The name “German,” by which they are designated in the writings of the Romans, cannot be satisfactorily explained with regard to its derivation and significance. Formerly it was thought to be derived partly from the old German word _ger_--that is, spear--partly from _wehre_ (defence) and partly from the word _wirre_ (disorder), which passed into the French language under the form of _guerre_, so that on the whole it had much the same signification as warrior; but all these derivations are so opposed to the etymological laws of the language, that they are no longer admitted by any German philologists. Some learned men have tried to connect the name “German” with the old German word _erman_, _hermann_, _irman_, _irmin_, the true meaning of which can no longer be ascertained; others were of opinion that it was not a native name at all, but given to the Germans by the Romans; for in the Latin language there is a word _germanus_, which means brother or countryman, which could, it has been thought, be so twisted and turned about that it received the sense of a Roman designation of the German people. Again it was thought to be derived from a Celtic word which designated the Germans as “criers,” on account of the terrifying war cry with which they entered into battle. Scholars do not agree as to the derivation of the name _Deutsch_ which first appeared in the tenth century after Christ, although that it is of Germanic origin is beyond doubt. According to the one conjecture it is derived from the old German word _diutan_, that is, to point out or to explain, and signifies those who speak the same language; according to another, the Gothic word _thiuda_, that is, people, is the true root of the word _Deutsch_, and originally this had the signification of “people of the same nation.” The term _Teuton_ which is often used in poetry instead of the word _Deutsch_, was only the name of an individual tribe, and this practice has its origin in the fact that the ancient Romans sometimes applied the name of Teuton to the other German races. From the earliest times which are open to research, the German peoples already consisted of two principal races--the Scandinavian or northerners, and the true Germans in the strict sense of the word. From the earliest times the former had lived beyond the Baltic, and the latter on the mainland of central Europe. The two races are still distinguishable from each other by their various dialects, those of the peoples of each branch being more closely allied to one another, than to those of the other branch. Each race was divided into many different tribes, which the Romans designated by special names; the distinction between them was not maintained, but in consequence of the migrations which they undertook during the time of the Roman Empire, the individual nations became separated and by new union formed new nations.