berlin

[ber-lin, bur-lin]

noun

a large, four-wheeled, closed carriage hung between two perches and having two interior seats.
Automotive. berline.
(sometimes initial capital letter) Berlin wool.

Origin of berlin

1725–35; after Berlin, Germany; the carriage was allegedly designed about 1670 by an architect of the Elector of Brandenburg

Berlin

[ber-lin for 1–3, bur-lin for 4, 5; for 3, German ber-leen]

noun

Irving,1888–1989, U.S. songwriter.
Isaiah,1909–97, English political philosopher and historian, born in Latvia.
the capital of Germany, in the NE part: constitutes a state. 341 sq. mi. (883 sq. km). Formerly (1948-90) divided into a western zone (West Berlin), a part of West Germany; and an eastern zone (East Berlin), the capital of East Germany.
a town in central Connecticut.
a city in N New Hampshire.

berline

or ber·lin

[ber-lin, bur-lin]

noun

an automobile with the front and rear compartments separated by a glass partition, as some limousines.

Origin of berline

From French; see origin at berlin

Germany

[jur-muh-nee]

noun

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. 137,852 sq. mi. (357,039 sq. km). Capital: Berlin.

Compare East Germany, West Germany.

Official name Federal Republic of Germany.German Deutschland.Formerly Deutsches Reich.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for berlin

Contemporary Examples of berlin

On November 9, the Berlin Wall fell, but demonstrations in East Germany continued until the ﬁrst free elections in March.
How the Fall of the Berlin Wall Radicalized Putin
Masha Gessen
November 9, 2014
Thriller author Patrick Oster was a reporter in Berlin when the wall came down 25 years ago.
How The Cold War Endgame Played Out In The Rubble Of The Berlin Wall
William O’Connor
November 9, 2014
That creative feeling kind of came alive once the wall came down, and then Germany of course made Berlin the capital again.
How The Cold War Endgame Played Out In The Rubble Of The Berlin Wall
William O’Connor
November 9, 2014
In the book, there is a real guy named Gadbeck who was a German Jew who lived in Berlin the whole time during World War II.
How The Cold War Endgame Played Out In The Rubble Of The Berlin Wall
William O’Connor
November 9, 2014
What prompted you to pick the fall of the Berlin Wall as the backdrop for your thriller?
How The Cold War Endgame Played Out In The Rubble Of The Berlin Wall
William O’Connor
November 9, 2014

Historical Examples of berlin

The hint of this ballad is found in Arndt's Murchen, Berlin, 1816.
The Works of Whittier, Volume I (of VII)
John Greenleaf Whittier
My heart used to beat wildly, for I too thought that they were going to Berlin.
My Double Life
Sarah Bernhardt
The air of Berlin was cool and the excess of vapor had been frozen out of it.
City of Endless Night
Milo Hastings
Then came the report of an attempt to launch an airplane from the roof of Berlin.
City of Endless Night
Milo Hastings
With this help I became ambitious to try the streets of Berlin alone.
City of Endless Night
Milo Hastings

British Dictionary definitions for berlin

berlin

noun

Also called: berlin wool (sometimes capital) a fine wool yarn used for tapestry work, etc
a four-wheeled two-seated covered carriage, popular in the 18th century
a limousine with a glass partition between the front and rear seats

Also called (for senses 2, 3): berline (bəˈliːn, ˈbɜːliːn)

Word Origin for berlin

C18: named after Berlin

Berlin

noun

the capital of Germany (1871–1945 and from 1990), formerly divided (1945–90) into the eastern sector, capital of East Germany, and the western sectors, which formed an exclave in East German territory closely affiliated with West Germany: a wall dividing the sectors was built in 1961 by the East German authorities to stop the flow of refugees from east to west; demolition of the wall began in 1989 and the city was formally reunited in 1990: formerly (1618–1871) the capital of Brandenburg and Prussia. Pop: 3 388 477 (2003 est)

Berlin

noun

Irving . original name Israel Baline, 1888–1989, US composer and writer of lyrics, born in Russia. His musical comedies include Annie Get Your Gun (1946); his most popular song is White Christmas
Sir Isaiah . 1909–97, British philosopher, born in Latvia, historian, and diplomat. His books include Historical Inevitability (1954) and The Magus of the North (1993)

Germany

noun

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 Germany Related adjective: Teutonic

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for berlin

Berlin

city in Brandenburg, capital of Germany, traditionally by folk-etymology from German Bär "bear," but likely from a Slavic source, cf. Old Polabian berl-, birl- "swamp," in reference to the old city's location on low, marshy ground along the River Spree. A flashpoint city in the Cold War, the Berlin airlift ran from June 28, 1948 to May 12, 1949. The Berlin Wall began to be built Aug. 15, 1961, and was effective until Nov. 9, 1989.

old type of four-wheeled covered carriage, 1690s, so called because it was introduced in Brandenburg, c.1670; see Berlin. Hence berline (from the French form) "automobile with a glass partition behind the driver's seat." In reference to a type of wool and the popular patterns made for it, from 1841.

Germany

c.1300, from Latin Germania, a Roman designation (see German (n.)). In Middle English the place also was called Almaine (early 14c.).

berlin in Culture

Berlin

Capital of reunited Germany, located in the northeastern part of the country.

Note

Formerly the capital of Prussia and then of Germany, Berlin was occupied by American, British, French, and Soviet troops after World War II. Disagreements among the Allies led to the partition of the city, with the Soviet zone becoming East Berlin, and the other zones West Berlin. East Berlin became the capital of the communist German Democratic Republic (East Germany), but West Berlin lost its capital status to Bonn in the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany).

Note

The Berlin Airlift of 1948–1949 supplied West Berlin by air transport after the Soviet Union set up a land and water blockade in an attempt to gain political control of this noncommunist “island” in the midst of communist East Germany.

Note

The two Berlins were physically separated by the Berlin Wall (see also Berlin Wall), a barrier designed to prevent East Germans from crossing into West Berlin, from 1961 to 1989.

Note

With the reunification of the two Germanys in 1990, the reunified city of Berlin was restored to its place as Germany's capital.

Germany

Republic in north-central Europe, divided into East Germany and West Germany in 1949 and reunited in 1990. Officially called the Federal Republic of Germany.

Note

Germany was a collection of competing states until it was unified during the second half of the nineteenth century under the leadership of Otto von Bismarck.

Note

Germany's industrial, colonial, and naval expansion was considered a threat by the British and French and was one of the main causes of World War I, in which Germany was badly defeated.

Note

After the defeat of the Nazis in World War II, Germany was divided into four zones occupied by British, French, Soviet, and American forces.

Note

Since reunification Germany has become Europe's leading economic power. (See East Germany and West Germany under “World History since 1550.”)