Lusitania

[loo-si-tey-nee-uh] /ˌlu sɪˈteɪ ni ə/
noun
1.
(italics) a British luxury liner sunk by a German submarine in the North Atlantic on May 7, 1915: one of the events leading to U.S. entry into World War I.
2.
an ancient region and Roman province in the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding generally to modern Portugal.
Related forms
Lusitanian, adjective, noun
British Dictionary definitions for Lusitania

Lusitania

/ˌluːsɪˈteɪnɪə/
noun
1.
an ancient region of the W Iberian Peninsula: a Roman province from 27 bc to the late 4th century ad; corresponds to most of present-day Portugal and the Spanish provinces of Salamanca and Cáceres
Word Origin and History for Lusitania

Latin name of a region roughly corresponding to modern Portugal; in modern use, allusive or poetic for "Portugal." The Cunard ocean liner (sister ship of the Mauretania and Aquitania, also named after Roman Atlantic coastal provinces) was launched in 1906, torpedoed and sunk by German submarine U-20 on May 7, 1915.

Lusitania in Culture
Lusitania [(looh-suh-tay-nee-uh)]

A British passenger ship sunk by a German submarine off the coast of Ireland in 1915. Germany, then at war with Britain but not with the United States (see World War I), had warned Americans against traveling on the ship. More than a hundred Americans died in the sinking. The incident worsened relations between Germany and the United States and encouraged American involvement in the war.