definitions

Columbia

[ kuh-luhm-bee-uh ]
/ kəˈlʌm bi ə /
|

noun

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RELATED WORDS

America, U.S., U.S.A., US, USA

Definition for columbia (2 of 2)

South Carolina

noun

a state in the SE United States, on the Atlantic coast. 31,055 sq. mi. (80,430 sq. km). Capital: Columbia. Abbreviation: SC (for use with zip code), S.C.
Related formsSouth Carolinian, adjective, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for columbia

British Dictionary definitions for columbia (1 of 3)

Columbia

1
/ (kəˈlʌmbɪə) /

noun

a river in NW North America, rising in the Rocky Mountains and flowing through British Columbia, then west to the Pacific. Length: about 1930 km (1200 miles)
a city in central South Carolina, on the Congaree River: the state capital. Pop: 117 357 (2003 est)

British Dictionary definitions for columbia (2 of 3)

Columbia

2
/ (kəˈlʌmbɪə) /

noun

the first test vehicle of the NASA space shuttle fleet to prove the possibility of routine access to space for scientific and commercial ventures

British Dictionary definitions for columbia (3 of 3)

South Carolina

noun

a state of the southeastern US, on the Atlantic: the first state to secede from the Union in 1860; consists largely of low-lying coastal plains, rising in the northwest to the Blue Ridge Mountains; the largest US textile producer. Capital: Columbia. Pop: 4 147 152 (2003 est). Area: 78 282 sq km (30 225 sq miles)Abbreviation and zip code: SC
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 columbia

Columbia

poetic name for United States of America, earlier for the British colonies there, 1730s, also the nation's female personification, from name of Christopher Columbus (also see Colombia) with Latin "country" ending -ia. A popular name for places and institutions in the U.S. in the post-Revolutionary years, when former tributes to king and crown were out of fashion: e.g. Columbia University (New York, U.S.) founded in 1754 as King's College; re-named 1784. Also District of Columbia (1791, as Territory of Columbia); "Hail, Columbia" (Joseph Hopkinson, 1798), Barlow's "Columbiad" (1809).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Culture definitions for columbia

South Carolina

State in the southeastern United States, bordered by North Carolina to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the south and east, and Georgia to the south and west. Its capital and largest city is Columbia.

Note

One of the thirteen colonies.

Note

One of the Confederate states during the Civil War.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.