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country

 
American Heritage Dictionary:

coun·try

Home > Library > Literature & Language > Dictionary
(kŭn'trē) pronunciation
n., pl., -tries.
    1. A nation or state.
    2. The territory of a nation or state; land.
    3. The people of a nation or state; populace: The whole country will profit from the new economic reforms.
  2. The land of a person's birth or citizenship: Foreign travel is restricted in his country.
  3. A region, territory, or large tract of land distinguishable by features of topography, biology, or culture: hill country; Bible country.
  4. An area or expanse outside cities and towns; a rural area: a vacation in the country.
  5. Law. A jury.
  6. Informal. Country music.
adj.
  1. Of, relating to, or typical of the country: a country road; country cooking.
  2. Of or relating to country music.
idiom:

in country

  1. In Vietnam during the period of U.S. military operations there: "He'd been in country a month longer than the other four" (Nelson DeMille).

[Middle English countre, from Old French contree, from Vulgar Latin *(terra) contrāta, (land) opposite, before, from Latin contrā, opposite.]


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Roget's Thesaurus:

country

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noun

  1. An organized geopolitical unit: body politic, land, nation, polity, state. See politics, territory.
  2. A particular area used for or associated with a specific individual or activity: district, region, terrain, territory. Slang turf. See territory.
  3. A rural area: countryside, God's country. See urban/rural.

adjective

    Of or relating to the countryside: arcadian, bucolic, campestral, pastoral, provincial, rural, rustic. Informal hick. See urban/rural.

Antonyms by Answers.com:

country

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adj

Definition: rural, pastoral
Antonyms: city, metropolitan, urban

n

Definition: rural area; area away from city
Antonyms: city, metropolis, urbanity

Word Tutor:

country

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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: An area of wooded land. Also: the whole land of a nation.

pronunciation Ask not what your country can do for you, but rather what you can do for your country. — Cicero (106-43 BC).

Tutor's tip: John F. Kennedy made this line famous in our times.

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

Sign Language Videos:

country

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as in: rural
sign description: The thumb of the 5-hand is dragged along the chin.



Quotes About:

Country

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Quotes:

"It began in mystery, and it will end in mystery, but what a savage and beautiful country lies in between." - Diane Ackerman

"Colonies do not cease to be colonies because they are independent." - Benjamin Disraeli

"It may be true that you can't fool all the people all the time, but you can fool enough of them to rule a large country." - William J. Durant

"Shall we then judge a country by the majority, or by the minority? By the minority, surely. 'Tis pedantry to estimate nations by the census, or by square miles of land, or other than by their importance to the mind of the time." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

"The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated." - Mahatma Gandhi

"My country is the world; my countrymen are mankind." - William Lloyd Garrison

See more famous quotes about Country

Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'country'

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to country, see:
Bradford's Crossword Solver's Dictionary:

country

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  See crossword solutions for the clue Country.
Wikipedia on Answers.com:

Country

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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
Not to be confused with sovereign state.
For other uses, see Country (disambiguation).
European topographical map
Same map as above, but showing sovereign states widely accepted by the UN instead of topographies

A country is a region legally identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with sets of previously independent or differently associated peoples with distinct political characteristics. Regardless of the physical geography, in the modern internationally accepted legal definition as defined by the League of Nations in 1937 and reaffirmed by the United Nations in 1945, a resident of a country is subject to the independent exercise of legal jurisdiction.

Contents

Etymology and usage

The word country has developed from the Late Latin contra meaning "against", used in the sense of "that which lies against, or opposite to, the view", i.e. the landscape spread out to the view. From this came the Late Latin term contrata, which became the modern Italian contrada. The term appears in the Vulgate version of Matthew 12:30 "Qui non est mecum, contra me est: et qui non congregat mihi, spargit. (He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.) In many ways this defined the agonistic world view of the early Christian identity in Europe.[1] From this new theological World view several different senses of the term developed in Middle English from the 13th century, all reflecting a sense of either opposition, or occupation.[2]

In English the word has increasingly become associated with political divisions, so that one sense, associated with the indefinite article – "a country" – is now a synonym for state, or a former sovereign state, in the sense of sovereign territory or "district, native land".[3] Areas much smaller than a political state may be called by names such as the West Country in England, the Black Country (a heavily industrialized part of England), "Constable Country" (a part of East Anglia painted by John Constable), the "big country" (used in various contexts of the American West), "coal country" (used of parts of the US and elsewhere) and many other terms.[4]

The equivalent terms in French and Romance languages (pays and variants) have not carried the process of being identified with political sovereign states as far as the English "country", instead derived from, pagus, which designated the territory controlled by a medieval count, a title originally granted by the Roman Church. In many European countries the words are used for sub-divisions of the national territory, as in the German Länder, as well as a less formal term for a sovereign state. France has very many "pays" that are officially recognised at some level, and are either natural regions, like the Pays de Bray, or reflect old political or economic unities, like the Pays de la Loire. At the same time Wales, the United States, and Brazil are also "pays" in everyday French speech.

A version of "country" can be found in the modern French language as contrée, based on the word cuntrée in Old French,[4] that is used similarly to the word "pays" to define regions and unities, but can also be used to describe a political state in some particular cases. The modern Italian contrada is a word with its meaning varying locally, but usually meaning a ward or similar small division of a town, or a village or hamlet in the countryside.

Nations

Although not sovereign states, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (in the United Kingdom) are examples of entities that are regarded and referred to as countries.[5][6][7][8] Former states such as Bavaria (now part of Germany) and Piedmont (now part of Italy) would not normally be referred to as "countries" in contemporary English.[citation needed]

The degree of autonomy of non-sovereign countries varies widely. Some are possessions of sovereign states, as several states have overseas dependencies (such as the British Virgin Islands (GBR) and Saint Pierre and Miquelon (FRA)), with citizenry at times identical and at times distinct from their own. Such dependent territories are sometimes listed together with sovereign states on lists of countries, and may be treated as a "country of origin" in international trade, as Hong Kong is.

Countries of the world

See also: Countries of the world

The term "country" is commonly used to refer to sovereign states. There is no universal agreement on the number of "countries" in the world, since a number of states have disputed sovereignty status. There are 204 total states, with 193 states participating in the United Nations and 13 states whose sovereignty status are disputed. The newest state is South Sudan.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ John Burt Foster, Wayne Jeffrey Froman, Thresholds of western culture: identity, postcoloniality, transnationalism, Continuum International Publishing Group, 2002, p.208
  2. ^ John Simpson, Edmund Weiner, ed. "country". Oxford English Dictionary (1971 compact ed.). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198611862. 
  3. ^ OED, Country
  4. ^ a b John Simpson, Edmund Weiner, ed. Oxford English Dictionary (1971 compact ed.). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198611862. 
  5. ^ "Legal Research Guide: United Kingdom - Law Library of Congress (Library of Cong". Library of Congress website. Library of Congress. 2009-07-23. http://www.loc.gov/law/help/uk.php. Retrieved 2009-09-22. "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the collective name of four countries, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The four separate countries were united under a single Parliament through a series of Acts of Union." 
  6. ^ "countries within a country:number10.gov.uk". 10 Downing Street website. 10 Downing Street. 2003-01-10. http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page823. Retrieved 2009-09-22. "The United Kingdom is made up of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland." 
  7. ^ "Commonwealth Secretariat - Geography". Commonwealth Secretariat website. Commonwealth Secretariat. 2009-09-22. http://www.thecommonwealth.org/YearbookInternal/139598/geography/. Retrieved 2009-09-22. "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) is a union of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland." 
  8. ^ "Travelling Europe - United Kingdom". European Youth Portal. European Commission. 2009-06-29. http://europa.eu/youth/travelling_europe/index_uk_en.html. Retrieved 2009-09-22. "The United Kingdom is made up of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales." 
  9. ^ United_Nations#Membership

Further reading

External links

Look up country in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

Misspellings:

country

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Home > Library > Literature & Language > Common Misspellings

Common misspelling(s) of country

  • ocuntry

Translations:

Country

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - land, rige, stat, fædreland, område, lands befolkning
adj. - land-, provins-

idioms:

  • country and western music    country og westernmusik
  • country club    selskabelig klub
  • country cousin    slægtning fra bøhlandet
  • country gentleman    godsejer
  • country house    gods, landhus
  • country seat    landsted, herresæde
  • go to the country    udskrive valg

Nederlands (Dutch)
land, platteland, vaderland, -gebied, de kiezers, countrymuziek, landelijk/rustiek, boeren-, land-

Français (French)
n. - pays, campagne, région, (Mus) country
adj. - rural

idioms:

  • country and western music    musique country et western
  • country club    country club, club de loisirs
  • country cousin    personne qui débarque de la campagne (péj ou hum)
  • country gentleman    gentilhomme campagnard
  • country house    manoir
  • country seat    domaine
  • go to the country    appeler le pays aux urnes

Deutsch (German)
n. - Land, Volk, Landschaft
adj. - Land-

idioms:

  • country and western music    Country-music (amerikanische Cowboy Musik)
  • country club    gesellschaftlicher Klub auf dem Lande
  • country cousin    Unschuld vom Lande
  • country gentleman    Landbesitzer
  • country house    Landhaus
  • country seat    Landsitz
  • go to the country    die Entscheidung der Wähler einholen

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - χώρα, κράτος, πατρίδα, ύπαιθρος (χώρα), εξοχή, "βασίλειο", επικράτεια, (μτφ.) (ο) λαός, το εκλογικό σώμα
adj. - αγροτικός, εξοχικός, επαρχιώτικος

idioms:

  • back country    απομακρυσμένο και αραιοκατοικημένο μέρος
  • country and western music    μουσική κάντρι
  • country club    εξοχική λέσχη (με αθλητικές εγκαταστάσεις, εντευκτήριο κ.λπ.)
  • country cousin    (καθομ.) επαρχιώτης
  • country gentleman    γαιοκτήμονας
  • country house    εξοχικό (σπίτι)
  • country seat    έπαυλη, βίλα, αρχοντικό γαιοκτήμονα
  • go to the country    κηρύσσω (γενικές) εκλογές
  • the old country    γενέτειρα, πατρίδα, πατρίδα μετανάστη

Italiano (Italian)
paese, campagna, patria, rurale

idioms:

  • across country    da una parte all'altra del paese
  • country and western music    musica country e western
  • country club    circolo d'élite
  • country cousin    provinciale, rozzo e ignorante
  • country gentleman    proprietario terriero
  • country house/seat    residenza rurale
  • go to the country    andare in campagna

Português (Portuguese)
n. - país (m), pátria (f), terra (f), terreno (m), território (m), roça (f)
adj. - do campo, grosseiro, nativo (coloq.)

idioms:

  • across country    através de uma região, através dos campos
  • country and western music    música (f) sertaneja
  • country club    clube (m) de campo
  • country cousin    caipira
  • country gentleman    senhor (m) rural
  • country house/seat    casa (f) de campo
  • go to the country    atrair o público para uma eleição geral pelo direito de formar um governo
  • mother country    mãe-pátria (f), metrópole (f)

Русский (Russian)
страна, родина, деревня

idioms:

  • across country    поперек деревни, вне дороги
  • country and western music    музыка кантри
  • country club    загородный клуб
  • country cousin    деревенщина
  • country gentleman    помещик
  • country house/seat    поместье
  • go to the country    объявить о роспуске парламента
  • mother country    родина

Español (Spanish)
n. - país, campo, campaña, campiña, patria
adj. - rural, campestre

idioms:

  • country and western music    música country
  • country club    club campestre
  • country cousin    provinciano, pueblerino
  • country gentleman    caballero de provincia, dueño de una finca o hacienda
  • country house    quinta, finca, casa solariega
  • country seat    quinta, finca, casa solariega
  • go to the country    convocar elecciones, consultar al electorado

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - land, rike, fosterland, landsbygd, landsort, område, terräng
adj. - lantlig, land(-s)-, lant-

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
国家, 祖国, 国土, 故乡, 乡村, 乡下的, 祖国的, 乡村的

idioms:

  • country and western music    乡村与西部音乐
  • country club    乡间俱乐部
  • country cousin    不习惯城市生活之乡巴佬
  • country gentleman    乡绅
  • country house    别墅
  • country seat    乡间邸宅, 庄园
  • go to the country    举行大选

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 國家, 祖國, 國土, 故鄉, 鄉村
adj. - 鄉下的, 祖國的, 鄉村的

idioms:

  • country and western music    鄉村與西部音樂
  • country club    鄉村俱樂部
  • country cousin    不習慣城市生活之鄉巴佬
  • country gentleman    鄉紳
  • country house    別墅
  • country seat    鄉間邸宅, 莊園
  • go to the country    舉行大選

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 국가, 조국, 시골
adj. - 시골의, 시골풍의, 조야한

idioms:

  • go to the country    (의회를 해산하여) 민의를 묻다, 총선거를 하다

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 国, 国家, 祖国, 故郷, 田舎, 田舎風の, 国民, 地帯

idioms:

  • country and western music    カントリーミュージック
  • country club    カントリークラブ
  • country cousin    お上りさん
  • country gentleman    地方の大地主
  • country house/seat    田舎の広壮な本邸, 別荘
  • developed country    先進国
  • developing country    発展途上国
  • go to the country    国民の信を問う

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) دوله, بلد, قطر, أرض, ريف (صفه) ريفي, قطري‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮מדינה, עם, ארץ, אדמה, שטח, טריטוריה שיש לה עם שפה ותרבות משלה, טריטוריה של עם עצמאי, איזורים כפריים, ארץ הלידה של אדם או הארץ בה הוא אזרח, טריטוריה לא קטנה המאופיינת ע"י טופוגרפיה מסוימת, שטח בעל זהות שאינה קשורה לגבולות מדיניים או גיאוגרפיים, מולדת, מחוז, אוכלוסיה של ארץ או מח‬
adj. - ‮של כפר, כפרי, מארץ מסוימת, של ארץ, אופייני לארץ‬

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American Heritage Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Roget's Thesaurus. Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary Copyright © 1995 byHoughton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
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