leefgebied

Dutch

Etymology

Compound of leven +‎ gebied. First attested in 1905. Rare for a long time, but with a spike in attestations during World War II translating German Lebensraum, only becoming common around the 1960s.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈleːf.xəˌbit/
  • Audio(file)
  • Hyphenation: leef‧ge‧bied

Noun

leefgebied n (plural leefgebieden, diminutive leefgebiedje n)

  1. habitat, territory (of an individual or population of animals or other organisms), area of distribution (of an entire (sub)species or higher taxon)
    • 1905, Marie Marx-Koning, "Hoe de Vogels den Boom beschermden", in Marie Metz-Koning, Een bundel letterkundige bijdragen, page 162.
      Ook de gepluimde levensboden van paardebloem en distel doodde hij [de boom]; en zelfs de taaie varens konden niet leven, zoover zijn leefgebied zich uitstrekte.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
  2. residential area
  3. (uncommon) living space (in a building, of a family or of an individual)
  4. (dated or historical, of peoples or nations) lebensraum
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