Geatish

Geatish refers to things related to the Geats, a North Germanic people who inhabited Geatland in southern Sweden. The Geats are best known from Beowulf, where the hero Beowulf is described as a Geat and Hygelac as their king. Geatland roughly corresponds to the southern part of present-day Götaland in Sweden.

Historically, the Geats formed a distinct kingdom during the early medieval period. Their relationships with neighbors, especially the Swedes, are depicted in sources as competitive and sometimes cooperative; by the late medieval era Geatish identity gradually merged with a broader Swedish identity. The spread of Christianity and integration with other Nordic kingdoms contributed to this assimilation.

Language and culture: The Geats spoke a North Germanic language; direct writings from Geatish have not survived. Linguists generally regard Geatish as a dialect closely related to Old Swedish or Old Norse, with precise classification unsettled due to limited evidence. In Beowulf, the Geats are portrayed through an Old English narrative, and the language of the Geatish people themselves is not directly preserved in surviving texts.

In literature and modern usage: The term Geatish is most often encountered in scholarly discussions about Beowulf and medieval Sweden. The adjective is rarely used in everyday language; modern references typically describe things as Geatish or relate to Geatland or the Geats rather than to a distinct modern nation.