laager

or la·ger

[ lah-ger ]

/ ˈlɑ gər /

South African.

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noun

a camp or encampment, especially within a protective circle of wagons.

verb (used with or without object)

to arrange or encamp in a laager.

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Origin of laager

1840–50; <Afrikaans laer, earlier lager; cognate with German Lager camp. See lair¹

Words nearby laager

l, L1, L2, L8R, la, laager, Laaland, laari, laat lammetjie , lab, La Baie

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use laager in a sentence

What was my surprise to see lying below me the smoke and waggons and picketed horses of the enemy's laager!
The Relief of Mafeking|Filson Young
He had no Horse Artillery; and the rapid and secret march to the rear of the laager might have been impossible with field-guns.
The Relief of Mafeking|Filson Young
There were twelve thousand men in the camp and eight hundred in the laager.
The Escape of a Princess Pat|George Pearson
I sent some burghers in advance to see what was happening to the Pretoria Laager.
My Reminiscences of the Anglo-Boer War|Ben Viljoen.

I saw the unhappy four the following day on their way back to a laager under guard.
The Glory of The Coming|Irvin S. Cobb

British Dictionary definitions for laager

laager

lager

/ (ˈlɑːɡə) /

noun

(in Africa) a camp, esp one defended by a circular formation of wagons

military a place where armoured vehicles are parked

verb

to form (wagons) into a laager

(tr) to park (armoured vehicles) in a laager

Word Origin for laager

C19: from Afrikaans lager, via German from Old High German legar bed, lair

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012