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
Words nearby 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
- a federation of tribes, esp American Indians
- the territory occupied by such a federation
Derived forms of nation
nationhood, noun nationless, adjectiveWord Origin for nation
C13: via Old French from Latin
nātiō birth, tribe, from
nascī to be born