Waterloo

See also: waterloo

English

Etymology

From Middle Dutch, composed of water (“water”) +‎ loo (“sacred wood, forest”). More at water, lea. cf. German Loh. Most places in English-speaking countries are named for the battle.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌwɔːtə(ɹ)ˈluː/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˌwɔtɚˈluː/, /ˈwɔtɚˌluː/
  • (cot–caught merger) IPA^(key): /ˌwɑtɚˈluː/, /ˈwɑtɚˌluː/
• Rhymes: -uː
• Hyphenation: Wa‧ter‧loo

Proper noun

Waterloo

1. A village in Walloon Brabant, Belgium; the site of a major military battle in 1815.
2. A battle fought at Waterloo, Belgium on June 18, 1815, resulting in the epic, final defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte.
3. The name of any of several villages, towns, and cities around the world.
   1. A place in Canada:
      1. A rural community of Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia.
      2. A regional municipality and city in Ontario, Canada.
      3. A city in La Haute-Yamaska regional county municipality, Estrie, Quebec.
   2. A number of places in the United States:
      1. A census-designated place in San Joaquin County, California.
      2. A city, the county seat of Monroe County, Illinois.
      3. A town in Grant Township and Smithfield Township, DeKalb County, Indiana.
      4. A township and unincorporated community therein, in Fayette County, Indiana.
      5. An unincorporated community in White River Township, Johnson County, Indiana.
      6. A city, the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa.
      7. A village and town, the county seat of Seneca County, New York.
      8. A town in Grant County, Wisconsin.
      9. A town and city therein, in Jefferson County, Wisconsin.
      10. A number of other townships in the United States, listed under Waterloo Township.
   3. A number of places in the United Kingdom:
      1. A district and large railway terminus in central London, England (OS grid ref TQ3180).
      2. A hamlet in Blisland parish, Cornwall, England (OS grid ref SX1072).
      3. A northern suburb of Poole, Dorset, England (OS grid ref SZ0094).
      4. Former name of Waterlooville, Hampshire, although Waterloo is still the name of a council ward in Waterlooville for Havant borough.
      5. A small suburb in Blackburn with Darwen, Lancashire, England (OS grid ref SD6625).
      6. A suburb of Crosby, Sefton borough, Merseyside, England (OS grid ref SJ3198).
      7. A small village in Broadland district, Norfolk, England (OS grid ref TG2219).
      8. A small village in South Norfolk district, Norfolk (OS grid ref TM1479).
      9. A hamlet in Whixall parish, Shropshire, England (OS grid ref SJ4933).
      10. An eastern suburb of Huddersfield, Kirklees borough, West Yorkshire, England (OS grid ref SE1716).
      11. A hamlet in Rudry community, Caerphilly county borough, Wales (OS grid ref ST1988).
      12. A suburb of Pembroke Dock, Pembrokeshire, Wales (OS grid ref SM9703).
   4. A city in the Western Area of Sierra Leone.
   5. A place in Australia:
      1. An inner southern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales.
      2. A rural locality in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland.
      3. A settlement in Clare and Gilbert Valleys council area, South Australia.
      4. A locality in Pyrenees Shire, Victoria.
      5. A small town in the Shire of Dardanup, Western Australia.
   6. A suburb of Lower Hutt, New Zealand.

Synonyms

• (battle): Battle of Waterloo

Derived terms

• (London) Bakerloo

Translations

city in Ontario, Canada

• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 滑鐵盧／滑铁卢 (waat⁶ tit³ lou⁴)

  Mandarin: 滑鐵盧／滑铁卢 (zh) (Huátiělú)

• French: Waterloo (fr)

Noun

Waterloo (plural Waterloos)

1. Often in the term meet one's Waterloo: a notable and decisive defeat following an encounter with a powerful opponent or a problem that is too difficult.
   • 1903 February, O. Henry [pseudonym; William Sydney Porter], “Hygeia at the Solito”, in Everybody’s Magazine, volume VIII, number 2, New York, N.Y.: John Wanamaker, →ISSN, page 173, column 1:

     He flung his dime at a newsboy, got his Express, propped his back against the truck, and was at once rapt in the account of his Waterloo as expanded by the ingenious press.

   • 2003, Frank Mackey, Steamboat Connections: Montreal to Upper Canada, 1816–1843:

     Surprisingly, Greenfield did not meet his Waterloo in this showdown with his competitors.

   • 2003, Craig B. Stanford, Upright: The Evolutionary Key to Becoming Human:

     The skull ended up as Dubois’ personal Waterloo. His work received nothing but rejection and derision throughout the next decade, and the bones became dark secrets for much of the early twentieth century, locked away in Dubois’ home, unavailable for study by other scholars.

Derived terms

• meet one's Waterloo

Dutch

Etymology

• (Belgium) From Middle Dutch [Term?], composed of water (“water”) +‎ loo (“light forest, wood”).
• (Utrecht) Named after Waterloo in Belgium in memory of the Battle of Waterloo. The choice of name may have been influenced by nearby Austerlitz.
• (Zeeland) First attested as Waterloo in 1853. Named after Waterloo in Belgium in memory of the Battle of Waterloo.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈʋaː.tərˌloː/, (Belgium) [ˈβ̞aːtərˌloː], (Netherlands) [ˈʋaːtərˌloʊ̯]

• Hyphenation: Wa‧ter‧loo

Proper noun

Waterloo n

1. A village in Walloon Brabant, Belgium; the site of a major military battle in 1815
2. A hamlet in Leusden, Utrecht, Netherlands
3. A hamlet in Sluis, Zeeland, Netherlands

References

• van Berkel, Gerard, Samplonius, Kees (2018) “waterloo”, in Nederlandse plaatsnamen verklaard‎^[1] (in Dutch), Mijnbestseller.nl, →ISBN

French

Etymology

From Middle Dutch, composed of water (“water”) +‎ loo (“sacred wood, forest”).

Pronunciation

• (Belgium) IPA^(key): /wa.tɛʁ.lo/
• (France, Switzerland) IPA^(key): /wa.tɛʁ.lo/, /va.tɛʁ.lo/

• Audio:

  (file)

Proper noun

Waterloo ?

1. A village in Walloon Brabant, Belgium; the site of a major military battle in 1815

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvaːtərˌloː/, [ˈvaːtɐˌloː], [ˈʋaː-]
• IPA^(key): /ˈvɔːtərˌluː/, /ˈwɔː-/ (variant; due to belief that the name is English and/or influenced by the ABBA song)

  • Audio:

    (file)

• Rhymes: -oː

Proper noun

Waterloo n (proper noun, strong, genitive Waterloos)

1. Waterloo (village in Belgium)

Noun

Waterloo n (strong, genitive Waterloos, plural Waterloos)

1. a decisive defeat; a Waterloo

   Synonym: Stalingrad