Hanseatic League

proper noun

The commercial and military alliance of German (chiefly Low German) merchant guilds and privileged market towns which dominated trade along the coasts of northern Europe from the mid-12th to mid-17th centuries.

Similar
HansaHanseHanse associationHanse leagueHanses
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Meanings

proper nounthe Hanseatic League
  1. historicalThe commercial and military alliance of German (chiefly Low German) merchant guilds and privileged market towns which dominated trade along the coasts of northern Europe from the mid-12th to mid-17th centuries.

    Only for a brief two centuries in the Middle Ages did a Baltic community coalesce, under the Hanseatic League of prosperous cities that valued trade over plunder.

    1989 May, Priit J. Vesilind, “The Baltic: Arena of Power”, in National Geographic, volume 175, number 5, page 605

    Synonyms: Hansa, Hanse, Hanse association, Hanse league, Hanses

Synonyms & antonyms

proper nounThe commercial and military alliance of German (chiefly Low German) merchant guilds and privileged market towns which dominated trade along the coasts of northern Europe from the mid-12th to mid-17th centuries.

Similar
HansaHanseHanse associationHanse leagueHanses
Also see
hanse

Origin

From Hanseatic + league.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Danish Hansaen, Hanseforbundet
  • Hansaenformer commercial and military alliance
  • Hanseforbundetformer commercial and military alliance
Dutch Hanze
  • Hanzeformer commercial and military alliance
Estonian Hansa Liit
  • Hansa Liitformer commercial and military alliance
Finnish hansaliitto, hansa
  • hansaliittoformer commercial and military alliance
  • hansaformer commercial and military alliance
French Ligue hanséatique, Hanse
  • Ligue hanséatiqueformer commercial and military alliance
  • Hanseformer commercial and military alliance
German Hanse
  • Hanseformer commercial and military alliance
Italian Lega anseatica
  • Lega anseaticaformer commercial and military alliance
Norwegian Hansaen, Hansaforbundet
  • Hansaenformer commercial and military alliance
  • Hansaforbundetformer commercial and military alliance
Persian هانزا
  • هانزا (hânzâ)former commercial and military alliance
Polish Hanza, Liga Hanzeatycka
  • Hanzaformer commercial and military alliance
  • Liga Hanzeatyckaformer commercial and military alliance
Portuguese Liga Hanseática
  • Liga Hanseáticaformer commercial and military alliance
Russian Га́нза, Ганзе́йский сою́з
  • Га́нза (Gánza)former commercial and military alliance
  • Ганзе́йский сою́з (Ganzéjskij sojúz)former commercial and military alliance
Spanish Liga Hanseática
  • Liga Hanseáticaformer commercial and military alliance
Swedish Hansan, Hanseförbundet
  • Hansanformer commercial and military alliance
  • Hanseförbundetformer commercial and military alliance
Cite this entry
APA

Hanseatic League. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hanseatic%20League

MLA

“Hanseatic League.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hanseatic%20League. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Hanseatic League,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Hanseatic%20League.

Source: Hanseatic League on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.