old country

American  

noun

1. the original home country of an immigrant or a person's ancestors, especially a European country.

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old country British  

noun

1. the country of origin of an immigrant or an immigrant's ancestors

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Other Word Forms

• old-country
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of old country

First recorded in 1775–85

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

old country

As a small child, my repertoire was all country and western, and it was very old country.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026

I have an array of friends who learned later in life that their uncles were really their fathers, that Grandma had a whole other family back in the old country.

From Salon ● Oct. 15, 2024

The players were immigrants or the sons of immigrants, playing a game that was considered a national pastime in the old country but little more than a waste of time in the new one.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2024

“I take it back to the old country boy saying that you can’t put 10 pounds of potatoes in a 5-pound sack,” Nelson said.

From Science Magazine ● Apr. 15, 2024

He argued with his dad, the head pastor, about the difference between old country music, which had grit, and new country music, which had music videos.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri

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