| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| Algeria |
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| SYLLABICATION: | Al·ge·ri·a |
| PRONUNCIATION: |   l-jîr  - |
| A country of northwest Africa bordering on the Mediterranean Sea. The region was settled c. 2000 b.c. by Berber-speaking people and later formed a part of the Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman empires. Arab invaders in the seventh and eighth centuries introduced Islam and the Arabic language and culture. A French territory from 1848, Algeria gained its independence in 1962 after more than seven years of fighting. Algiers is the capital and the largest city. Population: 27,325,000. | | OTHER FORMS: | Al·geri·an —ADJECTIVE & NOUN
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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