DCHP-1 Online
Acadia [see 1963 quote (def. 1)] 
1 n. Hist. a former French colony on the Atlantic coast of N. America, which included the present Maritime Provinces and adjacent parts of Quebec and New England.
- 1684 (1885) Wee arrived at Accadia the 26th of november, 1682, and there winter'd.
- 1963 France had named its Maritimes possessions Acadia, probably after the Greek Arcadia, a one-time "land of happiness."
2 n. Hist. the Maritime Provinces.
- 1864 The man in any of the Colonies who has a single objection to offer to a Legislative union of Acadia has as yet failed to state it.
- 1899 Bertrand is another name contained in the census of 1671 which has practically disappeared from Acadia.
3 n. the areas of French settlement and culture in the Maritime Provinces.
- 1963 The creation of the FRENCH University of Moncton deserves to be underlined as a new step in the cultural emancipation of Acadia
4 n. a name for a proposed province to be formed through union of the present Maritime Provinces.
- 1964 ... several names have already been suggested [for the new Maritime province], including Maritopia, Atlantica, Atlanta, Acadia and even New England.
- 1684 (1885) Wee arrived at Accadia the 26th of november, 1682, and there winter'd.