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Is·tri·a (ĭstrē-ə)
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A peninsula of northwest Croatia, southwest Slovenia, and northeast Italy projecting into the northeast Adriatic Sea. The original Istrian inhabitants were conquered by the Romans in the second century BC. Istria was subsequently occupied by Venice, Austria, and Italy. All but the area surrounding Trieste was awarded to Yugoslavia in 1947 and in 1991 was split between Croatia and Slovenia.

Istri·an adj. & n.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    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:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    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.