The Hague

/ðə ˈhæɡ/UK/ðə ˈheɪɡ/

proper noun

A city, the capital of South Holland, Netherlands; the administrative capital of the Netherlands.

“Those men deserve The Hague for what they did.”

Meanings

proper noun

alternative nonstandard the Hague

  1. A city, the capital of South Holland, Netherlands; the administrative capital of the Netherlands.
  2. metonymicallyThe International Criminal Court or International Court of Justice.
nounThe Hague (uncountable)

alternative nonstandard the Hague

  1. uncountableA conviction and/or punishment for crimes against humanity or war crimes delivered by the International Criminal Court.

    Those men deserve The Hague for what they did.

  2. broadlyfigurativelyuncountableA conviction and/or punishment for a destructive, harmful or immoral act.

Origin

  1. Middle Dutchdes Graven hage
  2. DutchDen Haag
  3. EnglishThe Hague

From the French translation (confused with La Hague) of Dutch Den Haag, short form of 's-Gravenhage, from Middle Dutch des Graven hage (1400s), literally, "the Count's hedge[-enclosed hunting grounds]",

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans Den Haag
  • Den HaagDutch city
Ancient Greek Ἇγα
  • Ἇγα (Hâga)Dutch city
Arabic لَاهَاي
  • لَاهَاي (lāhāy)Dutch city
Basque Haga
  • HagaDutch city
Bengali হেগ
  • হেগ (heg)Dutch city
Bulgarian Ха́га
  • Ха́га (Hága)Dutch city
Catalan la Haia
  • la HaiaDutch city
Chinese Cantonese 海牙
  • 海牙 (hoi² ngaa⁴)Dutch city
Chinese Mandarin 海牙
  • 海牙 (Hǎiyá)Dutch city
Czech Haag
  • HaagDutch city
Danish Haag
  • HaagDutch city
Dutch Den Haag, 's-Gravenhage
  • Den HaagDutch city
  • 's-GravenhageDutch city
  • De HaagDutch city
Esperanto Hago
  • HagoDutch city
Estonian Haag
  • HaagDutch city
Finnish Haag
  • HaagDutch city
French La Haye
  • La HayeDutch city
German Den Haag
  • Den HaagDutch city
Greek Χάγη
  • Χάγη (Chági)Dutch city
Hebrew האג
  • האג (hag)Dutch city
Hindi हेग
  • हेग (heg)Dutch city
Hungarian Hága
  • HágaDutch city
Icelandic Haag
  • HaagDutch city
Indonesian Den Haag
  • Den HaagDutch city
Irish an Háig
  • an HáigDutch city
Italian L'Aia
  • L'AiaDutch city
Japanese ハーグ, デン・ハーグ
  • ハーグ (Hāgu)Dutch city
  • デン・ハーグ (Den-Hāgu)Dutch city
Korean 헤이그
  • 헤이그 (Heigeu)Dutch city
Latin Haga
  • HagaDutch city
Latvian Hāga
  • HāgaDutch city
Lithuanian Haga
  • HagaDutch city
Malay Den Haag
  • Den HaagDutch city
Norwegian Bokmål Haag
  • HaagDutch city
Polish Haga
  • HagaDutch city
Portuguese Haia
  • HaiaDutch city
Romanian Haga
  • HagaDutch city
Russian Гаа́га
  • Гаа́га (Gaága)Dutch city
Slovak Haag
  • HaagDutch city
Spanish La Haya
  • La HayaDutch city
Swahili Den Haag
  • Den HaagDutch city
Swedish Haag
  • HaagDutch city
Tamil டென் ஹாக்
  • டென் ஹாக் (ṭeṉ hāk)Dutch city
Thai กรุงเฮก, เฮก
  • กรุงเฮก (grung héek)Dutch city
  • เฮก (héek)Dutch city
  • เดอะเฮกDutch city
Turkish Lahey
  • LaheyDutch city
Ukrainian Гаа́га, Гаа́ґа
  • Гаа́га (Haáha)Dutch city
  • Гаа́ґа (Haága)Dutch city
Urdu ہیگ
  • ہیگ (heg)Dutch city
Vietnamese Den Haag, La Hay
  • Den HaagDutch city
  • La HayDutch city
Welsh Den Haag, Yr Hâg
  • Den HaagDutch city
  • Yr HâgDutch city
Yiddish דען האַג
  • דען האַג (den hag)Dutch city
Cite this entry
APA

The Hague. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/The%20Hague

MLA

“The Hague.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/The%20Hague. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “The Hague,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/The%20Hague.

Source: The Hague on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.