berlin

plural berlins · alternative berline

1. A four-wheeled carriage with a separate sheltered seat behind the body.

   I passed her in his berlin the other day, and just caught a glimpse of very pretty features, with an interesting and sad expression. I believe that she is his wife, because I always believe for the best.

   1837, L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], “Lady Marchmont to Sir Jasper Meredith. Courtiers.”, in Ethel Churchill: Or, The Two Brides. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], →OCLC, page 263

   1 more example

   I was then giving some instructions about the forwarding my trunk, and was just going to mount my new purchase in the yard of the inn; when a berlin, apparently belonging to a foreigner of distinction, attended by three French or Swiss servants, drove to the door […].

   1792, Charlotte Smith, Desmond, Broadview, published 2001, page 261

plural Berlins

1. countableuncountableThe capital and largest city of Germany.

   Ironically enough, it was the anti-war stirrings of Dada that bore out its most immediate influence, first in Switzerland and then post-war Berlin.

   2014 October 30, Ara Merjian, “How World War I gave birth to the modern”, in CNN, archived from the original on 25 Jun 2021

   1 more example

   The furious reaction in Germany after 200,000 protective masks destined for Berlin mysteriously went missing in Thailand and were allegedly redirected to the US is a case in point. There is no solid proof Trump approved the heist. But it’s the sort of thing he would do – or so people believe.

   2020 April 12, Simon Tisdall, “US's global reputation hits rock-bottom over Trump's coronavirus response”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 27 Apr 2022

2. countablemetonymicallyuncountableThe German government.

   The practical implication of this decision in the world of 1948 is clear: The United States would indeed support the veterans of the Vlasov Army, the eastern SS collaborators, and other groups that had permitted themselves to become pawns of Berlin during the war.

   2014, Christopher Simpson, “three”, in Mark Crispin Miller, editor, Blowback: America’s Recruitment of Nazis and Its Destructive Impact on Our Domestic and Foreign Policy, New York: Open Road Media, →ISBN, page 79

3. countableuncountableA state of Germany containing the capital city.
4. countableuncountableA surname from German.

   The family tree boasts an astonishing array of celebrated historical figures from the prophet Isaiah to Sir Isaiah Berlin, from Felix Mendelssohn to Karl Marx and Moses Montefiore. The list also includes Yehudi Menuhin, Helena Rubinstein, the Rothschilds and even Rosenstein himself.

   2004 October 24, Bill Gladstone, “The oldest family in the world”, in Jewish Telegraphic Agency, archived from the original on 17 May 2025

5. countableuncountableA female given name from German.
6. countableuncountableA civil parish of the municipality of Seedorf, Segeberg district, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany.
7. countableuncountableThe former name of Kitchener, a city in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
8. countableuncountableA village in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia.
9. countableuncountableA small town in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa.
10. A number of places in the United States:
    1. countableuncountableThe former name of Genevra, an unincorporated community in Colusa County, California.
    2. countableuncountableA town in Hartford County, Connecticut.
    3. countableuncountableA small city in Colquitt County, Georgia.
    4. countableuncountableA village in Sangamon County, Illinois.
    5. countableuncountableA ghost town in Johnson Township, Clinton County, Indiana.
    6. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Bourbon County, Kansas.
    7. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Bracken County, Kentucky.
    8. countableuncountableA town in Worcester County, Maryland.
    9. countableuncountableA town in Worcester County, Massachusetts.
    10. countableuncountableThe former name of Marne, an unincorporated community in Ottawa County, Michigan.
    11. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Gentry County, Missouri.
    12. countableuncountableThe former name of Otoe, a village in Otoe County, Nebraska.
    13. countableuncountableA ghost town in Nye County, Nevada.
    14. countableuncountableA city in Coos County, New Hampshire.
    15. countableuncountableA borough and township in Camden County, New Jersey.
    16. countableuncountableA town in Rensselaer County, New York.
    17. countableuncountableA tiny city in LaMoure County, North Dakota.
    18. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community and census-designated place in Berlin Township, Holmes County, Ohio.
    19. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Florence Township, Williams County, Ohio.
    20. countableuncountableA borough of Somerset County, Pennsylvania.
    21. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Marshall County, Tennessee.
    22. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Washington County, Texas.
    23. countableuncountableA town in Washington County, Vermont.
    24. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Lewis County, West Virginia.
    25. countableuncountableA city in Green Lake County and Waushara County, Wisconsin.
    26. countableuncountableA town in Green Lake County, Wisconsin, mostly surrounding the city of the same name.
    27. countableuncountableA town in Marathon County, Wisconsin.
11. abbreviationcountableellipsisuncountableEllipsis of Berlin Township.

plural Berlins

1. abbreviationcountableuncountableShort for Berlin worsted

   Fine mixed "Berlins" shoddy

   1912, United States. Tariff Board, Wool and Manufactures of Wool (page 71)

   2 more examples

   Are you not aware that the single worsted that Berlin is made of, is very different from that that is made into stockings?

   1812, Parliamentary Papers, Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, page 96

   Berlin and other kinds of Lamb's Wool and Worsted of the finest colours and in the brightest shades; […]

   1843, Handbook for Travellers in Central Italy, page 5