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Hanoi

[ha-noi, huh-]
noun
  1. a city in and the capital of Vietnam, in the N part, on the Songka River.

Vietnam

or Vi·et Nam

[vee-et-nahm, -nam, vyet-, vee-it-]
noun
  1. Official name Socialist Republic of Vietnam. a country in SE Asia, comprising the former states of Annam, Tonkin, and Cochin-China: formerly part of French Indochina; divided into North Vietnam and South Vietnam during the Vietnam War but now reunified. 126,104 sq. mi. (326,609 sq. km). Capital: Hanoi.Compare North Vietnam, South Vietnam.
  2. Vietnam War.

French Indochina

noun
  1. an area in SE Asia, formerly a French colonial federation including Cochin-China, the protectorates of Annam, Cambodia, Tonkin, and Laos, and the leased territory of Kwangchowan: now comprising the three independent states of Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Capital: Hanoi.
Compare Indochina.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

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British Dictionary definitions for hanoi

Hanoi

noun
  1. the capital of Vietnam, on the Red River: became capital of Tonkin in 1802, of French Indochina in 1887, of Vietnam in 1945, and of North Vietnam (1954–75); university (1917); industrial centre. Pop: 4 147 000 (2005 est)

French Indochina

noun
  1. the territories of SE Asia that were colonized by France and held mostly until 1954: included Cochin China, Annam, and Tonkin (now largely Vietnam), Cambodia, Laos, and Kuang-Chou Wan (returned to China in 1945, now Zhanjiang)

Vietnam

Viet Nam

noun
  1. a republic in SE Asia: an ancient empire, conquered by France in the 19th century; occupied by Japan (1940–45) when the Communist-led Vietminh began resistance operations that were continued against restored French rule after 1945. In 1954 the country was divided along the 17th parallel, establishing North Vietnam (under the Vietminh) and South Vietnam (under French control), the latter becoming the independent Republic of Vietnam in 1955. From 1959 the country was dominated by war between the Communist Vietcong, supported by North Vietnam, and the South Vietnamese government; increasing numbers of US forces were brought to the aid of the South Vietnamese army until a peace agreement (1973) led to the withdrawal of US troops; further fighting led to the eventual defeat of the South Vietnamese government in March 1975 and in 1976 an elected National Assembly proclaimed the reunification of the country. Official language: Vietnamese. Religion: Buddhist majority. Currency: dong. Capital: Hanoi. Pop: 92 477 857 (2013 est). Area: 331 041 sq km (127 816 sq miles)Official name: Socialist Republic of Vietnam
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 hanoi

Hanoi

city in northern Vietnam, from Vietnamese Hà Nôi, literally "River Inside," from hà "river" + nôi "inside." So called in reference to its situation in a bend of the Red River. Known 18c. as Dong Kinh "Eastern Capital," which was corrupted by Europeans into Tonkin, Tonquin, and that name was used in the French colonial period to refer to the entire region and extended to the gulf to the east.

Vietnam

from Vietnamese Viet, the people's name + nam "south." Vietnam War attested by 1963.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
hanoi in Culture

Hanoi

[(ha-noy)]

Capital of Vietnam, located in the northern part of the country.

Note

It was the scene of heavy fighting between French and Vietnamese communist forces from 1946 to 1954.

Note

It became the capital of North Vietnam in 1954, when the French evacuated the city.

Note

During the Vietnam War, the city suffered heavy bombing by the United States.

Vietnam

[(vee-et-nahm, vee-et-nam)]

Republic in Southeast Asia, bordered by Cambodia and Laos to the west, China to the north, and the South China Sea (an arm of the Pacific Ocean) to the east and south.

Note

Vietnam was under the control of France from the second half of the nineteenth century until World War II, when it was occupied by the Japanese. The country became an autonomous state in 1946. France's attempts to reassert control resulted in the French Indochina War (1946–1954), in which the French were defeated.

Note

The Geneva Conference of 1954 divided Vietnam into North Vietnam, controlled by communists, and South Vietnam, controlled by noncommunists.

Note

In the Vietnam War of 1954–1975, South Vietnam, which was aided by the United States, fought communist insurgents, who were aided by North Vietnam. The war ended when the communists overran the south in 1975. The country was reunified in 1976.

Note

American involvement in the Vietnam War was strongly protested in the United States.

Note

Great numbers of Vietnamese refugees, known as boat people, fled the country in the aftermath of the war.

Note

Between 1978 and 1979, Vietnam invaded Cambodia and installed a puppet government.
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.