War II
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
It was also the name given by the Germans to the Sherman Tank, which caught fire very easily when hit.
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 “War II” mean?
It was also the name given by the Germans to the Sherman Tank, which caught fire very easily when hit.
Is “War II” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.