Romania

[ roh-mey-nee-uh, ‑-meyn-yuh ]

noun

1. a republic in southeastern Europe, bordering on the Black Sea. 91,699 sq. mi. (237,500 sq. km). : Bucharest.

Romania

/ rəʊˈmeɪnɪə /

noun

1. a republic in SE Europe, bordering on the Black Sea: united in 1861; became independent in 1878; Communist government set up in 1945; became a socialist republic in 1965; a more democratic regime was installed after a revolution in 1989; joined the EU in 2007. It consists chiefly of a great central arc of the Carpathian Mountains and Transylvanian Alps, with the plains of Walachia, Moldavia, and Dobriya on the south and east and the Pannonian Plain in the west Official language: Romanian. Religion: Romanian Orthodox (Christian) majority. Currency: leu. Capital: Bucharest Pop: 21 790 479 (2013 est). Area: 237 500 sq km (91 699 sq miles)

Romania

1. Republic in southeastern Europe on the northeast Balkan Peninsula , bordered by Hungary to the northwest, Ukraine to the northeast, Moldova and the Black Sea to the east, Bulgaria to the south, and the former Yugoslavia to the southwest. Its capital and largest city is Bucharest .

Notes

During World War II , Romania was allied to the Axis Powers but joined the Allies in 1944.

Occupied by Soviet troops in 1944, Romania became a people's republic on the model of the Soviet Union in 1947.

A former Eastern Bloc country, Romania was ruled in the 1970s and 1980s by communist dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, who was overthrown and executed during a bloody revolution in 1989. ( See collapse of communism .)

Word History and Origins

Origin of Romania¹

First recorded in 1800–05 as ( Roumania); from French Roumanie, from Romanian România Romania, ultimately from Latin adjective Rōmānus “Roman” + -ia noun suffix; in English Romania has been the predominant spelling since around 1975; Romania is also the official English-language spelling used by the Romanian government