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

Derived Forms

• ˈnationless, adjective
• ˈnationˌhood, noun

Other Words From

• nation·hood noun
• nation·less adjective
• inter·nation adjective
• mini·nation noun
• super·nation 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

“SNAP is the first line of defense to address our nation’s deepening hunger crisis,” FitzSimons said.

From Salon

But more than 160 nations have signed the Mine Ban Treaty which commits to banning the production, use and stockpiling of anti-personnel mines.

From BBC

If bacteriophages are so spectacular, why weren’t they adopted in the U.S. and many other Western nations?

From Salon

But when stress is coming from politics, that prescription pits the health of the individual against the health of the nation.

From Los Angeles Times

Mississippi, despite extremely high poverty, has one of the nation’s lowest rates of homelessness.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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