Sassenach
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 An English person. Scotland, derogatory
"'I distinctly heard the barman at that pub last night refer to us as Sassenachs.' 'Well, why not?' said Frank equably. 'It only means "Englishman", after all, or at worst, outsider and we're all of that.' 'I know what it means. It was the tone I objected to.'"
- 2 Alternative form of sassenach. alt-of, alternative
"Shinty, once a battle royal between villages, is still a far tougher game than hockey, its nearest Sassenach equivalent."
- 3 the Scots' term for an English person wordnet
- 4 A Lowland Scot. Scotland, derogatory
"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."
Example
More examples"'I distinctly heard the barman at that pub last night refer to us as Sassenachs.' 'Well, why not?' said Frank equably. 'It only means "Englishman", after all, or at worst, outsider and we're all of that.' 'I know what it means. It was the tone I objected to.'"
Etymology
From Scottish Gaelic Sasannach (“Saxon”).
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.