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nation

 - 5 dictionary results
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na⋅tion

  [ney-shuhn]
Use nation in a Sentence
–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.
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.
Origin:
1250–1300; ME < L nātiōn- (s. of nātiō) birth, tribe, equiv. to nāt(us) (ptp. of nāscī to be born) + -iōn- -ion

Related forms:
na⋅tion⋅hood, noun
na⋅tion⋅less, adjective

Synonyms:
1. See race 2 . 2. state, commonwealth, kingdom, realm.
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Na⋅tion

  [ney-shuhn]
–noun
Carry or Carrie (Amelia Moore), 1846–1911, U.S. temperance leader.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To nation
na·tion   (nā'shən)   
n.  

    1. A relatively large group of people organized under a single, usually independent government; a country.

    2. The territory occupied by such a group of people: All across the nation, people are voting their representatives out.

    3. A federation or tribe, especially one composed of Native Americans.

    4. The territory occupied by such a federation or tribe.

  2. The government of a sovereign state.

  3. A people who share common customs, origins, history, and frequently language; a nationality: "Historically the Ukrainians are an ancient nation which has persisted and survived through terrible calamity" (Robert Conquest).

    1. A federation or tribe, especially one composed of Native Americans.

    2. The territory occupied by such a federation or tribe.


[Middle English nacioun, from Old French nation, from Latin nātiō, nātiōn-, from nātus, past participle of nāscī, to be born; see genə- in Indo-European roots.]
na'tion·hood' n., na'tion·less adj.
Na·tion   (nā'shən)   
American temperance crusader who conducted a series of raids on saloons, in which she used a hatchet to break liquor bottles and destroy furniture.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

nation 
c.1300, from O.Fr. nacion, from L. nationem (nom. natio) "nation, stock, race," lit. "that which has been born," from natus, pp. of nasci "be born" (see native). Political sense has gradually taken over from racial meaning "large group of people with common ancestry." Older sense preserved in application to N.Amer. Indian peoples (1650). Nationality "the fact of belonging to a particular nation" is from 1828. Nation-building first attested 1907 (implied in nation-builder). National is from 1597; national anthem first recorded 1819, in Shelley. Nationalize "bring under state control" is from 1869.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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