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colonial

[kuh-loh-nee-uhl]

adjective

of, concerning, or pertaining to a colony or colonies: the colonial policies of France.

of, concerning, or pertaining to colonialism; colonialistic.

(often initial capital letter) pertaining to the 13 British colonies that became the United States of America, or to their period.

Ecology. forming a colony.

(initial capital letter) Architecture, Furniture.

noting or pertaining to the styles of architecture, ornament, and furnishings of the British colonies in America in the 17th and 18th centuries, mainly adapted to local materials and demands from prevailing English styles.

noting or pertaining to various imitations of the work of American colonial artisans.

noun

an inhabitant of a colony.

a house in or imitative of the Colonial style.

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Colonial is always a great word to know.

So is callithumpian. Does it mean:

a children's mummer's parade, as on the Fourth of July, with prizes for the best costumes.

the offspring of a zebra and a donkey.

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Origin:
1770–80, Americanism; colony + -al¹

Related forms

co·lo·ni·al·ly, adverb

non·co·lo·ni·al, adjective, noun

non·co·lo·ni·al·ly, adverb

pro·co·lo·ni·al, adjective, noun

sem·i·co·lo·ni·al, adjective

EXPAND

sem·i·co·lo·ni·al·ly, adverb

un·co·lo·ni·al, adjective

COLLAPSE

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To colonial

Example Sentences

Despite its gloss on the darker aspects of colonial times, slavery has become part of the picture in this historical village.

Africa's experience under colonial rule and decolonization, and the left and its discontents.

But in addition to the burdens of geography, the colonies must also cope with a capricious and neglectful colonial regime.

EXPAND

Despite its gloss on the darker aspects of colonial times, slavery has become part of the picture in this historical village.

Africa's experience under colonial rule and decolonization, and the left and its discontents.

But in addition to the burdens of geography, the colonies must also cope with a capricious and neglectful colonial regime.

The historic square is home to a variety of architectural styles, from colonial to modern.

Other artifacts of colonial history, they are not even artifacts, they're still going on.

Spaniards removed men from villages to work in gold mines and colonial plantations.

Australians have been battling nonnative pests with mixed success since colonial days.

Caribbean police forces were set up in colonial times to catch mango thieves and quell native unrest.

Desperate appeals began pouring into colonial offices.

Interpreters in period dress explain history and demonstrate colonial crafts in their cabins.

They put this down in part to the longer period these islands spent under colonial rule.

There's been a lot of colonial exploitation in human history.

Equally important is the absoluteness of the old colonial treaties that was imposed by the colonial powers.

Undaunted, the colonial rulers introduced foreign labour to speed the plunder of the island.

What has blocked exploration until now has been the confused borders left behind by former colonial powers.

The current borders were drawn up by colonial powers.

Europeans followed a variety of colonial strategies.

The first is that even medieval universities and colonial colleges were multi-purpose.

Eighty original and hundreds of replicated colonial structures line one.

Our metro stop brought us to the city square, ringed by buildings of various ages, many of which date to the colonial period.

British colonial buffoons and sci-fi pulp fiction from the turn of the century.

But colonial power and influences were real and continue to dominate much of the former colonialized world.

Muttering about the old colonial power throwing its weight around may be heard.

The romance of pirate lore has also generated public interest in maritime archaeology, history, and the colonial era.

The colonial and post-colonial ties have always remained there.

Many of the nation-states created after the colonial era will disintegrate.

Banyan himself, readers charged, entertained the fantasies of a fevered colonial mind.

The church's handsome colonial façade is a little battered.

And servants of the colonial regime still play important roles.

COLLAPSE

Collins

World English Dictionary

colonial (kəˈləʊnɪəl)

—*adj*
1.	of, characteristic of, relating to, possessing, or inhabiting a colony or colonies
2.	(often capital) characteristic of or relating to the 13 British colonies that became the United States of America (1776)
3.	(often capital) of or relating to the colonies of the British Empire
4.	denoting, relating to, or having the style of Neoclassical architecture used in the British colonies in America in the 17th and 18th centuries
5.	of or relating to the period of Australian history before Federation (1901)
6.	(of organisms such as corals and bryozoans) existing as a colony of polyps
7.	(of animals and plants) having become established in a community in a new environment

—n
8.	a native of a colony

co'lonially

—*adv*

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

colonial

c.1750s, from L. colonia (see colony) + -al (1). Meaning "from or characteristic of America during colonial times" is from 1776. The noun meaning "inhabitant of a colony" is recorded from 1865.

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Matching Quote

"Women, because of their colonial relationship to men, have to fight for their own independence. This fight for our own independence will lead to the growth and development of the revolutionary movement in this country. Only the independent woman can be truly effective in the larger revolutionary struggle."

-Women's Liberation Workshop , Students for a Democratic Society

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