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1. A former kingdom and province of northwest Germany. It was an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire from 1692 to 1805. The kingdom lasted from 1815 to 1866, when Hanover became a province of Prussia (later Germany).
2. A city of northwest Germany southeast of Bremen. Chartered in 1241, it became part of the Hanseatic League in 1386. Hanover was badly damaged during World War II but has been extensively rebuilt.
Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:
The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.