Germanic Thesaurus

The Germanic Thesaurus is an ongoing project with the goal of documenting how borrowed words and phrases can be expressed through the Germanic words and phrases of English. This thesaurus is strictly descriptive, meaning that it is only concerned with understanding how Germanic English is, and not how Germanic it could be.

Summary
Germanic alternatives to borrowed words and phrases do not always come in the form of synonyms. Although many borrowings do not have Germanic synonyms in English, there are periphrastic expressions and words that belong to a different part of speech that have the same meaning. Take the sentence, “What’s the matter with you?” While there is no Germanic synonym to put instead of the noun matter here, there's another way of saying this sentence altogether, which is “What’s wrong with you?”

⦁ It was taken care of in a matter of a few years → It was taken care of in/within a few years ⦁ It's a matter of knowing how to get things done → It's (all) about knowing how to get things done ⦁ I’ll take matters into my own hands → I’ll take things into my own hands ⦁ You’re going to do what you want no matter what → You’re going to do what you want anyway

Even though we haven’t come up with a Germanic word for matter in the examples above, we can still give out the same meaning in other ways. Unless such examples are documented, our understanding of the capabilities of Germanic English will be limited to only synonyms, which alone cannot show how much this etymological group can truly express.

Structure
⦁ Term: a section with English words and phrases that were borrowed from other languages. A few Germanic words have been given their own entries because their borrowed counterparts are much too uncommon.

⦁ Germanic: Germanic synonyms for the aforesaid borrowings. I have decided to include Norse and Dutch borrowings in this section.

⦁ Germanic-like: a section with words and phrases that are not of Germanic roots but which have a Germanic feel to them. Fray, pray, and cry sound akin to Germanic words like slay, play, and dry.

⦁ In other words: ways to give out the meaning of borrowed words and phrases through Germanic words and phrases.

⦁ Notes: suggestions for entries with similar meanings, and other sundry things.

Note
The Germanic Thesaurus was created in reaction, but not in opposition, to the Anglish Wordbook in early 2020. Anglish is not only for those who wish to build a pure version of English, but also for those who wish to use more Germanic words in their everyday lives.

Credits
⦁ Roots English by PretentiousApe

⦁ Plain English: A Wealth of Words by Bryan Evans