stalag

[ stal-uhg; German shtah-lahk ]

noun

1. a World War II German military camp housing prisoners of war of enlisted ranks.

stalag

/ ˈstælæɡ; ˈʃtalak /

noun

1. a German prisoner-of-war camp in World War II, esp for noncommissioned officers and other ranks

Word History and Origins

Origin of stalag¹

First recorded in 1940–45; from German, short for Sta(mm)lag(er), equivalent to Stamm “cadre, main body” + Lager “camp”

Word History and Origins

Origin of stalag¹

short for Stammlager base camp, from Stamm base (related to stem ¹) + Lager camp