Saigon
[sahy-gon]
- former name of Ho Chi Minh City: capital of former South Vietnam 1954–76.
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South Vietnam
- a former country in SE Asia that comprised Vietnam S of about 17° N latitude; a separate state 1954–75; now part of reunified Vietnam. Capital: Saigon.
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Compare North Vietnam, Vietnam.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for saigon
Contemporary Examples
“When things started to quiet down, my mom put all of us in the car and started to drive to Saigon,” says Carina.
On April 30, 1975, American troops withdrew from Saigon as the city fell to the North Vietnamese.
A few days later, on April 30, General Duong Van Minh surrendered to the Viet Cong and the Fall of Saigon was complete.
More than a decade after she left her mother behind in Saigon, Carina returned to Vietnam to help bring her parents to America.
How could her mother have known what lay ahead as she drove her children into the heart of Saigon on April 29, 1975?
Historical Examples
It just touched Saigon, and he was likewise seen there once.
VictoryJoseph Conrad
Captain Ringgold gave me his time for leaving there, and also of sailing from Saigon.
Four Young ExplorersOliver Optic
So far as its appearance goes, it might be on the Seine instead of the Saigon.
Where the Strange Trails Go DownE. Alexander Powell
There was a court of appeal at Hanoi, and another at Saigon.
There remained the emigrants, fifty or sixty of whom had spent the night in Saigon.
The Clique of GoldEmile Gaboriau
Saigon
- the former name (until 1976) of Ho Chi Minh City
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South Vietnam
- a former republic (1955–76) occupying the S of present-day Vietnam on the South China Sea and the Gulf of Thailand
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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 saigon
Saigon
southern Vietnamese city, capital of former South Vietnam, named for its river, which bears a name of uncertain origin.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Saigon
[(seye-gon)]
City in southern Vietnam; capital of South Vietnam from 1954 to 1975.
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Note
A commercial, industrial, and transportation hub of Southeast Asia, Saigon enjoyed rapid growth and cultural prestige as the capital of French Indochina.
Note
American and South Vietnamese forces were headquartered in Saigon during the Vietnam War.
Note
Renamed Ho Chi Minh City by the victorious Vietnamese communists in 1976.
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.