Upper Volta
English
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Upper Volta
Where it comes from
Calque of French Haute-Volta, from haute (“high; upper”) + Volta (“the Volta, a river in West Africa”), from Portuguese Volta.
proper noun Upper Volta · the Upper Volta
- A territory now coextensive with Burkina Faso. The book [Africa Dances] describes a comparatively small part of Africa. Mr. [Geoffrey] Gorer’s travels took him to Senegal, the Upper Volta, Dahomey, Gold Coast and Ivory Coast, and in the company of a Negro dancer, a man whom he met in Paris, he visited many tribes and observed their customs, ritu
- A colony of French West Africa established in 1919 in the territory occupied by present-day Burkina Faso, dissolved in 1932, revived in 1947 as a part of the French Union (with its previous boundaries), and in 1958 reconstituted as a self-governing country (sense 1.2). Broadcasting, or long-distance transmission, is accomplished by means of drums, the messages being relayed over tremendous distances with great rapidity. By “drum talk,” as it is sometimes called, news of the approaching visit of American notables to Marshal Lyautey in Morocco was learned on the Upp
- Former name of Burkina Faso: a country in West Africa, used from 1958 to 1984. The Upper Volta was the eleventh former territory of seventeen that approved the new French Constitution to set itself up as a republic.
Translations
Every language
name former name of Burkina Faso
| Español | Alto Volta |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 오트볼타 Oteubolta |
| 日本語 | オートボルタ Ōto-Boruta, オートヴォルタ Ōto-Voruta, 上ボルタ Ue-Boruta |
| 中文 | 上沃爾特 /上沃尔特 Shàng Wò'ěrtè |
| हिन्दी | अपर वोल्टा apar volṭā |
| Português | Alto Volta |
| Français | Haute-Volta |
| Deutsch | Obervolta |
| Italiano | Alto Volta |
| Ελληνικά | Άνω Βόλτα Áno Vólta |
| Română | Volta Superioară |
| Русский | Ве́рхняя Во́льта Vérxnjaja Vólʹta |
| العربية | فولتا العليا fūltā l-ʿulyā |
| עברית | וולטה עילית volta ilit |
Talk about this word "Upper Volta." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/upper%20volta. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. Upper Volta. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/upper%20volta "Upper Volta." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/upper%20volta.Cite this
@misc{upper_volta_2026,
title = {Upper Volta},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/upper%20volta},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
