Persian Gulf country, named for its capital city (said to have been founded in current form 1705), which is from Arabic al-kuwayt, diminutive of kut, a word used in southern Iraq and eastern Arabia for a fortress-like house surrounded by a settlement and protected by encircling water, and said to be ultimately from Persian. Related: Kuwaiti.
Independent kingdom on the northeastern part of the Arabian Peninsula, at the head of the Persian Gulf, bordered by Iraq to the north and west and Saudi Arabia to the south.
Note: A major petroleum producer, Kuwait possesses about one-fifth of the world's oil reserves. It is a leading member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).
Note: In 1990, Kuwait was invaded by Iraq; in 1991, Iraqi forces were expelled by a coalition of United Nations forces led by the United States. (See also Persian Gulf War.)