Hanse

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Hanse \Hanse\ (h[a^]ns), n. [Cf. F. anse handle, anse de panier
     surbased arch, flat arch, vault, and E. haunch hip.] (Arch.)
     That part of an elliptical or many-centered arch which has
     the shorter radius and immediately adjoins the impost.
     [1913 Webster]



From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Hanse \Hanse\, n. [G. hanse, or F. hanse (from German), OHG. &
     Goth. hansa; akin to AS. h[=o]s band, troop.]
     An association; a league or confederacy.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     {Hanse towns} (Hist.), certain commercial cities in Germany
        which associated themselves for the protection and
        enlarging of their commerce. The confederacy, called also
        {Hansa} and {Hanseatic league}, held its first diet in
        1260, and was maintained for nearly four hundred years. At
        one time the league comprised eighty-five cities. Its
        remnants, L["u]beck, Hamburg, and Bremen, are {free
        cities}, and are still frequently called Hanse towns.
        [1913 Webster]