Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Of or relating to Alsace or to its inhabitants or culture.
  • noun A native or inhabitant of Alsace.
  • noun A person of Alsatian ancestry.
  • noun Chiefly British A German shepherd.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Of or pertaining to the province of Alsace, taken from Germany by France in 1648, in greater part ceded to the new German empire in 1871, and now incorporated in the imperial territory of Elsass-Lothringen.
  • Of or pertaining to Alsatia, formerly a cant name (from Alsace being a debatable ground or scene of frequent contests) for Whitefriars, a district in London between the Thames and Fleet street, and adjoining the Temple, which possessed certain privileges of sanctuary derived from the convent of the Carmelites, or White Friars, founded there in 1241.
  • noun A native or an inhabitant of Alsace in Germany.
  • noun Formerly, an inhabitant of Alsatia or Whitefriars, a part of London; hence, a Bohemian (in the slang sense) or adventurer.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • adjective Pertaining to Alsatia.
  • noun An inhabitant of Alsatia or Alsace in Germany, or of Alsatia or White Friars (a resort of debtors and criminals) in London.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Of or relating to Alsace
  • noun A person from Alsace
  • noun Australia, New Zealand, UK, dated US English name for a breed of dog called German shepherd until the first World War, changed at that time due to anti-German sentiment.
  • proper noun The language or dialect of Alsace

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective of or relating to or characteristic of Alsace or its inhabitants
  • noun breed of large shepherd dogs used in police work and as a guide for the blind
  • noun a native or inhabitant of Alsace

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Another wave of immigration of the nineteenth century that deserves mention is the so-called Alsatian one, notably after the Franco-Prussian war of 1870 – 1871 and following the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine.

    Brazil, Contemporary. 2009

  • "The name Alsatian was taken into consideration as recent as the Second World War when the Allied Forces chose to discard any word having a connection to the name Germany or German.

    Army Rumour Service 2009

  • He still spoke English with what might be called Alsatian variationshe always spoke of the gun detail as the "gndtle," with the accent on the first syllableand he expressed a wish to be allowed "a holiday from the gondetle to go after dem gorrillas."

    The Rough Riders Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919 1992

  • It became known that this young officer, while instructing his men, had insulted the French flag and had called the Alsatian recruits Wackes, a nick-name meaning

    My Four Years in Germany Gerard, James W 1917

  • It became known that this young officer, while instructing his men, had insulted the French flag and had called the Alsatian recruits _Wackes_, a nick-name meaning "square-head," and frequently used by the people of Alsace-Lorraine in a jocular way, but hotly resented by them if used towards them by others.

    My Four Years in Germany 1909

  • He still spoke English with what might be called Alsatian variations—he always spoke of the gun detail as the "góndêtle," with the accent on the first syllable—and he expressed a wish to be allowed "a holiday from the gondetle to go after dem gorrillas."

    V. In the Trenches 1899

  • He still spoke English with what might be called Alsatian variations -- he always spoke of the gun detail as the "gondetle," with the accent on the first syllable -- and he expressed a wish to be allowed

    The Rough Riders Theodore Roosevelt 1888

  • Markets were created for a load of inventions through the clever use of inter-locking treaties that impelled Europe into many many wars over some geo-politically important carbon-based energy resources (also known as the Alsatian coal mines).

    planet.journals.ie 2009

  • The flaws, to get them out of the way first, are too much use of commas where semi-colons or even full stops would have done, and a confusion about the spelling of "Alsatian".

    December Books 8) Doctor Who - Remembrance of the Daleks nwhyte 2007

  • Wirth was a kind of Alsatian Caleb or Gaspard, aged and serious, but with much of the cunning mingled with his simple nature.

    Repertory of the Comedie Humaine Part 2 Anatole Cerfberr 1865

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