DictionaryAI

nation

NAY-shuhn/ˈneɪʃən/

Pluralnations

9 meanings of nation

Practice

  1. 1
    countrynounmetonymicallycountable
    A sovereign state; more loosely, any country.

    The treaty was signed by twelve sovereign nations.

    A nation may join international organizations to coordinate trade and defense.

    UsageCountry is the plainer word for a place you live in or visit; nation stresses the state or its people.

    Similarcountry, state

    Note

    International law uses the word for a state, the legal unit that holds sovereignty and signs treaties. In that sense a single nation can contain several distinct peoples in the cultural sense, and the compound nation state joins the two ideas.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

    • International law uses nation as a synonym for state. yorku.ca
    • A sovereign state holds sovereignty. en.wikipedia.org
    • States have the capacity to conclude treaties. legal.un.org
    • One sovereign state can contain several cultural nations or peoples. en.wikipedia.org
    • Nation state combines the concepts of a cultural nation and a political state. en.wikipedia.org
  2. 2
    people (shared culture)nouncollectivecountable
    A historically formed, stable community of people united by a shared language, territory, economic life, ethnicity, or psychological character expressed in a common culture.

    The Kurdish nation maintains a shared language and culture across several states.

    Historians trace how scattered tribes gradually became unified nations.

    Similarpeople

    Note

    The sense is collective: a people rather than a place, which is why the Roma can be called a nation without a country. The King James Bible of 1611 already speaks of "all the kinreds of the nations."

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • The Roma can be described as a nation without a country of their own. isaconf.confex.com
    • The King James Bible was first published in 1611. wwwe.lib.cam.ac.uk
    • The 1611 King James Bible contains the quoted wording in Psalm 22:27, including the spelling kinreds. en.wiktionary.org
  3. 3
    native tribenouncountable
    In North America, an Indigenous people or federation of peoples, and sometimes also the territory it governs.

    The Navajo Nation administers a territory larger than several states.

    Treaties between Native nations and the federal government still shape land rights today.

    UsageUsually follows the people's name; in general reference, say Native nations or tribal nations.

    Similartribe

    Note

    It can cover both the Indigenous people and the territory it governs. That is why the same name can rank a tribe by membership and a reservation by area.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • A name containing Nation can refer both to an Indigenous people and to its territory. en.wiktionary.org
    • The same name can appear in comparisons of tribal membership and reservation area. en.wiktionary.org

Practice

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Origins

Meanings 1–4, 6

This comes from Middle English "nacioun," borrowed from Old French "nacion," from Latin "natio" (nation). It displaced the native Old English word "theod."

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

  • Nation comes through Middle English nacioun and Old French nacion from Latin natio, meaning nation. en.wiktionary.org
  • Nation displaced the native Old English word þeod, rendered theod in the item. en.wiktionary.org
Meaning 5

This is a shortened form of "damnation" or "tarnation."

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 1 fact

  • Nation has a separate origin as a shortened form of damnation or tarnation. en.wiktionary.org