nationality
[nash-uh-nal-i-tee]
noun, plural na·tion·al·i·ties for 1, 2, 5, 6.
the status of belonging to a particular nation, whether by birth or naturalization: the nationality of an immigrant.
the relationship of property, holdings, etc., to a particular nation, or to one or more of its members: the nationality of a ship.
existence as a distinct nation; national independence: a small colony that has just achieved nationality.
a nation or people: the nationalities of the Americas.
a national quality or character: Nationalities tend to submerge and disappear in a metropolis.
RELATED WORDS
Nearby words
- nationalise,
- nationalism,
- nationalist,
- nationalist china,
- nationalistic,
- nationalization,
- nationalize,
- nationally,
- nationhood,
- nationwide
Origin of nationality
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for nationality
nationality
noun plural -ties
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
nationality
1690s, "national quality," from national + -ity (in some usages perhaps from French nationalité. As "fact of belonging to or being a citizen of a particular state," from 1828, gradually shading into "race, ethnicity." Meaning "separate existence as a nation" is recorded from 1832. Related: Nationalities.
But I do love a country that loves itself. I love a country that insists on its own nationality which is the same thing as a person's insisting on his own personality. [Robert Frost, letter, April 21, 1919]
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper