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Glite Dictionary
War of the Grand Alliance

War of the Grand Alliance

9.9
A European war from 1689 to 1697 when France fought a group of other countries
  • noun
translation icon : Guerra de la Gran Alianza
  • The War of the Grand Alliance dramatically shifted the balance of power in late 17th-century Europe.

Examples

  • The War of the Grand Alliance began in 1689.

  • Scholars have written extensively about the political consequences of the War of the Grand Alliance.

  • England and the Dutch Republic were prominent members of the coalition during the War of the Grand Alliance.

  • Many historians study the War of the Grand Alliance for its impact on Europe.

  • England and the Dutch Republic were prominent members of the coalition during the War of the Grand Alliance.

  • Scholars have written extensively about the political consequences of the War of the Grand Alliance.

  • The War of the Grand Alliance dramatically shifted the balance of power in late 17th-century Europe.

Synonyms

Nine Years' War
vsWar of the Grand Alliance
9.1

A major European war from 1689 to 1697 between France and a group of other countries

uses a coalition-based name instead of identifying the conflict by years
War of the League of Augsburg
vsWar of the Grand Alliance
9.9

A war from 1689 to 1697 in which many European countries fought against France led by King Louis XIV

uses a year-based label instead of naming the opposing alliance

Surface Forms

War of the Grand Alliance singular
Wars of the Grand Alliance plural

Morphology

war + of + the + grand + alliance

This is a descriptive proper name composed transparently from 'war' + 'grand' + 'alliance' — a learner who knows those words will understand it refers to a war involving a large or important alliance. While they would not know the specific historical details (dates, exact participants) without background knowledge, the basic meaning is directly derivable from the constituents.

Etymology

The War of the Grand Alliance is named for the very large group of countries that joined together to fight France. The word grand means very big and alliance means a group working together, so the name tells you it was the late 1600s war fought by a 'big group' of states.