Original: Origin and use of the term Before the rise of the NSDAP, the term Wehrmacht generically described the domestic armed forces, of any nation, being used as the "home defence" version of the German Streitmacht or foreign war forces, thus, Britische Wehrmacht denoted "British defence forces".
Simplified: Origin and use of the terms Before the rise of the NSDAP, the term Wehrmacht was used in a generic sense to describe armed forces of any nation, being utilized as the "home defence" version of the more general Streitmacht.