Verdun

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Ver·dun

(vər-dŭn′, vĕr-dœn′)

A city of northeast France on the Meuse River west of Metz. Dating to Roman times and an important Carolingian commercial center, it was the site of a prolonged World War I battle (February-December 1916) in which French forces repelled a massive German offensive. The total casualties have been estimated at more than 700,000. The city was rebuilt after the war.

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.

Verdun

(French vɛrdœ̃; English ˈvɛədʌn)

1. (Placename) a fortified town in NE France, on the Meuse: scene of the longest and most severe battle (1916) of World War I, in which the French repelled a powerful German offensive. Pop: 19 624 (1999). Ancient name: Verodunum

2. (Historical Terms) Treaty of Verdun an agreement reached in 843 ad by three grandsons of Charlemagne, dividing his empire into an E kingdom (later Germany), a W kingdom (later France), and a middle kingdom (containing what became the Low Countries, Lorraine, Burgundy, and N Italy)

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

Ver•dun

(vɜrˈdʌn, vɛr-)

n.

1. a city in NE France, on the Meuse River. 26,927.

2. a city in S Quebec, in SE Canada. 60,246.

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Noun

Verdun - a battle in World War I (1916); in some of the bloodiest fighting in World War I the German offensive was stopped

battle of Verdun

First World War, Great War, War to End War, World War 1, World War I - a war between the allies (Russia, France, British Empire, Italy, United States, Japan, Rumania, Serbia, Belgium, Greece, Portugal, Montenegro) and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, Bulgaria) from 1914 to 1918

France, French Republic - a republic in western Europe; the largest country wholly in Europe

References in classic literature ?

Monsieur of Verdun has no longer one; all have been killed off.

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Earlier this year, the Woodland Trust launched a public hunt for Verdun oaks, memorial trees grown from acorns collected at the site of the Battle of Verdun in northern France.

Chance to grow a special memorial to WWI battlefield

FRENCH President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have marked 100 years since the Battle of Verdun.

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German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande together marked the 100-year anniversary of the Battle of Verdun on Sunday, laying a wreath at a cemetery in northeastern France for the 300,000 soldiers killed.

Merkel, Hollande together mark 100 years since Verdun

The Woodland Trust does not know how many "Verdun Oaks" there are, but the team has already tracked down two in Coventry, one in Lichfield and two in Herefordshire.