Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Napoleonic Wars

Napoleonic Wars

3 6.5
A series of wars from 1799 to 1815 between France under Napoleon and other European countries
  • proper noun
  • /nəˌpoʊliˈɑnɪk wɔrz/
: Guerras Napoleónicas
  • Many countries formed coalitions against France during the Napoleonic Wars, including Britain and Austria.
  • end of the Napoleonic Wars
  • Napoleonic Wars were followed

This financial consistency was Britain's secret weapon in the Napoleonic Wars.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • In the sixty years or so after the Napoleonic Wars, Britain came to dominate many regions of the globe.

    Academic text (2004)

  • But these relatively moderate conceptions were soon to be severely shaken by the experience of the Napoleonic Wars and the notion of total war.

    Academic text (1995)

  • You had the Napoleonic Wars going in full scale.

  • And during the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleon got charge of them.

  • The Napoleonic Wars had begun to spread the new principle throughout Europe and hence throughout the world.

    Academic text (2000)

  • France was embroiled in the Napoleonic Wars.

    Academic text (2002)

  • And that is how Mauritius, so far away from Europe, got involved in the Napoleonic Wars.

    Blog text (23)

  • Until the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, emigration was low.

    Academic text (1993)

  • Novik's novels, like those, are set during the Napoleonic Wars and closely linked to the British navy.

    Blog text (31)

  • The prices of Consols surged primarily because of a decline in supply as the Napoleonic Wars ended and the government moved toward fiscal surplus.

    Academic text (2018)

Surface Forms

Napoleonic Wars main

Morphology

Napoleonic + war

The phrase 'Napoleonic Wars' is directly compositional: 'Napoleonic' means 'pertaining to Napoleon Bonaparte' and 'wars' means armed conflicts, so a learner who knows both constituents will understand this refers to wars associated with Napoleon. This naming pattern (wars named after a leader or period) is cross-linguistically common, making the compound immediately interpretable even if the learner lacks historical details or dates.

Etymology

Napoleonic Wars comes from Napoleon Bonaparte, the French leader who fought many battles across Europe. So the phrase means 'the wars led by Napoleon'.