Sierra Le·one (l - n , -n) A country of western Africa on the Atlantic coast. Inhabited by the Temne when the Portuguese first visited the coast in 1460, the region was later settled by Mande-speaking peoples from present-day Liberia. In 1792 freed slaves were brought from Nova Scotia to found the colony of Freetown, which was transferred to British administration in 1808. The region became a British protectorate in 1896 and achieved independence in 1961. Sierra Leone became a republic in 1971. Freetown is the capital and the largest city. Population: 6,140,000. Sierra Le·o ne·an adj. & n. |   |
Sierra Leone [sɪˈɛərə lɪˈəʊnɪ lɪˈəʊn]
n
(Placename) a republic in W Africa, on the Atlantic: became a British colony in 1808 and gained independence (within the Commonwealth) in 1961; declared a republic in 1971; became a one-party state in 1978; multiparty democracy restored in 1991 but military rule was imposed following a coup in 1992, which led to civil unrest; consists of coastal swamps rising to a plateau in the east. Official language: English. Religion: Muslim majority and animist. Currency: leone. Capital: Freetown. Pop.: 5 427 000 (2001 est.). Area: 71 740 sq. km (27 699 sq. miles)
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| Noun | 1. |  Sierra Leone - a republic in West Africa; achieved independence from the United Kingdom in 1961Revolutionary United Front, RUF - a terrorist group formed in the 1980s in Sierra Leone; seeks to overthrow the government and gain control of the diamond producing regions; responsible for attacks on civilians and children, widespread torture and murder and using children to commit atrocities; sponsored by the president of Liberia capital of Sierra Leone, Freetown - port city and the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone Africa - the second largest continent; located to the south of Europe and bordered to the west by the South Atlantic and to the east by the Indian Ocean Sierra Leonean - a native or inhabitant of Sierra Leone |
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