# country

Pronunciation: say "KUN-tree" /ˈkʌntɹi/

## Noun

1. The territory of a nation: a sovereign state, or a land with its own national identity that forms part of a larger state, such as Scotland within the United Kingdom.
   - Simple: A nation and its land, either independent or a distinct part of a bigger state, like Scotland.
   - _Portugal is a small country on the Atlantic coast._
   - _Scotland and Wales are countries within the United Kingdom._
2. The rural part of a region, away from towns and cities: the open landscape of fields and farms.
   - Simple: Land away from towns and cities, with fields and open space.
   - _They left the city and bought a small place in the country._
   - _Life in the country moves at a slower pace than in town._
7. Short for country music: a style of popular music that grew from the folk music of the rural southern US, often featuring guitars and fiddles. — Ellipsis of country music.
   - Simple: Short for country music: popular music from the rural southern US, often with guitars and fiddles.
   - _He switched the radio to country during the long drive._
   - _He grew up on rock but switched to country in his thirties._
5. The people of a nation, region, or district considered together; the populace or general public.
   - Simple: The people who live in a nation or area, thought of as one group.
   - _The country mourned the loss of its beloved leader._
   - _When the law finally passed, the country was deeply divided._
6. An area of land, often one known for its landscape, its use, or its link to a people or writer.
   - Simple: An area of land, often one known for what it looks like or who lives there.
   - _The explorers crossed hundreds of miles of unmapped country._
   - _After the storm, much of the country between the two towns lay under water._
8. The spirit of rural places and the folkways that go with them. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: The spirit and old ways of rural life.
   - _Twenty years in Chicago haven't changed her; there's still plenty of country in how she talks._
   - _He wears tailored suits now, but the country comes out when he swaps stories with his uncles._
9. The traditional lands of Indigenous people, carrying embedded cultural, spiritual, ecological, and physical significance. *(Australia)*
   - Simple: The traditional land of Indigenous people, holding deep cultural and spiritual meaning.
   - _The community gathered to perform ceremonies that connect them to country._
   - _Returning to country, the family visited sites their ancestors had tended for generations._

## Adjective

3. Coming from, located in, or characteristic of the countryside and rural life.
   - Simple: Coming from or belonging to the countryside, or typical of rural life.
   - _He has an easy country manner that puts strangers at ease._
   - _Their country house sits among rolling fields._
4. Of or relating to the country music genre and its style.
   - Simple: Belonging to or part of country music.
   - _He grew up listening to classic country songs._
   - _The band gave the ballad a distinctly country sound._
10. Originating within India rather than being imported from other countries. *(India)*
   - Simple: Coming from India itself, not brought in from other countries.
   - _Back in Kerala, my aunt still pays extra for country chicken instead of broilers from imported breeds._
   - _Police in Bihar seized a cache of country guns turned out in a backyard workshop._

## Other meanings

- (noun) The surrounding rock in which a vein of coal or ore is enclosed.

## Origin

Latin contrā ("against, opposite") gave Vulgar Latin *(terra) contrāta, the "(land) lying opposite" or "spread before one." This passed through Old French contree into Middle English as contre. The word is not related to "county," and it pushed out the native English "land" in some senses. Around 1300 it referred to the area around a walled town, and by the early 16th century it was used mostly for rural areas rather than towns and cities.

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