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Germania

Germania

1 9.9
A book by Tacitus about early German tribes and their lands
  • proper noun
  • /dʒɜrˈmeɪniə/
  • Literature
translation icon : Germania
  • The cliché of being blindfolded, bound, and taken to the hidden camp in the heart of the forest can be traced back at least as far as Roman accounts of the tribes of Germania.

Examples

  • Many historians reference Germania to understand the social structure of ancient Germanic tribes.

  • In his detailed account, Tacitus described the customs and lifestyles of the tribes in Germania.

  • Tacitus' Germania serves as a crucial primary source for studying the early Germanic peoples.

Surface Forms

Germania main

Morphology

Germania = German (transparent) = German + ia

The title of Tacitus's work is the name of the region, formed from 'German' + '-ia', so its derivation is direct and recognizable.

Etymology

Tacitus titled his short work Germania using the Latin word Germania, which means 'land of the Germans'. The title tells you the book is about the Germanic tribes and the lands they lived in.