nation

¹

[ney-shuhn]

noun

1. 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.

2. the territory or country itself.

   the nations of Central America.

   Synonyms: realm, kingdom, commonwealth, state

3. a member tribe of an American Indian confederation.

4. an aggregation of persons of the same ethnic family, often speaking the same language or cognate languages.

Nation

²

[ney-shuhn]

noun

1. Carry or Carrie (Amelia Moore), 1846–1911, U.S. temperance leader.

nation

/ ˈneɪʃən /

noun

1. an aggregation of people or peoples of one or more cultures, races, etc, organized into a single state

   the Australian nation

2. a community of persons not constituting a state but bound by common descent, language, history, etc

   the French-Canadian nation

3. 1. a federation of tribes, esp American Indians

   2. the territory occupied by such a federation

Other Word Forms

• nationhood noun
• nationless adjective
• internation adjective
• minination noun
• supernation noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of nation¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of nation¹

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

Synonym Study

See race ².

Example Sentences

Burkina Faso's military government has refused to take in deportees from the US as Washington suspended issuing visas in the West African nation.

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She hopes through the help of him, the US, other nations in Latin America and "democratic nations of the world", Venezuela will "achieve freedom and democracy."

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It was the last war that the entire U.S. nation was behind.

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Until control was returned to the host nation in 1999, “the country that stood to gain the least from the Panama Canal and the international connectivity it facilitated was Panama itself.”

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“Our university system, which was once one of the nation’s greatest strategic assets, has lost its way,” Rowan wrote.

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Related Words

• community 
• democracy 
• people 
• population 
• public 
• society 
• state 
• tribe 
• union