A guide to the language of history
History glossary
Understand the people, places and ideas behind the stories. Find a term, read its meaning, then explore it in context.
757–792 of 797 terms
United Nations
an international organization founded after the Second World War to support peace, cooperation, and international law.
universal adult suffrage
the right of all adult citizens to vote regardless of race, sex, wealth or status.
Ur
a major Sumerian city in southern Mesopotamia, near modern Tell el-Muqayyar in Iraq.
Urban
relating to towns and cities, rather than villages or countryside.
Urban planning
the deliberate design of streets, buildings, water systems, and public spaces in a settlement.
Urbanisation
the growth of towns and cities as more people live and work in urban areas.
Uruk
one of the world's earliest major cities, in southern Mesopotamia near modern Warka in Iraq.
Ustasha
a Croatian fascist movement that ruled the Axis-backed Independent State of Croatia during the Second World War.
Utah Beach
the westernmost American landing beach on D-Day, where troops made rapid progress inland.
Vandal North Africa
the Vandal-ruled kingdom based around Carthage before Justinian's forces reconquered it in 533-534.
Vandals
a Germanic people who crossed into North Africa, captured Carthage, built a naval kingdom, and weakened the Western Roman Empire.
Varangians
Scandinavian-linked traders, warriors, and rulers active along the eastern European river routes.
Vassal
a person who owed loyalty and service to a lord in return for protection, status, or land.
vassalage
a personal bond in which a subordinate lord owed loyalty and service to a more powerful lord.
Viet Cong
the common name for communist-led insurgent forces fighting South Vietnam and the United States.
Viet Minh
the independence front led by Ho Chi Minh that fought Japanese occupation and French colonial rule.
Vietnam War
a Cold War conflict over Vietnam's reunification, involving North Vietnam, South Vietnam, the United States, and allies.
Viking
Scandinavian raiders, traders, settlers, and rulers active across Europe and the North Atlantic.
Vikings
Scandinavian raiders, traders, settlers, and rulers active across Europe and the North Atlantic in the early medieval period.
Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions
1798-1799 state resolutions opposing the Alien and Sedition Acts and asserting a states' rights theory of constitutional resistance.
Visigoths
a Gothic people who entered the Roman Empire, fought at Adrianople, sacked Rome in 410 CE, and later founded kingdoms in Gaul and Iberia.
voter registration
getting a person onto an official list so they can vote.
Voting Rights Act
the 1965 law strengthening national protection against racial discrimination in voting.
Wall Street Crash
the 1929 collapse in US stock prices that helped trigger the Great Depression.
Wannsee Conference
the 20 January 1942 meeting where senior Nazi officials coordinated the Final Solution across occupied Europe.
War Communism
the emergency Bolshevik economic policy of 1918 to 1921, built around nationalisation, grain requisitioning, and coercive control.
War on Terror
the U.S.-led global campaign against al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and other militant groups after 9/11.
Wars of the Roses
the fifteenth-century dynastic conflicts between rival claimants from the houses of Lancaster and York.
Warsaw Pact
the Soviet-led military alliance of Eastern European communist states during the Cold War.
water frame
a water-powered spinning machine that produced strong cotton yarn for factory-scale production.
Weimar Republic
Germany's democratic republic between the First World War and Nazi rule.
Western Front
the main First World War battlefront in France and Belgium, famous for trench warfare and attrition.
Western Roman Empire
the western half of the Roman Empire, centered on Italy and western Europe, whose last emperor was deposed in 476 CE.
World Trade Organization
the global trade body China joined in 2001, accelerating its integration into world supply chains.
Xia dynasty
China's traditionally remembered first dynasty, often linked by scholars with Erlitou but not proven by writing from the site.
Xiongnu
a powerful steppe confederation north of China that shaped Han frontier policy.
