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Den Haag

Den Haag

1 6.0
A Dutch city where the national government, royal family, and international courts are based
  • proper noun
: La Haya
  • The International Court of Justice is based in Den Haag.

Examples

  • She visited Den Haag for a conference on international law.

  • Many embassies can be found throughout Den Haag.

  • I visited Den Haag last summer.

  • Have you ever been to Den Haag?

  • The International Court of Justice is based in Den Haag.

  • She visited Den Haag for a conference on international law.

  • Many embassies can be found throughout Den Haag.

Synonyms

The Hague
vsDen Haag
32 3.9

A city in the western Netherlands where the Dutch government works and many international courts are based

is the Dutch name stressing the government seat and royal residence
's Gravenhage
vsDen Haag
1 9.9

The Dutch name for The Hague, the city where the national government and the International Court of Justice are located

means the same but appears as an alternative Dutch name form

Surface Forms

Den Haag main

Morphology

Den + Haag

This is a toponym in Dutch: a proper name rather than a compositional English phrase. Even if a learner knew that 'Den' corresponds to 'the' and 'Haag' to something like 'hedge' in Dutch, those constituents do not convey the city identity or its governmental/ICJ role, so the meaning is not derivable from the parts.

Etymology

Den Haag comes from an old Dutch phrase meaning 'the count's hedge', because a local ruler once kept a hedged hunting area there. The place grew into a city for government and international courts, so today Den Haag is the name of that city.