Bosnia and Herzegovina
noun
a republic in S Europe: formerly (1945–92) a constituent republic of Yugoslavia. 19,909 sq. mi. (51,565 sq. km). Capital: Sarajevo.
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Bosnia and Herzegovina
[ (boz-nee-uh; hert-suh-goh-vee-nuh, hert-suh-goh-vee-nuh) ]
Republic in southeastern Europe on the west Balkan Peninsula, bordered by Croatia to the west and north, Yugoslavia to the east, with a small outlet to the Adriatic Sea to the west. Sarajevo (see also Sarajevo) is the country's capital and largest city.
Note
Sarajevo was the site of the assassination in 1914 of Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinand, which sparked World War I.
Note
In the early 1990s, brutal attacks by Serbian militia devastated the region, arousing international condemnation. In 1995, leaders of the rival Balkan states of Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia met in the United States and ended the fighting with a peace accord.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.