelling is "Sasannach". As employed by Scots or Scottish English-speakers today it is usually used in jest, as a (friendly) term of abuse. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) gives 1771 as the date of the earliest written use of the word in English.

"Sasanach", the Irish-language word for an Englishman, has the same derivation, as do the words used in Welsh to describe the English people ("Saeson", sing. "Sais") and the language and things English in general: "Saesneg" and "Seisnig". These words are normally, however, used only in the Irish and Welsh languages themselves.

Cornish also terms English "Sawsnek" from the same derivation. Some Cornish were known to use the expression Meea navidna cowza sawzneck"!' to feign ignorance of the English language. [Richard Carew, "Survey of Cornwall", 1602 N.B. in revived Cornish, this would be transcribed My ny vynnaf cows sowsnek"'. However the Cornish word "Emit" meaning "ant" (and perversely derived from OE) is more commonly used in Cornwall today as slang to designate non-Cornish Englishmen.]

Uses

In James Joyce's "Ulysses", Buck Mulligan refers to Haines, a British guest in the Martello tower with them, as "the Sassenach". And in the "Cyclops" episode, the citizen, a Gaelic revivalist, says: "To hell with the bloody brutal Sassenachs and their patois."

In the well-known Irish Rebel song, "The Bold Fenian Men", the final couplet uses the word "sassenach": "All who love foreign law, native or sassenach, must out and make way for the bold Fenian men."

In the "Outlander" series of novels by Diana Gabaldon, the main character, Englishwoman Claire Fraser (Beauchamp), is often referred to as 'Sassenach' by her Scottish husband, Jamie Fraser, as a term of endearment.

In the film "", the handyman Mowbray rebukes Captain Hamilton for his "Sassenach attitudes".

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Sassenach — (sas ə nahh ou sæsənæk) est un terme utilisé principalement par les Écossais pour désigner un Anglais[1]. Il s agit d un dérivé du gaélique Sasunnach qui signifie à l origine « Saxon ». L orthographe écossaise moderne est Sasannach.… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Sassenach — Sas sen*ach, n. [Gael. sasunnach.] A Saxon; an Englishman; a Lowlander. [Celtic] Sir W. Scott. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Sassenach — Gaelic for English person, 1771, Sassenaugh, lit. Saxon, from L. Saxones, from a Gmc. source (Cf. O.E. Seaxe the Saxons ). The modern form of the word was established c.1814 by Sir Walter Scott, from Scot. Sasunnoch, Ir. Sasanach, Welsh Seisnig …   Etymology dictionary

  • Sassenach — Scottish & Irish derogatory ► NOUN ▪ an English person. ► ADJECTIVE ▪ English. ORIGIN Scottish Gaelic Sasunnoch, Irish Sasanach, from Latin Saxones Saxons …   English terms dictionary

  • Sassenach — [sas′ə nak΄] n. [Ir Sasanach or Gael Sasunnach < Gael Sasunn, Saxon < Gmc, as in OE Seaxan, SAXON] an English person or Lowlander: term used, often disparagingly, by the Irish and Scots …   English World dictionary

  • Sassenach — UK [ˈsæsənæk] / UK [ˈsæsənəx] / US / US [ˈsæsəˌnæk] noun [countable] Word forms Sassenach : singular Sassenach plural Sassenachs Scottish an English person: this word is used in a humorous way or to show that you dislike the English …   English dictionary

  • sassenach — noun /sæs.ənˈæk/ a) An person. But the Sassenach tried to starve the nation at home while the land was full of crops that the British hyenas bought and sold in Rio de Janeiro. b) A Scot …   Wiktionary

  • sassenach — Scottish Vernacular Dictionary An English person Example:Yon sassenach has a coupon like a tumshie …   English dialects glossary

  • sassenach — [18] Sassenach, the Gaelic name for the English, etymologically means ‘Saxon’. Its ultimate source is probably Saxonēs, the Latin version of Seaxe, which was the Old English term for the Saxon people. The Celts of Scotland took this over as… …   The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins

  • sassenach — [18] Sassenach, the Gaelic name for the English, etymologically means ‘Saxon’. Its ultimate source is probably Saxonēs, the Latin version of Seaxe, which was the Old English term for the Saxon people. The Celts of Scotland took this over as… …   Word origins

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”