Key Terms of World History: Definitions and Explanations
Classified in History
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Assembly line:
System of production using a moving belt, in which each worker repetitively completes one part of the production process.
Alliances:
Formal agreement between two or more countries to cooperate.
Abdicate:
Give up the title of monarch or emperor.
Armistice:
Agreement to stop fighting.
Bolshevik:
Russian word meaning “majority”.
Consumer society:
Society in which the buying and selling of goods and services is the most important activity.
Colonize:
Take direct control of a region or country.
Consumerism:
Desire to acquire more and more goods; it is also beneficial to the economy.
Communist:
Based on the ideas of Karl Marx; describes a person or political party which advocates the dictatorship of the proletariat, the elimination of private property and a society in which everyone is equal.
Dictatorship:
Non-democratic system of government in which one person has all the power.
Expansionism:
Designed to increase a country’s influence and expand the amount of territory that it controls.
Emigrant:
Person who leaves one country to live in another country.
First World War:
Military conflict that lasted from 1914 to 1918, also known as the Great War.
Front:
Zone where the fighting is taking place; also the area where the territory controlled by one side meets the territory controlled by the other side.
Imperialism:
Domination of one country or people by another, usually involving direct control.
Consumer society:
Society in which the buying and selling of goods and services is the most important activity.
Investment:
Money put into a business with the expectation of making a profit.
Immigration:
General term for the movement of people from other countries coming to live in a country.
Light bulb:
Glass bulb which provides light when an electric current passes through it.
Loan:
Money that is borrowed and which must be paid back, usually with interest.
Menshevik:
Russian word meaning “minority”.
Means of production:
All the productive resources of a society, such as land, capital, factories and machinery.
Neutral:
Impartial, not supporting any side in a war or dispute.
Raw material:
Basic substance from which a product is made.
Racial segregation:
System of separating people defined as belonging to different racial groups.
Rationing:
Limiting the amount of certain goods that people can have when there is a shortage.
Repression:
Use of violence or the threat of violence to stop a particular activity or political movement.
Rivalry:
Competition for superiority.
Soviet:
Russian word meaning “council”.
Suffragette:
Woman who participated in the movement for women’s suffrage.
Share:
Portion of a company’s value.
Stainless Steel:
Form of steel which is resistant to oxidization.
Stock Exchange:
Place where shares are traded.
Trench warfare:
Type of fighting in which there is a little movement on either side; both armies.
Tsar:
Title of the Emperor of Russia.
War-guilt clause:
Section of the Treaty of Versailles in which Germany accepted responsibility for starting the First World War.
Women's suffrage:
Women's right to vote in elections.
Work-force:
Collective term for workers.