Hansa

[han-suh, -zuh]

a company or guild of merchants in a northern European medieval town.

a fee paid to a merchant guild by a new member.

Also called Hansa town, Hansetown. a town that is a member of the Hanseatic League.

Origin of Hansa

< Medieval Latin; replacing Middle English hans, hanze < Middle Low German hanse; cognate with Old English hōs, Old High German, Gothic hansa company

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

It terminated in 1370, leaving the Hansa master of the situation.
The Railroad Question
William Larrabee
This was the Hanseatic League (so called from the word Hansa, a convention).
The History of London
Walter Besant
Under this pressure, in 1597, an exception was made in favor of the Hansa.
A History of the Inquisition of Spain; vol. 3
Henry Charles Lea
What a degradation of sentiment in the Hansa when the cause of one was no longer the cause of all!
The Hansa Towns
Helen Zimmern
Why should not the Hansa, he pleaded, once more play the rôle of king-maker?
The Hansa Towns
Helen Zimmern

Word Origin and History for hansa

also Hanse, medieval European merchants' guild; see Hanseatic. A member was a Hansard (early 13c. as a surname).