Windhoek

[vint-hoo k]

noun

a city in and the capital of Namibia, in the central part.

Namibia

[nuh-mib-ee-uh]

noun

a republic in SW Africa: a former German protectorate; a mandate of South Africa 1920–66; gained independence 1990. 318,261 sq. mi. (824,296 sq. km). Capital: Windhoek.

Formerly German Southwest Africa (1884–1919),Also called South-West Africa (1920–68).

Related formsNa·mib·i·an, adjective, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for windhoek

Historical Examples of windhoek

From Windhoek, as already told, there is rail communication with Swakopmund.
The Rise of Rail-Power in War and Conquest, 1833-1914
Edwin A. Pratt
A railway connecting Gobabis with Windhoek was to have been commenced in 1915.
The Rise of Rail-Power in War and Conquest, 1833-1914
Edwin A. Pratt
No other opposition of importance was encountered, and the operations were brought to a successful conclusion at Windhoek.
New York Times Current History; The European War, Vol 2, No. 5, August, 1915
Various
So the railway in question got no further east than Windhoek, the capital of the colony, a distance inland of 237 miles.
The Rise of Rail-Power in War and Conquest, 1833-1914
Edwin A. Pratt
Windhoek (wind-corner) was an appropriate name, the breezes blowing there at times with unrelenting fury.
My Reminiscences of the Anglo-Boer War
Ben Viljoen.

British Dictionary definitions for windhoek

Windhoek

noun

the capital of Namibia, in the centre, at an altitude of 1654 m (5428 ft): formerly the capital of German South West Africa. Pop: 252 000 (2005 est)

Namibia

noun

a country in southern Africa bordering on South Africa: annexed by Germany in 1884 and mandated by the League of Nations to South Africa in 1920. The mandate was terminated by the UN in 1966 but this was ignored by South Africa, as was the 1971 ruling by the International Court of Justice that the territory be surrendered. Independence was achieved in 1990 and Namibia became a member of the Commonwealth; Walvis Bay remained a South African enclave until 1994, when it was returned to Namibia. Official language: English; Afrikaans and German also spoken. Religion: mostly animist, with some Christians. Currency: dollar. Capital: Windhoek. Pop: 2 182 852 (2013 est). Area: 823 328 sq km (317 887 sq miles)Also called: South West Africa Former name (1885–1919): German Southwest Africa

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

windhoek in Culture

Namibia

[(nuh-mib-ee-uh)]

Country in southwestern Africa, bordered by Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east, South Africa to the south and southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west; formerly called South West Africa.

Note

In 1920, South Africa began administering South West Africa under authority of the League of Nations, and in 1971, it rejected the demands of the General Assembly of the United Nations that it withdraw. A nationalist group, the South West Africa People's Organization (SWAPO), waged guerrilla warfare in an attempt to force South Africa out of Namibia. A U.S.-mediated settlement ended the civil war in 1988. In 1990, Namibia became an independent nation.