league; aimag; Mongolian administrative division
Used as a suffix in the names of administrative subdivisions in Mongolia and Inner Mongolia, such as ～盟. Also appears as a standalone noun for 'league' in this context.
There are several leagues (aimags) in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
Xilingol League is famous for its grasslands.
alliance; union; league
joining; participation; affiliation; accession
league; federation; union
sworn friend; close ally
solemn pledge; pact; covenant; alliance
leader of an alliance; leading power
blood oath; blood pledge
ally; allied nation
concluding an alliance; making a pledge
forming an alliance; conclusion of a treaty of alliance
member nation; member state; signatory
allied nation; ally · Central Powers (WWI)
trial by boiling water
boycott
EU member state; EU country
The kanji 盟 originally depicts an oath sworn over a sacrificial vessel. The reading めい is the Sino-Japanese on'yomi. The word is now largely obsolete as a standalone noun, surviving in compounds and the fixed phrase 盟を結ぶ.