Aisne

American  

[eyn, en] / eɪn, ɛn /

noun

1. a river in N France, flowing NW and W to the Oise. 175 miles (280 km) long.

2. a department in N France. 2,868 sq. mi. (7,430 sq. km). Laon.

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Aisne British  

/ ɛn, eɪn /

noun

1. a department of NE France, in Picardy region. Capital: Laon. Pop: 535 326 (2003 est). Area: 7428 sq km (2897 sq miles)

2. a river in N France, rising in the Argonne Forest and flowing northwest and west to the River Oise: scene of a major Allied offensive in 1918 which turned the tide finally against Germany in World War I. Length: 282 km (175 miles)

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Example Sentences

“Everything we warned of 30 years ago is coming true,” said Damien Brunelle, a farmer of cereals and other crops in the Aisne region northeast of Paris.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 30, 2024

Transport Minister Clement Beaune told Fanceinfo radio that a truck driver died in the Aisne department, northeast of Paris when a tree fell on his truck.

From Reuters • Nov. 2, 2023

In the spring of 1917 the French launched a doomed offensive to retake the hills that lie in a west-east line a few miles to the north of the river Aisne.

From BBC • Mar. 14, 2021

But presidential trips always have a Plan B for just such contingencies and Aisne is only about 50 miles from Paris.

From Salon • Nov. 26, 2018

When the Germans reached high ground behind the Aisne, they began to dig furiously, preparing fortified trenches that they would defend against Allied attacks for the next four years.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman