Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Nation

Na′tion

,
Noun.
[F.
nation
, L.
natio
nation, race, orig., a being born, fr.
natus
, p. p. of
nasci
, to be born, for
gnatus
,
gnasci
, from the same root as E.
kin
. √44. See
Kin
kindred, and cf.
Cognate
,
Natal
,
Native
.]
1.
(Ethnol.)
A part, or division, of the people of the earth, distinguished from the rest by common descent, language, or institutions; a race; a stock.
All
nations
, and kindreds, and people, and tongues.
Rev. vii. 9.
2.
The body of inhabitants of a country, united under an independent government of their own.
A
nation
is the unity of a people.
Coleridge.
Praise the power that hath made and preserved us a
nation
.
F. S. Key.
3.
Family; lineage.
[Obs.]
Chaucer.
4.
(a)
One of the divisions of university students in a classification according to nativity, formerly common in Europe.
(b)
(Scotch Universities)
One of the four divisions (named from the parts of Scotland) in which students were classified according to their nativity.
5.
A great number; a great deal; – by way of emphasis;
as, a
nation
of herbs
.
Sterne.
Five nations
.
See under
Five
.
–
Law of nations
.
See
International law
, under
International
, and
Law
.
Syn. – people; race. See
People
.

Webster 1828 Edition

Nation

NATION

,
Noun.
[to be born]
1.
A body of people inhabiting the same country, or united under the same sovereign or government; as the English nation; the French nation. It often happens that many nations are subject to one government; in which case, the word nation usually denotes a body of people speaking the same language, or a body that has formerly been under a distinct government, but has been conquered, or incorporated with a larger nation. Thus the empire of Russia comprehends many nations, as did formerly the Roman and Persian empires. Nation, as its etymology imports, originally denoted a family or race of men descended from a common progenitor, like tribe, but by emigration, conquest and intermixture of men of different families, this distinction is in most countries lost.
2.
A great number, by way of emphasis.

Definition 2024

Nation

Nation

See also: nation and nâtion

German

Noun

Nation f ‎(genitive Nation, plural Nationen)

  1. nation

Derived terms

References

  • Prowe, Gunhild; Schneider, Jill (1995) The Oxford Paperback German Dictionary & Grammar, New York: Oxford University Press, pages page 163

nation

nation

See also: nâtion and Nation

English

Noun

nation ‎(plural nations)

  1. A historically constituted, stable community of people, formed on the basis of a common language, territory, economic life, ethnicity and/or psychological make-up manifested in a common culture.
    The Roma are a nation without a country.‎
    The Kurdish people constitute a nation in the Middle East‎
  2. (international law) A sovereign state.
    • 2013 June 7, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 36:
      It is tempting to speculate about the incentives or compulsions that might explain why anyone would take to the skies in [the] basket [of a balloon]:  […] perhaps to muse on the irrelevance of the borders that separate nation states and keep people from understanding their shared environment.
    Though legally single nations, many states comprise several distinct cultural or ethnic groups.‎
  3. (chiefly historical) An association of students based on their birthplace or ethnicity. syn.
    Once widespread across Europe in medieval times, nations are now largely restricted to the ancient universities of Sweden and Finland.‎
  4. (obsolete) A great number; a great deal.
    • Laurence Sterne
      […] and what a nation of herbs he had procured to mollify her humours, &c. &c. […]
Usage notes
  • (British) Following the establishment of the Scottish and Welsh parliaments, England, Scotland and Wales are normally considered distinct nations. Application of the term nation to the United Kingdom as a whole is deprecated in most style guides, including the BBC, most newspapers and in UK Government publications. Northern Ireland, being of less clear legal status, generally remains a province.
Synonyms
  • (nationality, people group, race or kindred): thede
  • (an association of students): student nation
Hyponyms
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
See also

Etymology 2

Probably short for damnation.

Noun

nation

  1. (rare) Damnation.

Adverb

nation

  1. (rare, dialectal) Extremely; very
    • Mark Twain:
      I'm nation sorry for you.

References

  • "Notable and Quotable," Merriam Webster Online Newsletter (November, 2005) (as accessed on December 23, 2005).

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: silver · winter · expect · #963: nation · legal · spread · enter

Anagrams

French

Etymology

From Middle French nation, from Old French nacion, borrowing from Latin nātiōnem, accusative singular of nātiō.

Pronunciation

Noun

nation f ‎(plural nations)

  1. nation

Derived terms

Anagrams

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French nacion.

Noun

nation f (plural nations)

  1. nation

Descendants

Swedish

Pronunciation

Noun

nation c

  1. a nation, a nationality, a people
  2. a nation, a country, a state
  3. a union or fraternity of students from the same province

Declension

Inflection of nation 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative nation nationen nationer nationerna
Genitive nations nationens nationers nationernas

Related terms

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /naˈt​͡si̯oːn/

Similar Results