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Vil·ni·us

(vĭlnē-əs) or Vil·na (-nə)

The capital and largest city of Lithuania, in the southeast part of the country. Founded in 1323, Vilnius developed into a center of Jewish learning in the 1700s and 1800s. The city was occupied by Soviet troops in 1939, becoming the capital of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1940. After a period of occupation by Germany (1941-1944) during which most of the city's Jewish community was exterminated, Vilnius reverted to Soviet rule, eventually becoming the capital of independent Lithuania (1991).

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.

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