Amsterdam

100 2.1

A city that is the capital of the Netherlands and known for canals and museums

proper noun
/ˈæm.stər.dæm/

: Ámsterdam

On my recent trip, I visited Amsterdam, where I enjoyed the beautiful canals.
Amsterdam, Netherlands
University of Amsterdam
Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam

with my bicycle through Amsterdam and there I got this image.

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Examples

I went to Amsterdam when I was 19 years old.

Camilla (1994)
So we're gonna look for a flight from Amsterdam to San Francisco.
And just on the streets of Amsterdam, I want a piece of that.
OK, so we'll save that for our Amsterdam leg of our tour.
You ever been to Amsterdam, Jack? - Not yet.

Saint Jack (1979)
It's day three in Amsterdam, and it's Valentine's Day.
In any case, on your behalf, I have already contacted a certain gentleman in Amsterdam.

Sleuth (1972)
In August 2012, I traveled to Amsterdam for a conference about queer archives and collections.

Academic text (2012)
It was people from Belgium, Argentina, Amsterdam, signs from everywhere.
On Evelyn's request, I stopped at a hardware store on Amsterdam to purchase something for her insect problem.

Fiction book (2000)

Surface Forms

Amsterdam main

Morphology

Amsterdam = Amstel + dam (semi-transparent) = Amstel + dam

Formally a compound of the river name 'Amstel' + 'dam', so the parts are identifiable, but as a city name the meaning is a toponym and not derivable by learners from the parts alone.

Etymology

Amsterdam comes from a dam built on the river Amstel, where -dam means 'barrier' that holds back water. So the town began at that river dam and grew into the city of canals and trade it is today.