A region of the central Caucasus. It is divided by the boundary between Russia and Georgia into two parts, North Ossetia and South Ossetia, and between 1989 and 1992 was the scene of ethnic conflict.
Definition of Ossetia in US English:
Ossetia
proper noun
A region of the central Caucasus. It is divided by the boundary between Russia and Georgia into two parts: North Ossetia and South Ossetia. It was the scene of ethnic conflict 1989–92.