charles wrote: [snip]
It's the same word as the German / Netherlands Saksisch. It means "Saxon" not southerner.
Although a Scots (Teuchter) relative of mine used to I insist that it meant sausage-eater.
It's used more commonly in Welsh and many government websites feature "Saesneg" for "English". I used to find it mildly offensive but since English indicates that we are Angles it's just a bit of a difference about what flavour of Kraut we are.