The Collaborative International Dictionary
Marseillais \Mar`sei`llais"\, a. m. Marseillaise \Mar`sei`llaise"\, a. f.[F.] Of or pertaining to Marseilles, in France, or to its inhabitants.
Marseillaise hymn, or The Marseillaise, the national anthem of France, popularly so called. It was composed in 1792, by Rouget de l'Isle, an officer then stationed at Strasburg. In Paris it was sung for the first time by the band of men who came from Marseilles to aid in the revolution of August 10, 1792; whence the name.
Usage examples of "the marseillaise".
Desnoyers heard shouts, and it seemed to him that some hoarse, discordant voices were singing the Marseillaise.
Several of the crowd took up the familiar chant of the Marseillaise.
Strassburg, the city which gave birth to the Marseillaise, had been a centre of Jacobin activities.