Territory Definition | Definition of Territory at Dictionary.com

ter⋅ri⋅to⋅ry

[ter-i-tawr-ee, -tohr-ee]

–noun, plural -ries.

1.	any tract of land; region or district.

2.	the land and waters belonging to or under the jurisdiction of a state, sovereign, etc.

3.	any separate tract of land belonging to a state.

(often initial capital letter

) Government.

a.	a region or district of the U.S. not admitted to the Union as a state but having its own legislature, with a governor and other officers appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.

b.	some similar district elsewhere, as in Canada and Australia.

5.	a field or sphere of action, thought, etc.; domain or province of something.

6.	the region or district assigned to a representative, agent, or the like, as for making sales.

7.	the area that an animal defends against intruders, esp. of the same species.

Origin:
1400–50; late ME < L territōrium land round a town, district, equiv. to terr(a) land + -i- -i- + -tōrium -tory ²

Synonyms:
2. domain, dominion, sovereignty.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To territory

ter·ri·to·ry (těr'ĭ-tôr'ē, -tōr'ē)

n. pl. ter·ri·to·ries

An area of land; a region.
The land and waters under the jurisdiction of a government.
1. A political subdivision of a country.
2. A geographic region, such as a colonial possession, that is dependent on an external government: the territories of the Holy Roman Empire.
3. A subdivision of the United States that is not a state and is administered by an appointed or elected governor and elected legislature.
4. A similarly organized political subdivision of Canada or Australia.
often Territory
1. A subdivision of the United States that is not a state and is administered by an appointed or elected governor and elected legislature.
2. A similarly organized political subdivision of Canada or Australia.
An area for which a person is responsible as a representative or agent: a salesperson's territory.
Sports The area of a field defended by a specified team: punted the ball deep into the opponent's territory.
Biology An area occupied by a single animal, mating pair, or group and often vigorously defended against intruders, especially those of the same species.
A sphere of action or interest; a province. See Synonyms at field.

[Middle English, from Latin territōrium, from terra, earth; see ters- in Indo-European roots.]

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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Territory

Ter"ri*to*ry\, n.; pl. Territories. [L. territorium, from terra the earth: cf. F. territoire. See Terrace.]

1. A large extent or tract of land; a region; a country; a district.

He looked, and saw wide territory spread Before him -- towns, and rural works between. --Milton.

2. The extent of land belonging to, or under the dominion of, a prince, state, or other form of government; often, a tract of land lying at a distance from the parent country or from the seat of government; as, the territory of a State; the territories of the East India Company.

3. In the United States, a portion of the country not included within the limits of any State, and not yet admitted as a State into the Union, but organized with a separate legislature, under a Territorial governor and other officers appointed by the President and Senate of the United States. In Canada, a similarly organized portion of the country not yet formed into a Province.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : territory

Spanish: territorio,

German: das Territorium,

Japanese: 地域

More Translations »

territory

1432, "land under the jurisdiction of a town, state, etc.," probably from L. territorium "land around a town, domain, district," from terra "earth, land" (see terrain) + -orium, suffix denoting place. An alternate theory, somewhat supported by the vowels of the original L. word, suggests derivation from terrere "to frighten" (see terrible); thus territorium would mean "a place from which people are warned off." Sense of "any tract of land, district, region" is first attested 1610. Specific U.S. sense of "organized self-governing region not yet a state" is from 1799. Territorial waters is attested from 1841; territorial imperative "animal need to claim and defend territory" is recorded from 1966.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: ter·ri·to·ry
Pronunciation: 'ter-&-"tOr-E
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -ries
1 : a geographical area belonging to or under the jurisdiction of a governmental authority
2 : a political subdivision of a country
3 : a part of the U.S. (as Guam or the U.S. Virgin Islands) not included within any state but organized with a separate legislature —compare TRUST TERRITORY —ter·ri·to·ri·al /"ter-&-'tOr-E-&l/ adjective —ter·ri·to·ri·al·ly adverb

territory (těr'ĭ-tôr'ē) Pronunciation Key
A geographic area occupied by a single animal, mating pair, or group. Animals usually defend their territory vigorously against intruders, especially of the same species, but the defense often takes the form of prominent, threatening displays rather than out-and-out fighting. Different animals mark off territory in different ways, as by leaving traces of their scent along the boundaries or, in the case of birds, modifying their calls to keep out intruders.

territory

see come with the territory; cover the field (territory).

territory

in ecology, any area defended by an organism or a group of similar organisms for such purposes as mating, nesting, roosting, or feeding. Most vertebrates and some invertebrates, such as arthropods, including insects, exhibit territorial behaviour. Possession of a territory involves aggressive behaviour and thus contrasts with the home range, which is the area in which the animal normally lives. Home range is not associated with aggressive behaviour, although parts of the home range may be defended: in this case the defended part is the territory. The type of territory varies with the social behaviour and environmental and resource requirements of the particular species and often serves more than one function, but whatever the type, the territory acts as a spacing mechanism and a means of allocating resources among a segment of the population and denying it to others. Some authorities also consider plants or animals that secrete repulsive chemicals into their immediate environments to be territorial, because the substances space individuals of the species apart from one another.

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.
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