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

• nationless adjective
• nationhood noun
• 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

Today, apple bobbing remains a staple tradition at local apple orchards, farms and state fairs across the nation.

Read more on Salon

As individuals and a nation, we look to encourage abundance, whether economic, cultural or spiritual.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Media in Trinidad and Tobago have also pressured the twin island nation's government to investigate reports that two of their nationals were killed in one of the strikes.

Read more on BBC

It appears that America has escalated its military mission to include yet another South American nation.

Read more on Salon

As baseball’s only Canadian franchise, the Blue Jays have the opportunity to generate revenue not from a single metropolitan area, but from an entire nation with a population of more than 40 million people.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

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