Siegfried Line

Preserved but no longer current.

Meaning · English

The defences built by the Germans on their Western frontier before and after 1939 as a reply to France's Maginot

Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)

Sources & notes

Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.

Common questions

What does “Siegfried Line” mean?

The defences built by the Germans on their Western frontier before and after 1939 as a reply to France's Maginot

Is “Siegfried Line” formal or informal?

No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.