Norman
adjective/ˈnɔːmən/
/ˈnɔːrmən/
- used to describe the style of architecture in Britain in the 11th and 12th centuries that developed from the Romanesque style
- a Norman church/castle
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- connected with the Normans (= the people from northern Europe who defeated the English in 1066 and then ruled the country)
- the Norman Conquest
CultureThe Normans were the people from Normandy in northern France who settled in England after their leader William the Conqueror defeated the English King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The Normans took control of the country, a process known as the Norman Conquest. They used many of the existing Anglo-Saxon methods of government of the state and the church, but added important aspects of their own and made government much more effective. The language of government became first Latin, and then Norman French, and this caused many new words to be added to the existing English language. The name 'Norman' comes from the Old French for 'Northman', as the Normans originally came from Denmark, Norway and Iceland.
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French Normans, plural of Normant, from Old Norse Northmathr ‘Northman’.
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Norman