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Vietnam definition

Vi·et·nam (-näm′, -nam′)

country on the E coast of the Indochinese Peninsula: ruled by the French from mid-19th cent. until 1945; partitioned into two republics (North Vietnam & South Vietnam) in 1954; war between the two republics (see Vietnam War) ended with the defeat of South Vietnam & reunification of the two republics (1976) as the Socialist Republic of Vietnam: 127,246 sq mi (329,566 sq km); pop. 64,412,000; cap. Hanoi

Etymology: Vietnamese Viet, name of people + nam, south

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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