Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online

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Fatherland, motherland
(1,047 words)

1. Concept

The word Vaterland (“fatherland”) became established in the German territories from the beginning of the early modern period. The Romance languages exclusively use patria (French patrie). Dutch and the Scandinavian languages use cognates of Vaterland (Dutch vaderland; Danish fædreland or fäderneland; Swedish fädernesland). The term “fatherland” was coined in English early in the 19th century as a calque of the German, but the other parent is more usually invoked (…

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Clemens, Gabriele, “Fatherland, motherland”, in: Encyclopedia of Early Modern History Online, Editors of the English edition: Graeme Dunphy, Andrew Gow. Original German Edition: Enzyklopädie der Neuzeit. Im Auftrag des Kulturwissenschaftlichen Instituts (Essen) und in Verbindung mit den Fachherausgebern herausgegeben von Friedrich Jaeger. Copyright © J.B. Metzlersche Verlagsbuchhandlung und Carl Ernst Poeschel Verlag GmbH 2005–2012. Consulted online on 19 March 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/2352-0272_emho_COM_029485>
First published online: 2015
First print edition: 20180126



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