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Germany

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

English

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EnglishWikipediahas articles on:
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Cities and states of Germany

Etymology

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FromMiddle EnglishGermanie,fromOld EnglishGermanie&Germania,fromLatinGermānia(“land of the Germans”),fromGermānī,a people living around and east of theRhinefirst attested in the1st centuryB.C.E.works ofJulius Caesarand of uncertain etymology. Theexonymwas said byStraboto derive fromgermānus(“close kin; genuine”),making it cognate withgermaneandgerman,but this seems unsupported. Attempts to derive it from Germanic or Celtic roots since the 18th century[1]are all problematic,[2]although it is perhaps cognate with theOld Irishgair(“neighbour”).[3]DoubletofGermania.

In reference to a medieval kingdom, EnglishGermanyis usually an anachronism using the Roman name to describe the area orcalquingvariousLatinterms likerexTeutonicorum( "kingof theTeutons"), which were often derogatory exonyms rather than formal titles.

Pronunciation

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  • (UK)IPA(key):/ˈd͡ʒɜː.mə.ni/
  • Audio(UK):(file)
  • (US)IPA(key):/ˈd͡ʒɝ.mə.ni/
  • Audio(US):(file)

Proper noun

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Germany(countableanduncountable,pluralGermanysorGermanies)

  1. Anationorcivilizationoccupyingthecountryaround theRhine,Elbe,andupperDanubeRiversinCentral Europe,takenas awholeunder itsvariousgovernments.
    1. (historical,nowobsolete)The GermanSprachraum;the countries and territories within Europe where German is or was the primary language.
  2. Theprincipalstateinthiscountry,including
    1. (historical)Anominalmedievalkingdomformingpartof theCarolingianandHoly Roman Empires;(metonymically,nowuncommon)theHoly Roman Empirein its entirety;(metonymically,obsolete)theAustrianHabsburgempirein its entirety.
      • 1759,A Military History of Germany; and of England. From the Year 1631 to the Year 1648. Being the Memoirs of an English Gentleman, who served in the army of Gustavus Adolphus; and afterwards in the Royal Army of King Charles I (1759)‎[2],page33:
        There had been a long bloody war in the empire ofGermanyfor twelve years, between the Emperor, the Duke ofBavaria,the King ofSpain,and thePopiſhPrinces and Electors, on the one side; and theProteſtantPrinces on the other; and bothſideshaving beenexhauſtedby the war, and even theCatholicksthemſelvesbeginning todiſlikethe growing power of thehouſeofAuſtria,it was thought that all parties were willing to make peace.
      • 1775,Charles Burney,The Present State of Music in Germany, the Netherlands, and United Provinces‎[3],volume II, page 3:
        I had frequently been told, that theBohemianswere themoſtmuſicalpeople ofGermany,or, perhaps, of all Europe...
      • 1790,Thomas B. Clarke,A Statistical View of Germany, in respect to the Imperial and Territorial Constitutions, Forms of Government, Legislation, Administration of Justice, and Ecclesiastical State‎[4],page13:
        When the race of Charlemagneceaſedto govern inGermany,the princes andſtatesaſſociatedto continue the empire; and that itsmajeſtymight beviſible,and its laws enforced, they agreed tochooſean emperor. From this emperor, all electors and princes, exceptthoſebefore 1582, receiveinveſtitureof their dominions; counts and free cities from theAulic council.But thisinveſtitureis no more than aſignofſubmiſſionto themajeſtyof the empire, which isdepoſitedin the emperor. For as theconſtitutedmembers of the empire are dependent on that collective union from which they derive protection, they thereforeſhewthis dependence on the emperor,becauſeherepreſentsthemajeſtyof that union, or of the empire; but in all otherreſpectsthey are independent and free.
      • 1797,Colin MacFarquhar, George Gleig, editors,Encyclopædia Britannica,3rd edition, A. Bell & C. MacFarquhar, "Mentz",page396:
        There are few cities inGermanybeſidesVienna which containſorich and numerous a nobility as this does: there arefomehouſeshere which haveeſtatesof 100,000guilders,or 10,000l.a-year.
    2. (historical)AnempireformedbyPrussiain1871with itscapitalatBerlin.
    3. (historical)Arepublicformedin1918with itscapitalatBerlin,inclusiveof theNaziregimewhocontrolledit after1933.
      • 1996,Paul Bookbinder,Weimar Germany: The Republic of the Reasonable,→ISBN,page90:
        Severing's belief that trade union workers were the most progressive and democratic element inGermanyholds up well under investigation.
    4. (historical,uncommon)Thesocialistrepublicformedin1949with itscapitalatBerlin,moreoftenknowninEnglishasEast Germany.
    6. A country inCentral Europe,formed in1949asWest Germany,with itsprovisionalcapitalBonnuntil1990,whenitincorporatedEast Germany.Official name:Federal Republic of Germany.Capital and largest city:Berlin.
      • 2014July 13, Sam Borden, “Germans End Long Wait: 24 Years and a Bit Extra”, inThe New York Times‎[5],archived fromthe originalon13 July 2014:
        The win madeGermanythe first European team to prevail in a World Cup in the Americas and gave the Germans, who have made it to the knockout stage in 16 consecutive World Cups, their first trophy since 1990.
      • 2014September 25, Michael Heise, “The Myth of the Stupid German Investor”, inThe Wall Street Journal‎[6],archived fromthe originalon7 January 2015:
        Germans save a lot, produce plenty and spend little. The result is a massive external surplus. Last year,Germany’s current account surplus stood at almost€200 billion ($260 billion), the world's largest.
  3. (countable,historical)Thevariousstatesinthiscountryeitherovertimeor duringperiodsofdisunityanddivision,sometimes(inexact)inclusiveof theHoly Roman EmpireandAustria-Hungary'sotherholdings.
    • 2007,William Clark,Academic Charisma and the Origins of the Research University,→ISBN,page84:
      The differences between England and theGermaniessprang from the absence or presence of ministerial interventions.
    • 2010,Ilan Stavans,Gabriel García Márquez: The Early Years,→ISBN:
      In a Renault 14, they drove from oneGermanyto the other.
    • 2010September 29,Klaus Wiegrefe,“Germany's Unlikely Diplomatic Triumph: An Inside Look at the Reunification Negotiations”, inSpiegel Online‎[7],archived fromthe originalon27 June 2012:
      It is the fall of 1989, and two time zones farther to the west, thousands of people march through downtown Leipzig every Monday, while more than 6,000 East German citizens are camped out in the embassies of WestGermanyin Prague and Warsaw, hoping to be allowed to emigrate. The images have circled the globe, and it is clear to leaders Thatcher and Gorbachev that the twoGermanysare on the verge of radical change.
  4. (uncommon)A malegiven name.
  5. (uncommon)Asurname.
  6. AtownshipinAdams County,Pennsylvania,United States.
  7. AnunincorporatedcommunityinClark County,Indiana,United States.
  8. AnunincorporatedcommunityinHouston County,Texas,United States.
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Usage notes

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Presently,Germanyusually refers toFederal Republic of Germany;[2]historical senses other than theGerman Empire,Weimar Germany,andNazi Germanyare usually distinguished. Historically, the extent of "Germany" was a contentious issue known in the 19th century as "The German Question".The area more often described an ethnic region than a polity into the 16th century, withOld EnglishGermanieeven occasionally being used to refer to the areas ofEnglandheld by theSaxons,Angles,etc.[2]As late as the 19th century, the political area considered "Germany" might include or exclude areas such asAustria,Königsberg,Switzerland,or even non-German parts of the Austrian Empire depending on the speaker and context. During the period of division between 1949 and 1990, eitherWestorEast Germanymight be referenced as simply "Germany" depending on context, although English use typically referenced the West. See also the continuing use ofKoreato refer primarily toSouth Korea.

Synonyms

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Hypernyms

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Hyponyms

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Coordinate terms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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See also

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References

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  1. ^See, for example, the variety of derivations cited at "Germans"in the Rev. George William Lemon'sEnglish Etymology(1788).
  2. ↑2.02.12.2"German,adj.andn",in:Oxford English Dictionary,3rd ed..Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2012.
  3. ^"German", in:The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology.Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1996.
  4. ^Herman Kinder,Penguin Atlas of World History,Vol. I, 1988, p. 108.

Anagrams

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