"Gau (Dutch: gouw [ɣʌu], West Frisian: gea [ɡɪə] or goa [ɡoə]) is a Germanic term for a region within a country, often a former or actual ...
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province. It was used in the Middle Ages, when it can be seen as roughly corresponding to an English shire. The administrative use of the term was revived as a subdivision during the period of Nazi Germany in 1933–1945. It still appears today in regional names, such as the Rheingau or Allgäu." - (en.wikipedia.org 01.03.2020)