Middle Dutch

Proper noun

Middle Dutch

1. Collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects (whose ancestor was Old Dutch) which were spoken and written between 1150 and 1500 in the present-day Dutch-speaking area. There was at that time as yet no overarching standard language, but they were all mutually intelligible.
   • (3) West Germanic, which is composed of:—
     [...]
     (d) Low Franconian, called Old Low Franconian or Old Dutch until about 1200; Middle Low Franconian or Middle Dutch from 1200 to 1500; from 1500 onwards New Low Franconian, including Dutch, Flemish, Brabantish, and Limburgish.1907, Joseph Wright, Historical German Grammar: Vol. I: Phonology, Word-Formation and Accidence, page 7
   • Old Low Franconian is the ancestor of modern Dutch, Flemish, Brabantish and Limburgish. It is called Old Low Franconian to c. 1100; Middle Low Franconian or Middle Dutch, from 1100 to 1600; from 1600 onwards, New Low Franconian or New Dutch.1923 (reprinted 1948), Arthur Kirk, An Introduction to the Historical Study of New High German (Publications of the University of Manchester: Germanic Series; No. II), page 10