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nation

[ ney-shuhn ]
/ ˈneɪ ʃən /
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noun
a large body of people, associated with a particular territory, that is sufficiently conscious of its unity to seek or to possess a government peculiarly its own: The president spoke to the nation about the new tax.
the territory or country itself: the nations of Central America.
a member tribe of an American Indian confederation.
an aggregation of persons of the same ethnic family, often speaking the same language or cognate languages.
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Origin of nation

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Latin nātiōn- (stem of nātiō ) “birth, tribe,” equivalent to nāt(us) (past participle of nāscī “to be born”) + -iōn- -ion

synonym study for nation

1. See race2.

OTHER WORDS FROM nation

Other definitions for nation (2 of 2)

Nation
[ ney-shuhn ]
/ ˈneɪ ʃən /

noun
Carry or Carrie (Amelia Moore), 1846–1911, U.S. temperance leader.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use nation in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for nation

nation
/ (ˈneɪʃən) /

noun
an aggregation of people or peoples of one or more cultures, races, etc, organized into a single statethe Australian nation
a community of persons not constituting a state but bound by common descent, language, history, etcthe French-Canadian nation
  1. a federation of tribes, esp American Indians
  2. the territory occupied by such a federation

Derived forms of nation

nationhood, nounnationless, adjective

Word Origin for nation

C13: via Old French from Latin nātiō birth, tribe, from nascī to be born
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
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