A country of northern Europe on the eastern Scandinavian Peninsula. The region was settled by Germanic tribes probably in Neolithic times, and by the 10th century A.D. the Swedes had extended their influence as far as the Black Sea. During the 14th century Sweden and Norway, and for a while Denmark, formed a union, but in the 16th century the Swedes revolted and established a separate state. By the 17th century Sweden was a major European power, controlling most of the Baltic coast. It lost much of its territory in the Great Northern War (1700-1721) but acquired Norway (1814) in the Napoleonic Wars, ruling it until 1905. Stockholm is the capital and the largest city. Population: 9,030,000.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
