Editing Germans (section)

==Names==
{{Further|List of terms used for Germans|Names of Germany}}
The English term ''[[:wikt:Germans|Germans]]'' is derived from the [[ethnonym]] ''[[:wikt:Germani|Germani]]'', which was used for [[Germanic peoples]] in ancient times.{{sfn|Haarmann|2015|p=313}}<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hoad|first1=T. F.|date=2003|chapter=German|chapter-url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780192830982.001.0001/acref-9780192830982-e-6407|title=The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|doi=10.1093/acref/9780192830982.001.0001|isbn=9780192830982|access-date=22 December 2020|archive-date=24 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924162222/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780192830982.001.0001/acref-9780192830982-e-6407|url-status=live}}</ref> Since the early modern period, it has been the most common name for the Germans in English, being applied to any citizens, natives or inhabitants of Germany, regardless of whether they are considered to have German ethnicity.

In some contexts, people of German descent are also called Germans.<ref name="OED"/><ref name="Merriam-Webster"/> In historical discussions the term "Germans" is also occasionally used to refer to the Germanic peoples during the time of the [[Roman Empire]].<ref name="Merriam-Webster"/><ref name="Columbia">{{cite web|url=https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Germans|title=Germans|year=2013|website=[[Columbia Encyclopedia|Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia]]|publisher=[[Columbia University Press]]|access-date=5 December 2020|archive-date=30 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130100500/https://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Germans|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Drinkwater">{{cite book|last1=Drinkwater|first1=John Frederick|author-link1=John Frederick Drinkwater|date=2012|chapter=Germans|chapter-url=https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199545568.001.0001/acref-9780199545568-e-2831|editor1-last=Hornblower|editor1-first=Simon|editor1-link=Simon Hornblower|editor2-last=Spawforth|editor2-first=Antony|editor3-last=Eidinow|editor3-first=Esther|editor3-link=Esther Eidinow|title=[[The Oxford Classical Dictionary]]|edition=4|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|page=613|doi=10.1093/acref/9780199545568.001.0001|isbn=9780191735257|access-date=22 December 2020|archive-date=9 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609021237/https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199545568.001.0001/acref-9780199545568-e-2831|url-status=live}}</ref>

The German [[endonym]] ''[[:wikt:Deutsche|Deutsche]]'' is derived from the [[Old High German]] term ''[[diutisc]]'', which means "ethnic" or "relating to the people". This term was used for speakers of West-Germanic languages in Central Europe since at least the 8th century, after which time a distinct German ethnic identity began to emerge among at least some them living within the Holy Roman Empire.{{sfn|Haarmann|2015|p=313}} However, variants of the same term were also used in the [[Low Countries]], for the related dialects of what is still called [[Dutch language|Dutch]] in English, which is now a national language of the [[Netherlands]] and [[Belgium]].