nation

(nā'shən)
n.

1. 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.
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).
4. 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.]

nationhood na'tion·hood' n.
nationless na'tion·less adj.

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For more information on nation, visit Britannica.com.

noun

An organized geopolitical unit: body politic, country, land, polity, state. See politics, territory.

A large number of people of mainly common descent, language, culture, and history, usually associated with some specified territory. A nation need not be a state—many multinational states exist—but the rise of nationalism in the late twentieth century has brought about many struggles by nations within multinational states to achieve independence. Chechnya's continuing attempt to secede from Russia is just one example.

E. Gellner (in G. Balakrishnan 1996) has suggested that nationalists attempt to create a ‘nationally defined culture…[within] neat political units’ called nation-states, and has argued that a mismatch between national and political units gives rise to modern nationalist movements (Gellner 1983).

IN BRIEF: A group of people with their own territory and government.

By gnawing through a dike, even a rat may drown a nation. — Edmund Burke (1729-1797), British statesman.

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sign description: The N-handshape circle above and then comes to rest on the back of the wrist.

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Quotes:

"Without a country, I am not a man." - Nawaf Al-Nasir Al-Sabah

"In every particular state of the world, those nations which are strongest tend to prevail over the others; and in certain marked peculiarities the strongest tend to be the best." - Walter Bagehot

"Nations, like men, have their infancy." - Henry Bolingbroke

"It profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world... but for Wales!" - Robert Bolt

"The French complain of everything, and always." - Napoleon Bonaparte

"I like the English. They have the most rigid code of immorality in the world." - Malcolm Bradbury

See more famous quotes about Nations

For a list of words related to nation, see:

• Populations and Resources - nation: group of people sharing a political system, culture, and territory
• Governmental Bodies and Institutions - nation: independent, politically organized territory and its citizens
• World Relations and Conditions - nation: people who share specific territory, have common customs, history, language, and culture, and are organized under a single government; country; sovereign state

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See words rhyming with "nationhood."

  See crossword solutions for the clue Nation.

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

Dansk (Danish)
n. - nation, folk, folkeslag

idioms:

• nation state    nationalstat

Nederlands (Dutch)
natie, staat, stam, heleboel

Français (French)
n. - (Pol) nation, pays, peuple

idioms:

• nation state    état nation

Deutsch (German)
n. - Nation, Volk, Staat

idioms:

• nation state    Nationalstaat

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - έθνος, κράτος

idioms:

• nation state    εθνικό κράτος

Italiano (Italian)
nazione

idioms:

• nation state    stato nazionale

Português (Portuguese)
n. - nação (f), raça (f)

idioms:

• nation state    união

Русский (Russian)
страна, народ, нация

idioms:

• nation state    народ со статусом государства

Español (Spanish)
n. - nación

idioms:

• nation state    estado-nación, unidad representativa de la organización política moderna

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - nation, folk, folkslag

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
国家, 民族

idioms:

• nation state    单一民族的独立国家

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 國家, 民族

idioms:

• nation state    單一民族的獨立國家

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 국가, 국민, 민족

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 国民, 国家, 民族, 部族

idioms:

• nation state    政治部隊

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) امه, شعب‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮אומה, עם, קהילת אנשים עם מוצא, היסטוריה, שפה וכו' משותפים בד"כ, המקיימים מדינה או חיים יחד‬

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