a subbranch of the Germanic languages that consists of English, Frisian, Dutch, Flemish, Afrikaans, Low German, German, Yiddish, and their associated dialects
West Germanic in American English
noun
1.
a subbranch of Germanic that includes English, Frisian, Flemish, Dutch, Plattdeutsch,Yiddish, and German
Abbreviation: WGmc
adjective
2.
of or pertaining to this subbranch of Germanic
Word origin
[1890–95]This word is first recorded in the period 1890–95. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: historicism, honky-tonk, masochism, plein-air, pogey