Western Samoa
- proper noun
- Literature
:
Samoa Occidental
- The country was known as Western Samoa until it changed its name in 1997.
Examples
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Did you know that Western Samoa changed its name to Samoa in 1997?
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Tourists visiting Western Samoa in the 1980s enjoyed its unspoiled beaches.
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Many historical documents refer to the nation as Western Samoa.
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I visited Western Samoa last summer.
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Many historical documents refer to the nation as Western Samoa.
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The country was known as Western Samoa until it changed its name in 1997.
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Did you know that Western Samoa changed its name to Samoa in 1997?
Synonyms
11
2.8
An island country in the South Pacific made of the western Samoan Islands
A former official name of Western Samoa, now called Samoa, a country in the South Pacific
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is directly compositional: 'western' (toward the west) + 'Samoa' (the islands/state) clearly indicates the western part or political entity associated with Samoa. This geographic, descriptive naming pattern is cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
Western Samoa was a name that showed the western part of Samoa, the islands on the west side of the Samoan group, so people used it to tell this area apart from American Samoa. That's why it was the country's official name until it changed to 'Samoa' in 1997.