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Northern Rhodesia

Northern Rhodesia

8.7
The name for Zambia when it was a British territory before 1964
  • proper noun
  • Formal
translation icon : Rodesia del Norte
  • Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland were to become independent two years later as the separate nations of Zambia and Malawi.

Examples

  • The people of Northern Rhodesia were, he said, "not a cattle nor a goat people, nor a fishing people, nor a tree-cutting people; they are a dressed people" (1942:18).

    Academic text (1997)
  • The history of Northern Rhodesia is marked by its transition from a British protectorate to the independent nation of Zambia.

  • Her treatment of how African musicians acquire musical skills using African American role models reaches back to 1957, when Louis Armstrong arrived in Zimbabwe (then Northern Rhodesia) on a concert tour sponsored by the U.S. State Department.

    Academic text (1997)
  • In Northern Rhodesia, many people spoke English due to British colonial influence.

  • Tourists visiting Northern Rhodesia before independence often marveled at its stunning landscapes.

Synonyms

Zambia
vsNorthern Rhodesia
15 2.7

A country in central Africa without a coast known for Victoria Falls and wildlife

is the former colonial protectorate name used before independence
Republic of Zambia
vsNorthern Rhodesia
3.9

A landlocked country in southern-central Africa independent since 1964

is the earlier British protectorate name used before 1964

Surface Forms

Morphology

northern + Rhodesia

The phrase is compositionally built from the adjective 'northern' + the place-name 'Rhodesia', so a learner who knows both constituents will readily infer it denotes the northern part/territory called Rhodesia. This adjective+toponym pattern is cross-linguistically common and therefore immediately comprehensible; specific historical detail that it corresponds to modern Zambia requires encyclopedic knowledge beyond morphology.

Etymology

Northern Rhodesia comes from the time the area was a British territory named after Cecil Rhodes, a British businessman, and the word Northern showed it was the northern part of his lands. That's why, when the country 'became Zambia' in 1964, the old name stopped being used.