Zaire

noun

1. Republic of, a former name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
2. official name within the Democratic Republic of the Congo of the Congo River (the term Congo River is more widely used elsewhere).

noun

1. the former name (1971–97) of the Democratic Republic of Congo
2. (formerly) the Zaïrian name (1971–97) for the (River) Congo (def. 3)

African nation (1971-1997), from an early alternative name of the Congo River, from Kikongo nzai, dialectal form of nzadi “river.”

See Democratic Republic of Congo.