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colony

[kol-uh-nee]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR colony ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural col·o·nies.

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RELATED WORDS

province, territory, outpost, protectorate, possession, satellite, swarm, clearing, dependency, dominion, mandate, offshoot, settlement, antecedents

Origin of colony

1350–1400; Middle English colonie (< Middle French) < Latin colōnia, equivalent to colōn(us) colonus + -ia -y3
Related formssem·i·col·o·ny, noun, plural sem·i·col·o·nies.sub·col·o·ny, noun, plural sub·col·o·nies.

Synonyms for colony

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR colony ON THESAURUS.COM
6. body, band.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for colonies

Contemporary Examples of colonies

Historical Examples of colonies

  • And to that old French province the Englishman of the colonies must go to find his country!

    Old News

    Nathaniel Hawthorne

  • The fate of their colonies will be fought in Europe, not here.

    The Leopard Woman

    Stewart Edward White

  • As for furs and leather and lumber, no other town in the colonies compared with Albany.

    In the Valley

    Harold Frederic

  • And when the men were not wanted for India, they were shipped off to the planters in the American colonies.

    Self-Help

    Samuel Smiles

  • He laboured to ameliorate the condition of the native Indians in the American colonies.

    Self-Help

    Samuel Smiles

British Dictionary definitions for colonies

Colonies

pl n the Colonies

British the subject territories formerly in the British Empire
US history the 13 states forming the original United States of America when they declared their independence (1776). These were Connecticut, North and South Carolina, Delaware, Georgia, New Hampshire, New York, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, and New Jersey

colony

noun plural -nies

a body of people who settle in a country distant from their homeland but maintain ties with it
the community formed by such settlers
a subject territory occupied by a settlement from the ruling state
  1. a community of people who form a national, racial, or cultural minorityan artists' colony; the American colony in London
  2. the area itself
zoology
  1. a group of the same type of animal or plant living or growing together, esp in large numbers
  2. an interconnected group of polyps of a colonial organism
bacteriol a group of bacteria, fungi, etc, derived from one or a few spores, esp when grown on a culture medium

Word Origin for colony

C16: from Latin colōnia, from colere to cultivate, inhabit
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for colonies

colony

n.

late 14c., "ancient Roman settlement outside Italy," from Latin colonia "settled land, farm, landed estate," from colonus "husbandman, tenant farmer, settler in new land," from colere "to inhabit, cultivate, frequent, practice, tend, guard, respect," from PIE root *kwel- "move around" (source of Latin -cola "inhabitant;" see cycle (n.)). Also used by the Romans to translate Greek apoikia "people from home." Modern application dates from 1540s.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Medicine definitions for colonies

colony

[kŏl′ə-nē]

n.

A discrete group of organisms, such as a group of cells growing on a solid nutrient surface.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Science definitions for colonies

colony

[kŏl′ə-nē]

A group of the same kind of animals, plants, or one-celled organisms living or growing together. Organisms live in colonies for their mutual benefit, and especially their protection. Multicellular organisms may have evolved out of colonies of unicellular organisms.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.