colony

[kol-uh-nee]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR colony ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural col·o·nies.

a group of people who leave their native country to form in a new land a settlement subject to, or connected with, the parent nation.

the country or district settled or colonized: Many Western nations are former European colonies.

any people or territory separated from but subject to a ruling power.

the Colonies, those British colonies that formed the original 13 states of the United States: New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

a number of people coming from the same country, or speaking the same language, residing in a foreign country or city, or a particular section of it; enclave: the Polish colony in Israel; the American colony in Paris.

any group of individuals having similar interests, occupations, etc., usually living in a particular locality; community: a colony of artists.

the district, quarter, or dwellings inhabited by any such number or group: The Greek island is now an artists' colony.

an aggregation of bacteria growing together as the descendants of a single cell.

Ecology. a group of organisms of the same kind living or growing in close association.

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

Related Words for colonies

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

Examples from the Web for colonies

Contemporary Examples of colonies

Cricket is a sport enjoyed by hundreds of millions around the globe, mainly in former British colonies.
The Story of the World’s Greatest Cricket Player
William O’Connor
December 24, 2014
Dr. John Morgan, perhaps the best-trained physician in the colonies, was then the leader.
George Washington, the First Vaxxer
Tom Shachtman
October 5, 2014
The laws carried over to the American colonies, and would ultimately go on the books in 40 U.S. states.
Are You Legally Responsible for Your Elderly Parents?
Keli Goff
April 26, 2014
It remains the receptive petri dish to any and all sorts of colonies of humanity that finally managed to find one another.
Five Subreddits You May Have Missed, and Probably Still Should Give a Miss
Kelly Williams Brown
April 5, 2014
Instead, the two colonies were joined in a confederation, with separate legislatures.
What Canada's History Teaches Us About the Feasibility of the One-State Paradigm
Bernard Avishai
September 24, 2013

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
He laboured to ameliorate the condition of the native Indians in the American colonies.
Self-Help
Samuel Smiles
And when the men were not wanted for India, they were shipped off to the planters 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

a community of people who form a national, racial, or cultural minorityan artists' colony; the American colony in London
the area itself

zoology

a group of the same type of animal or plant living or growing together, esp in large numbers
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

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.

colonies in Medicine

colony

[kŏl′ə-nē]

n.

A discrete group of organisms, such as a group of cells growing on a solid nutrient surface.

colonies in Science

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.