nation

[ ney-shuh n ]
/ ˈneɪ ʃən /

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.

Origin of nation

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

SYNONYMS FOR nation

1 See race2.
2 state, commonwealth, kingdom, realm.

OTHER WORDS FROM nation

Definition for nation (2 of 2)

Nation
[ ney-shuh n ]
/ ˈneɪ ʃən /

noun

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

Example sentences from the Web for nation

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 state the Australian nation
a community of persons not constituting a state but bound by common descent, language, history, etc the French-Canadian nation
  1. a federation of tribes, esp American Indians
  2. the territory occupied by such a federation

Derived forms of nation

nationhood, noun nationless, adjective

Word Origin for nation

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