turnverein
(ˈtɜːnvəraɪn)
[Ger., f. turnen to do gymnastic exercises + verein society, club.]
In the United States, a gymnastic society, orig. for German immigrants, on the model of those instituted by Jahn (see turner1 8). Also attrib.
| 1852 San Francisco Herald 1 Nov. 2/2 The Turnverein Society held another of their fetes yesterday. 1949 Minnesota Hist. Mar. 26 The Cincinnati Turnverein built the first Turner Hall in the United States in 1850. 1959 R. Condon Manchurian Candidate (1960) xxvii. 267 Petitions and documentations were submitted to the Resolutions Committee by farm lobbies, labour unions,..and national manufacturers' Turnvereins. 1974 Encycl. Brit. Micropædia X. 202/1 Turnvereins continue to foster citizenship and cultural programs together with health and physical-education activities, particularly gymnastics. |