Völkerwanderung

/ ˈfœlkərvandərʊŋ /

noun

1. the migration of peoples, esp of Germanic and Slavic peoples into S and W Europe from 2nd to 11th centuries

Word History and Origins

Origin of Völkerwanderung¹

literally: nations wandering, German translation of Latin migrātiō gentium

Example Sentences

Merkel’s critics no longer speak about Einwanderung, immigration, but Völkerwanderung, a reference to the mass migrations of antiquity that implies hordes of nomads in furs and horned helmets.

From Slate

The images seem like a 21st-century version of the Völkerwanderung, the migration of nations in the late Roman and early Medieval periods.

From Wall Street Journal

The result was that the prudent Germans, who loved light taxes and cheap hard wood lands, turned toward Wisconsin,—another Völkerwanderung.

From Project Gutenberg

All headed down this way; regular Volkerwanderung.

From Project Gutenberg

One thing only seems clear, and on this point we may hope for some light from the data of philology, namely that the migration was long subsequent to the original Volkerwanderung; for this must have preceded the rise of phratry names, which again must have preceded the migration of which the segmentation of groups, evidenced by the names themselves, is at present, and in default of the aid of philology, our only proof.

From Project Gutenberg