Key Terms of World History: Definitions and Explanations

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.