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Congo |
Also found in: Acronyms, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.01 sec. |
Congo [ˈkɒŋgəʊ] n
1. (Placename) Democratic Republic of. a republic in S central Africa, with a narrow strip of land along the Congo estuary leading to the Atlantic in the west: Congo Free State established in 1885, with Leopold II of Belgium as absolute monarch; became the Belgian Congo colony in 1908; gained independence in 1960, followed by civil war and the secession of Katanga (until 1963); President Mobutu Sese Seko seized power in 1965; declared a one-party state in 1978, and was overthrown by rebels in 1997. The country consists chiefly of the Congo basin, with large areas of dense tropical forest and marshes, and the Mitumba highlands reaching over 5000 m (16 000 ft.) in the east. Official language: French. Religion: Christian majority, animist minority. Currency: Congolese franc. Capital: Kinshasa. Pop.: 53 625 000 (2001 est.). Area: 2 344 116 sq. km (905 063 sq. miles) Former names Congo Free State (1885-1908) Belgian Congo (1908-60) Congo-Kinshasa (1960-71) Zaïre (1971-97) 2. (Placename) Republic of. a former name (1960-99) of Congo-Brazzaville 3. (Placename) the second longest river in Africa, rising as the Lualaba on the Katanga plateau in the Democratic Republic of Congo and flowing in a wide northerly curve to the Atlantic: forms the border between Congo-Brazzaville and the Democratic Republic of Congo Length: about 4800 km (3000 miles). Area of basin: about 3 000 000 sq. km (1 425 000 sq. miles). Former Zaïrese name (1971-97) Zaïre 4. (Social Science / Peoples) (Linguistics / Languages) a variant spelling of Kongo (the people and language) ThesaurusLegend: Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Translations Congo [ˈkɒŋgəʊ] n (= state) → (République f démocratique du) Congo Congo Congo [ˈkɒŋgəʊ] n the Congo (country, river) → il Congo Congo [ˈkɒŋgəʊ] n the Congo (country, river) → il Congo How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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| At first he had been humbly thankful, too, that they had sent him to this Godforsaken Congo post instead of court-martialing him, as he had so justly deserved; but now six months of the monotony, the frightful isolation and the loneliness had wrought a change. What the ancients imagined of the torrid zone being uninhabitable is so far from being true, that this climate is very temperate: the heats, indeed, are excessive in Congo and Monomotapa, but in Abyssinia they enjoy a perpetual spring, more delicious and charming than that in our country. Never once did he complain of the length or fatigue of a journey, never make an objection to pack his portmanteau for whatever country it might be, or however far away, whether China or Congo. |
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