Vilnius
[vil-nee-oo s]
- a city in and the capital of Lithuania, in the SE part: formerly in the Soviet Union and earlier in Poland.
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Lithuania
[lith-oo-ey-nee-uh]
- a republic in N Europe, on the Baltic: an independent state 1918–40; annexed by the Soviet Union 1940; regained independence 1991. 25,174 sq. mi. (65,200 sq. km). Capital: Vilnius.
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Lithuanian Lietuva.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for vilnius
Contemporary Examples
Suggest Warsaw, Riga, Vilnius and Tallinn keep an eye out for masked men with guns wearing camouflage and no military insignia.
Up to a Point: The U.S. Government’s Minimum Wage Is $430 Million Per HourP. J. O’Rourke
March 21, 2014
In the months leading up to the Vilnius Summit, there were no statements from the White House, no real backup plans from Brussels.
Last September, Putin paid a visit to Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, three months before the Vilnius Summit.
In many ways, by the time it arrived on November 28, the Vilnius Summit had already become arbitrary.
Odessa was never renowned, like a Cracow or Vilnius, as a center of Jewish scholarship or culture.
Vilnius
Vilnyus
- the capital of Lithuania: passed to Russia in 1795; under Polish rule (1920–39); university (1578); an industrial and commercial centre. Pop: 544 000 (2005 est)Russian name: Vilna (ˈvilna) Polish name: Wilno
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Lithuania
- a republic in NE Europe, on the Baltic Sea: a grand duchy in medieval times; united with Poland in 1569; occupied by Russia in 1795 and by Germany during World War I; independent Lithuania formed in 1918, but occupied by Soviet troops in 1919 and then by Poland; became a Soviet republic in 1940; unilaterally declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1990; recognized as independent in 1991; joined the EU in 2004. Official language: Lithuanian. Religion: Roman Catholic majority. Currency: litas. Capital: Vilnius. Pop: 3 515 858 (2013 est). Area: 65 200 sq km (25 174 sq miles)Also called: Lithuanian Republic Lithuanian name: Lietuva
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for vilnius
Lithuania
Baltic nation, from Lithuanian Lietuva, of unknown origin, perhaps from a PIE source related to Latin litus "shore" and thus meaning "shoreland." Related: Lithuanian.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Lithuania
[(lith-ooh-ay-nee-uh)]
Note
Lithuania was one of the largest and most powerful states in Europe from the fourteenth to the sixteenth centuries, at which time it merged with Poland. In the late eighteenth century, it was absorbed by Russia. A nationalist movement that grew in strength throughout the nineteenth century finally bore fruit when the Russian empire collapsed during World War I. Lithuanians achieved their desired goal of an independent state during the interwar years, but their country was occupied and annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940, as were the neighboring countries of Estonia and Latvia.
Note
Occupied by German forces during World War II, at which time thousands of Lithuanian Jews (see also Jews) were exterminated.
Note
As the communist system began to collapse and the Soviet Union began to dissolve, Lithuania became the first of the Baltic republics to reject Soviet rule, declaring its independence in March 1990.
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.