# colony

Pronunciation: say "KOL-uh-nee" US/AUS /ˈkɔl.ə.ni/, UK /ˈkɒl.ə.ni/

## Noun

1. An area under the political control of another country, usually settled by people from that country or their descendants.
   - Simple: A land that another country rules and fills with its own people.
   - _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._
2. In biology, a group of organisms, of one species or several, that live together in close association.
   - Simple: A group of animals or other living things that live close together as one group.
   - _The coral colony spread across the reef over many decades._
   - _Each colony of bees contains a single queen and thousands of workers._
3. A group of people who settle a new territory while keeping ties to their home country, along with their later descendants.
   - Simple: A group of people who move to a new land but keep ties to their home country.
   - _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._
4. A group of people sharing one nationality, ethnicity, or language who live in a foreign country or city, or the area where they live.
   - Simple: A group of people from the same country or background who live together in a foreign place.
   - _A thriving Portuguese colony grew up around the fishing docks._
   - _Many in the expatriate colony gathered weekly to speak their native tongue._
5. A group of bacteria, fungi, or other cells grown together, especially all descended from a single cell.
   - Simple: A group of tiny cells, like bacteria, that grow together from one starting cell.
   - _Each colony on the agar plate descended from one bacterial cell._
   - _Technicians picked a single colony to grow in fresh broth._
6. A group of people who share interests, occupations, or traits and live together in a particular area, or the area itself.
   - Simple: A group of people with the same job or interest who live together in one place.
   - _The painters formed a colony where they could work side by side._
   - _A famous artists' colony once flourished on these cliffs._
7. A self-contained residential neighborhood or apartment complex, typically planned and developed as a single unit. *(India)*
   - Simple: A group of houses or apartments that make up one neighborhood.
   - _She grew up in a residential colony on the edge of the city._
   - _The colony's residents organized a cleanup drive last weekend._
8. A potential new chapter of a fraternity or sorority that is waiting for official recognition from its national headquarters.
   - Simple: A new fraternity or sorority group waiting to become an official chapter.
   - _The colony spent a year proving itself before earning a charter._
   - _Headquarters reviewed the colony's records before granting recognition._
9. A local group of Beaver Scouts, the youngest section of the Scouting movement.
   - Simple: A local group of the youngest Scouts, called Beavers.
   - _The local colony welcomed a dozen new Beavers this term._
   - _Two leaders ran the colony's weekly games and crafts._

## Verb

10. To settle and bring a territory under political control; to colonize. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To take control of a new land and settle people there.
   - _The crown commissioned merchants to colony the eastern coast._
   - _Adventurers set out to colony the unclaimed territory._

## Origin

From Middle English colane or colonye, from Latin colōnia ("colony"), from colōnus ("farmer; colonist"), from colō ("to till, cultivate, worship"). This traces back through earlier *quelō to Proto-Indo-European *kʷel- ("to move; to turn around"), and it is a doublet of Cologne, Colonia, and Köln.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/colony (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).