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

Other Word Forms

• nationless adjective
• nationhood noun
• internation adjective
• minination noun
• supernation 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

The nation’s unemployment rate rose slightly to 4.3%, while remaining at historic lows.

From Salon

John Adams, the nation’s first vice president, declared the position to be “the most insignificant office that ever the invention of man contrived, or his imagination conceived.”

From Salon

The landslide compounds a deepening humanitarian crisis in Sudan, a nation already in the grip of a crisis where 30 million people are in need of assistance.

From BBC

He said the House has passed a $1.75-billion appropriation covering all construction of VA hospitals, clinics, housing and even cemeteries across the nation.

From Los Angeles Times

The Heritage American movement maintains that those Americans whose ancestors have been here for generations are more deserving of this nation’s riches than those of us whose families came over within living memory.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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