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Huns - 2 dictionary results
Hun     (hŭn)  Pronunciation Key 
n.  
  1. A member of a nomadic pastoralist people who invaded Europe in the fourth and fifth centuries A.D. and were defeated in 455.
  2. often hun A barbarous or destructive person.
  3. Offensive Slang Used as a disparaging term for a German, especially a German soldier in World War I.

[From Late Latin Hunnī, the Huns, from Turki Hunyü.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source

Huns

A tribe from western Asia who conquered much of central and eastern Europe during the fifth century. The Huns were known for their cruelty and destructiveness.

Note: The British frequently referred to German soldiers as “Huns” during World War I and World War II as a way of emphasizing their supposed brutality.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
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