Lusitania

[ loo-si-tey-nee-uh ]

/ ˌlu sɪˈteɪ ni ə /

noun

(italics) a British luxury liner sunk by a German submarine in the North Atlantic on May 7, 1915: one of the events leading to U.S. entry into World War I.

an ancient region and Roman province in the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding generally to modern Portugal.

Related formsLu·si·ta·ni·an, adjective, noun

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

Examples from the Web for lusitania

She enjoys the first of her new supply while murmuring "how dreadful" while reading at breakfast of the sinking of the Lusitania.
David's Bookclub: Time Regained|David Frum|April 8, 2013|DAILY BEAST
It was the capital of Lusitania, and was called Emerita Augusta, from the first word of which title comes the present name.
Vine and Olive; Or Young America in Spain and Portugal|Oliver Optic
The statement appearing in some newspapers that the Lusitania was armed is wholly false.
New York Times Current History; The European War, Vol 2, No. 3, June, 1915|Various
The Lusitania went down; the Great Republic merely quivered.
The Moonlit Way|Robert W. Chambers

The sinking of the Lusitania was the first great shock to the United States.
Lest We Forget|John Gilbert Thompson
If we can satisfactorily settle the Lusitania trouble, the whole outlook will be very good.
The Life and Letters of Walter H. Page, Volume II|Burton J. Hendrick

British Dictionary definitions for lusitania

Lusitania

/ (ˌluːsɪˈteɪnɪə) /

noun

an ancient region of the W Iberian Peninsula: a Roman province from 27 bc to the late 4th century ad; corresponds to most of present-day Portugal and the Spanish provinces of Salamanca and Cáceres

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 lusitania

Lusitania

Latin name of a region roughly corresponding to modern Portugal; in modern use, allusive or poetic for "Portugal." The Cunard ocean liner (sister ship of the Mauretania and Aquitania, also named after Roman Atlantic coastal provinces) was launched in 1906, torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-20 on May 7, 1915.

Culture definitions for lusitania

Lusitania

[ (looh-suh-tay-nee-uh) ]

A British passenger ship sunk by a German submarine off the coast of Ireland in 1915. Germany, then at war with Britain but not with the United States (see World War I), had warned Americans against traveling on the ship. More than a hundred Americans died in the sinking. The incident worsened relations between Germany and the United States and encouraged American involvement in the war.