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Thirty Years' War

Thirty Years' War

1 8.4
A long war across central Europe from 1618 to 1648 between Protestant and Catholic states
  • noun
  • /ˈθɜrti jɪrz wɔr/
translation icon : Guerra de los Treinta Años
  • The turning point was marked by France's entrance into the Thirty Years' War on the side of the Protestants.
  • ended the Thirty Years' War

Examples

  • During the Thirty Years' War, Spain supported the Catholics against the Protestants in Germany, the Catholic League against the Huguenots in France, and its Austrian cousins against the Turks.

    Academic text (2004)
  • Be that as it may, state sovereignty came to be accepted as a principle of international law at the Peace of Westphalia, ending the Thirty Years' War in 1648.

    Academic text (1994)
  • The Thirty Years' War had clear winners and losers.

    Academic text (2005)
  • Spain undoubtedly possessed the most powerful empire in Europe before the Thirty Years' War.

    Academic text (2005)
  • The significance of this turn of events for mobilizing the German Protestants in the Thirty Years' War can hardly be overestimated.

    Academic text (2005)
  • Given that this was the age of the Thirty Years' War, one of the most horrifying wars ever fought in large part over rivalry between Christian sects, it's more impressive than it sounds today.

    Blog text (25)
  • From 1620 to 1644, during the Thirty Years' War, Protestants in the area surrounding the town of Vsetin staged a fierce rebellion against the Catholic Hapsburgs.

    Academic text (1996)
  • The population was halved during the Thirty Years' War and recovered within a century.

  • Spain undoubtedly possessed the most powerful empire in Europe before the Thirty Years' War.

  • The turning point was marked by France's entrance into the Thirty Years' War on the side of the Protestants.

Surface Forms

Morphology

thirty + Years' + war

The compound reads literally as 'a war associated with thirty years' so a B1 learner who knows 'thirty', 'years', and 'war' will understand it refers to a war lasting or occurring over a thirty-year period (i.e., a named historical conflict). While the specific historical details and dates are not derivable from the words alone, the core meaning is compositional and cross-linguistically transparent.

Etymology

Thirty Years' War gets its name because it lasted about thirty years, from 1618 to 1648. So the name reminds you it was a long 'war' that involved many countries and changed many parts of Europe.