GermanyGer·ma·ny (jûr?m?-n?) A country of north-central Europe. Occupied since c. 500 bc by Germanic tribes, the region became part of the Frankish empire by the sixth century ad. Later it became a loose federation of principalities and the nucleus of the Holy Roman Empire until the imperial state was broken up by Napoleon in 1806. Germany became a confederation after 1815 and then an empire centered around Prussia (1871-1918). Following its defeat in World War I, it was reorganized as the Weimar Republic, which collapsed when Adolf Hitler rose to power and formed the Third Reich. Germany’s defeat in 1945 at the end of World War II resulted in its division into four occupation zones, each controlled by an Allied power. Out of the US, French, and British zones West Germany was established in 1949, while the Soviet zone became East Germany. The two Germanies were reunified in 1990 after the fall of the East German Communist government. Berlin is the capital and largest city.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.Germany (?d???m?n?) n (Placename) a country in central Europe: in the Middle Ages the centre of the Holy Roman Empire; dissolved into numerous principalities; united under the leadership of Prussia in 1871 after the Franco-Prussian War; became a republic with reduced size in 1919 after being defeated in World War I; under the dictatorship of Hitler from 1933 to 1945; defeated in World War II and divided by the Allied Powers into four zones, which became established as East and West Germany in the late 1940s; reunified in 1990: a member of the European Union. It is flat and low-lying in the north with plateaus and uplands (including the Black Forest and the Bavarian Alps) in the centre and south. Official language: German. Religion: Christianity, Protestant majority. Currency: euro. Capital: Berlin. Pop: 81 147 265 (2013 est). Area: 357 041 sq km (137 825 sq miles). German name: Deutschland Official name: Federal Republic of Germany See also East Germany, West GermanyCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014Ger?ma?ny (?d??r m? ni) n. a republic in central Europe: after World War II divided into four zones, British, French, U.S., and Soviet, and in 1949 into East Germany and West Germany; East and West Germany were reunited in 1990. 83,087,361; 137,852 sq. mi. (357,039 sq. km). Cap.: Berlin. Official name, Federal Republic of Germany. German Deutschland. Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.Germany geopoliticsthe study of the relationship between geography and politics, applied especially to the study of the doctrines and actions of Nazi Germany in the context of world domination.Germanisma feature of the German language that is present in another language.Germanomaniaan obsession with Germany and things German. Also called Teutonomania.Germanophilea person who is especially attracted to or interested in Germany, its people, culture, etc.Germanophobiaintense fear or hatred of Germany, its people, language, etc.Teutonicism1. anything typical or characteristic of the Teutons or Germans, as customs, attitudes, actions, etc.2. Germanism.TeutonomaniaGermanomania.-Ologies & -Isms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.