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Westphalia

American  
[west-fey-lee-uh, -feyl-yuh] / wɛstˈfeɪ li ə, -ˈfeɪl yə /

noun

  1. a former province in NW Germany, now a part of North Rhine-Westphalia: treaty ending the Thirty Years' War 1648.


Westphalia British  
/ wɛstˈfeɪlɪə /

noun

  1. German name: Westfalen.  a historic region of NW Germany, now mostly in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia

"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

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Example Sentences

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Since the modern nation-state system was organized by the Treaty of Westphalia in 1688, state sovereignty has been the bedrock of international law.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 23, 2026

"We know that there is a lot of money circulating right now," Stephanie Thien, head of the state office for combating financial crime in North-Rhine Westphalia, told AFP.

From Barron's • Oct. 9, 2025

In North Rhine Westphalia, Germany's most populous state, consumer prices in August rose 0.5% month-on-month and 5.9% year-on-year.

From Reuters • Aug. 30, 2023

Last summer, Göttingen in Lower Saxony and Siegen in North Rhine Westphalia allowed women to swim topless.

From BBC • Mar. 9, 2023

Westphalia, then, was the birth-place of this institution, and over Westphalia alone did it exercise authority.

From Secret Societies of the Middle Ages by Keightley, Thomas

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