West Germany

English

Etymology

From informal use describing the British-, French-, and American-occupied zones of Germany following World War II, under influence from existing German Westdeutschland and Westdeutscher used to describe those areas of German-speaking Europe since the 17th and 18th centuries.[1]

Proper noun

West Germany

  1. (historical, 1949–1990) The Federal Republic of Germany, distinguished from the German Democratic Republic ("East Germany").
  2. (since 1990) The former areas of the Republic during that time, distinguished from the former East German areas.
  3. (historical, uncommon, 1945–1949) A collective name for the British-, French-, and American-occupied zones of Germany, distinguished from the Soviet-occupied zone.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

References
  1. Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd ed. "West German, adj. and n." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2012.
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.