Rhodesia

[roh-dee-zhuh] /roʊˈdi ʒə/
noun
1.
(as Southern Rhodesia, ) a former British colony in S Africa: declared independence 1965; name changed to Zimbabwe, 1979.
2.
a historical region in S Africa that comprised the British territories of Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) and Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).
Related forms
Rhodesian, adjective, noun
British Dictionary definitions for Rhodesia

Rhodesia

/rəʊˈdiːʃə; -zɪə/
noun
1.
a former name (1964–79) for Zimbabwe
Rhodesia in Culture
Rhodesia [(roh-dee-zhuh)]

Former name of Zimbabwe, a nation in southeastern Africa.

Note: Rhodesia was named for Cecil Rhodes, the English industrialist whose British South Africa Company colonized the region at the end of the nineteenth century. He also founded the Rhodes Scholarships for study at Oxford University.