Silesia - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Silesia
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si·le·sia

Audio Help [si-lee-zhuh, -shuh, sahy-] Pronunciation Key

–noun

a lightweight, smoothly finished, twilled fabric of acetate, rayon, or cotton, for garment linings.

[Origin: 1665–70; named after Silesia

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Silesia

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Si·le·sia

Audio Help [si-lee-zhuh, -shuh, sahy-] Pronunciation Key

–noun

a region in central Europe along both banks of the upper Oder River, mainly in SW Poland and the N Czech Republic: formerly divided between Germany (which had the largest portion), Poland, and Czechoslovakia; by provision of the Potsdam agreement 1945, the greater part of German Silesia came under Polish administration; rich deposits of coal, iron, and other minerals.

German, Schlesien.

Polish, Śląsk.

Czech, Slezsko.

—Related forms

Si·le·sian, adjective, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

si·le·sia Audio Help (sī-lē'zhə, -shə, sĭ-) Pronunciation Key
n. A sturdy twilled cotton fabric used for linings and pockets.

[After Silesia.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

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Si·le·sia Audio Help (sī-lē'zhə, -shə, sĭ-) Pronunciation Key
A region of central Europe primarily in southwest Poland and northern Czech Republic. Settled by Slavic peoples c. A.D. 500, the region was long contested by various states and principalities. After World War I Silesia was partitioned among Germany, Poland, and Czechoslovakia. Much of the Czechoslovakian section passed to Germany and Poland after the signing of the Munich Pact in 1938. Germany occupied Polish Silesia from 1939 to 1945, and after World War II Poland annexed most of German Silesia. Upper Silesia, in southern Poland, is an important industrialized area.

Si·le'sian adj. & n.

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WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

silesia
noun
1.	a region of central Europe rich in deposits of coal and iron ore; annexed by Prussia in 1742 but now largely in Poland
2.	a sturdy twill-weave cotton fabric; used for pockets and linings