Frisian

/ˈfɹɪʒ.ən/

Frisian proper noun: the West Frisian (or Western Frisian) lect, spoken in the northern Netherlands.

Proper noun

Frisian

(specifically) The West Frisian (or Western Frisian) lect, spoken in the northern Netherlands.
- In the province of Friesland, in the north of the Netherlands, a high percentage of the population, about 350000, speak Frisian as their first language.1998, Colin Baker, Sylvia Prys Jones, Encyclopedia of bilingualism and bilingual education, page 405
- This means that full competence in both Frisian and Dutch (ie understanding, speaking, reading and writing ability) is aimed at all pupils in the province, whether they speak Frisian or Dutch at home.2000, Jasone Cenoz, Ulrike Jessner, English in Europe: the acquisition of a third language, page 223
(specifically) Saterland Frisian, the last surviving dialect of the East Frisian lect, spoken in Northern Germany close to the Dutch border.
(specifically) The North Frisian lect, spoken in northwestern Schleswig-Holstein in Germany.

Noun

Frisian (plural Frisians)

A member of the Germanic ethnic group which is native to the region of Frisia (which is in the Netherlands, northern Germany, and southern Denmark).
- King Hygelac of the Geats had been struck down by one might swipe of the foemen, the Frisians.1961, Norma Lorre Goodrich, “Beowulf”, in The Medieval Myths, New York: The New American Library, page 41
A native or inhabitant of the Dutch province of Friesland.

Adjective

Frisian (comparative more Frisian, superlative most Frisian)

Of, in or relating to the Frisian language or a Frisian language.
- Because the instruction manual was Frisian, Yves couldn't read it.
Of, from or relating to the region of Frisia: Either West Frisia (the Dutch province of Friesland); North Frisia (in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein, near the Danish border); or East Frisia (in the German state of Lower Saxony, near the Dutch border).
Of or relating to people of Frisian descent.
(specifically) Of, from or relating to West Frisia, i.e. the Dutch province of Friesland

Forms of Frisian

Proper noun
alternative form	Friesic
Noun
plural	Frisians
Adjective
comparative	more Frisian
superlative	most Frisian

Origin of Frisian

From Middle English Frisoun, taken from Old French frison (“a Frisian”), itself derived from Latin Frīsiī (“Frisians”). Displaced native Old English Frīsa (“a Frisian”) whence modern English Frise; see the plural Frīsan for more.

Words formed from Frisian

Phrases with Frisian

Words that rhyme with Frisian

10 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about Frisian

What does Frisian mean?: Frisian means the West Frisian (or Western Frisian) lect, spoken in the northern Netherlands.
What part of speech is Frisian?: Frisian can be a proper noun, a noun or an adjective.
How do you pronounce Frisian?: Frisian is pronounced /ˈfɹɪʒ.ən/.

Words near Frisian in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: Frisian (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-Frisian.ogg, LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Frisian.wav.

Cite this entry: “Frisian.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/frisian. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.