hanse (plural hanses)
(historical) Alternative form of Hanse, a merchant guild or a former commercial league of German cities.
(historical) The guildhall of a Hanse.
(historical) A fee payable to the Hanse, particularly its entrance fee and the impost levied on non-members trading in its area.
• (merchant guild): See guild
• (Hanseatic League): See Hanseatic League
• (headquarters of a Hanse in a city): guildhall, hanse-house
• (fee paid to enter the Hanse): hansing, hansing-silver
• (any fee paid to the Hanse): hanse-penny, hanse-gild
hanse (plural hanses)
(architecture) That part of an elliptical or many-centred arch which has the shorter radius and immediately adjoins the impost.
• Ehsan, Haens, Hanes, Sanhe, Shane, Shean, ashen, heans
Hanse (plural Hanses)
(historical) A merchant guild, particularly the Fellowship of London Merchants (the "Old Hanse") given a monopoly on London's foreign trade by the Normans or its successor, the Company of Merchant Adventurers (the "New Hanse"), incorporated in 1497 and chartered under Henry VII and Elizabeth I.
(historical) The rights and privileges of such guilds, particularly their trade monopolies.
(historical) A commercial association of Scottish free burghs in the Middle Ages.
(historical) The Hanseatic League: a commercial association of German towns in the Middle Ages.
(historical) Alternative form of hanse, the fees payable to a Hanse or its guildhall.
In reference to the cities of the Hanseatic League taken collectively, used as "the Hanses".
• (merchant guild): See guild
• (league of German cities): See Hanseatic League
• (fees or residence): See hanse and guildhall
• Ehsan, Haens, Hanes, Sanhe, Shane, Shean, ashen, heans
Source: Wiktionary
Hanse, n. Etym: [Cf. F. anse handle, anse de panier surbased arch, flat arch, vault, and E. haunch hip.] (Arch.)
Definition: That part of an elliptical or many-centered arch which has the shorter radius and immediately adjoins the impost.
Hanse, n. Etym: [G. hanse, or F. hanse (from German), OHG. & Goth. hansa; akin to AS. h band, troop.]
Definition: An association; a league or confederacy. Hanse towns (Hist.), certain commercial cities in Germany which associated themselves for the protection and enlarging of their commerce. The confederacy, called also Hansa and Hanseatic league, held its first diet in 1260, and was maintained for nearly four hundred years. At one time the league comprised eighty-five cities. Its remnants, LĂĽbeck, Hamburg, and Bremen, are free cities, and are still frequently called Hanse towns.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
3 May 2025
(adjective) worth having or seeking or achieving; “a desirable job”; “computer with many desirable features”; “a desirable outcome”
The Boston Tea Party helped popularize coffee in America. The hefty tea tax imposed on the colonies in 1773 resulted in America switching from tea to coffee. In the lead up to the Revolutionary War, it became patriotic to sip java instead of tea. The Civil War made the drink more pervasive. Coffee helped energize tired troops, and drinking it became an expression of freedom.
