colony

Pluralcolonies

Formscolonies, colonying, colonied

1. 1
   nouncountable

   An area under the political control of another country, usually settled by people from that country or their descendants.

   For over a century, the island remained a colony of the Spanish crown.

   Settlers in the colony paid taxes to a government an ocean away.

   Similardependency, territory, possession, dominion

   Note

   Behind the political sense stands a farmer. Latin colōnia came from colōnus, 'farmer, colonist', and ultimately from colō, 'to till, cultivate'. A colony was first land worked by newcomers. The same Latin word gave the city of Cologne its name. Two fixed phrases are crown colony (Bermuda is one) and the thirteen colonies, the British settlements that rebelled and declared independence.

2. 2
   nouncountable

   In biology, a group of organisms, of one species or several, that live together in close association.

   The coral colony spread across the reef over many decades.

   Each colony of bees contains a single queen and thousands of workers.

   Similarcommunity, hive

   Note

   A biologist's term that covers two quite different arrangements. In an ant colony the members are separate animals bound together by cooperation. In a coral colony, or a colony of specialized polyps and medusoids, the individuals are physically joined and divide the work among themselves. The word stretches from a loose society to something close to a single organism.

3. 3
   nouncountable

   A group of people who settle a new territory while keeping ties to their home country, along with their later descendants.

   The colony refused to cut its ties with the mother country despite years of distance.

   Generations later, the colony still spoke the language of their ancestors.

   Similarsettlement, outpost

   Note

   Here the word names the people rather than the land, and people can move. In Kenneth H. Beeson Jr.'s Fromajadas and Indigo (2006), the colony sails for East Florida before it has settled anywhere. The settlers carry the name with them, apart from the territory itself, and their descendants inherit it for as long as the ties to home hold.

4. 4
   nouncountable

   A group of people sharing one nationality, ethnicity, or language who live in a foreign country or city, or the area where they live.

   A thriving Portuguese colony grew up around the fishing docks.

   Many in the expatriate colony gathered weekly to speak their native tongue.

   Similarcommunity, enclave, quarter

5. 5
   nouncountable

   A group of bacteria, fungi, or other cells grown together, especially all descended from a single cell.

   Each colony on the agar plate descended from one bacterial cell.

   Technicians picked a single colony to grow in fresh broth.

   Note

   In the laboratory the word narrows further than in the field biologist's sense. A colony is usually the clump that one cell produces by dividing, so every member shares the same ancestor. The term is not limited to microbes, since researchers also grow colonies of stem cells.

6. 6
   nouncountable

   A group of people who share interests, occupations, or traits and live together in a particular area, or the area itself.

   The painters formed a colony where they could work side by side.

   A famous artists' colony once flourished on these cliffs.

   Similarcommunity, commune, enclave

   Note

   The most freely combining use of the word: artist colony, nudist colony, leper colony, penal colony. In the first two, people gather by choice. In the last two, others have set them apart. The noun carries no judgment of its own, and the modifier supplies it. Both artist colony and artists' colony are used.

7. 7
   nounIndiacountable

   A self-contained residential neighborhood or apartment complex, typically planned and developed as a single unit.

   She grew up in a residential colony on the edge of the city.

   The colony's residents organized a cleanup drive last weekend.

   Similarestate, development, complex, neighborhood

   Note

   In Indian English the word refers to home ground: a colony is the neighborhood or apartment complex where you live, as in 'our colony is quite small, but each apartment is large.' None of the overtones of the imperial sense apply. Outside India, listeners may hear settlers or foreign rule instead, so a gloss can help.

8. 8
   nouncountable

   A potential new chapter of a fraternity or sorority that is waiting for official recognition from its national headquarters.

   The colony spent a year proving itself before earning a charter.

   Headquarters reviewed the colony's records before granting recognition.

   Note

   A probationary stage in fraternity and sorority life. A group operates as a colony until headquarters grants recognition, and then it becomes a chapter. The wait can be long: Rick Rojas, writing in 2018, describes a Pi Delta Psi colony at Baruch that was about three years old. Use chapter for a recognized group and colony only for one still waiting.

9. 9
   nouncountable

   A local group of Beaver Scouts, the youngest section of the Scouting movement.

   The local colony welcomed a dozen new Beavers this term.

   Two leaders ran the colony's weekly games and crafts.

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