Germany

Proper noun

Germany (countable and uncountable, plural Germanys or Germanies)

1. A nation or civilization occupying the country around the Rhine, Elbe, and upper Danube Rivers in Central Europe, taken as a whole under its various governments.
   • Ancient Germany, excluding from its independent limits the province weſtward of the Rhine, which had ſubmitted to the Roman yoke, extended itſelf over a third part of Europe. Almoſt the whole of modern Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Livonia, Pruſſia, and the greater part of Poland, were...1776, Edward Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, volume I, page 218
   • While the Germans of Gaul, Italy, and Spain became Romans, the Saxons retained their language, their genius, and manners, and created in Britain a Germany outside of Germany.1872, John Fiske, editor, History of English Literature, abridgment of Henri van Laun's translation of Hippolyte Taine's Histoire de la littérature anglaise (1864), page 26
   1. (historical, obsolete) The German Sprachraum; the countries and territories within Europe where German is or was the primary language.
2. (historical) A nominal medieval kingdom forming part of the Carolingian and Holy Roman Empires; (metonymic, now uncommon) the Holy Roman Empire in its entirety; (metonymic, obsolete) the Austrian Habsburg empire in its entirety.
   • There had been a long bloody war in the empire of Germany for twelve years, between the Emperor, the Duke of Bavaria, the King of Spain, and the Popiſh Princes and Electors, on the one side; and the Proteſtant Princes on the other; and both ſides having been exhauſted by the war, and even the...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...
   • I had frequently been told, that the Bohemians were the moſt muſical people of Germany, or, perhaps, of all Europe...1775, Charles Burney, The Present State of Music in Germany, the Netherlands, and United Provinces, volume II, page 3
3. (historical) An empire formed by Prussia in 1871 with its capital at Berlin.
4. (historical) A republic formed in 1918 with its capital at Berlin, inclusive of the Nazi regime who controlled it after 1933.
   • Severing's belief that trade union workers were the most progressive and democratic element in Germany holds up well under investigation.1996, Paul Bookbinder, Weimar Germany: The Republic of the Reasonable, →ISBN, page 90
5. (historical, uncommon) The socialist republic formed in 1949 with its capital at Berlin, more often known in English as East Germany.
6. A country in Central Europe, formed in 1949 as West Germany, with its provisional capital Bonn until 1990, when it incorporated East Germany. Official name: Federal Republic of Germany. Capital and largest city: Berlin.
   • The win made Germany the 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 1990.2014 July 13, Sam Borden, “Germans End Long Wait: 24 Years and a Bit Extra”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 13 Jul 2014
   • 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.2014 September 25, Michael Heise, “The Myth of the Stupid German Investor”, in The Wall Street Journal, archived from the original on 07 Jan 2015

   Synonyms:

   Federal Republic of Germany, German Republic, Alemania, FRG, BRD, West Germany, East Germany, Nazi Germany, Third Reich, Fascist Germany

7. (countable, historical) The various states in this country either over time or during periods of disunity and division, sometimes (inexact) inclusive of the Holy Roman Empire and Austria-Hungary's other holdings.
   • The differences between England and the Germanies sprang from the absence or presence of ministerial interventions.2007, William Clark, Academic Charisma and the Origins of the Research University, →ISBN, page 84
   • In a Renault 14, they drove from one Germany to the other.2010, Ilan Stavans, Gabriel García Márquez: The Early Years, →ISBN
8. (uncommon) A male given name.
9. (uncommon) A surname.
10. A township in Adams County, Pennsylvania, United States.
11. An unincorporated community in Clark County, Indiana, United States.
12. An unincorporated community in Houston County, Texas, United States.