‖ Land, n.2
(lant)
Pl. Länder (ˈlɛndər), Laender, Lands.
[G.]
A semi-autonomous unit of local government in Germany and Austria.
| [1920 G. Young New Germany 321 The transformation of this Constitution from a centralised republic..back to a federation has been reviewed already. The word ‘lander’ is literally translated for this and other reasons.] 1920 H. W. V. Temperley Hist. Peace Conf. Paris III. 347 The word Länder..has been deliberately used instead of the word Staaten... The word States for the members of a federal Constitution seems therefore to be misleading as expressly repudiated and ‘Lands’ is used, a new word coined by Professor Young. Ibid. 348 Article 5. Constitutional power is exercised..in matters pertaining to the Lands, by the Constitutional bodies of those Lands within the lines laid down by the constitutions of those Lands. 1950 Theimer & Campbell Encycl. World Politics 42 Austria became a federal republic, consisting of eight Lands. 1955 Times 26 Aug. 7/2 Many wage agreements are settled on a Land and not a federal basis. 1958 Listener 9 Oct. 571/1 In the Laender under its sway..it [sc. Austria] produced the nearest approach to the Welfare State that existed before its establishment in the United Kingdom. 1966 Economist 13 Aug. 633/1 The ambitious and consequently hard-pressed Länder are demanding that..Bonn's share of the tax-collectors' booty should be no more than 35 per cent. 1969 Nature 15 Nov. 633/2 The German universities are at present the responsibility of the Länder. 1973 Times 30 Jan. 4/6 The four Länder—Hamburg, Bremen, Lower Saxony and Schleswig-Holstein—have asked the Bonn Government to sanction a boycott. |