NATION • E-FREE TRANSLATION.COM • Definition of Nation

Add this Dictionary
to your website!
See more options...

/nˈeɪʃən/ Listen

noun

Nation n.

(Ethnol.) A part, or division, of the people of the earth, distinguished from the rest by common descent, language, or institutions; a race; a stock. "All nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues."

The body of inhabitants of a country, united under an independent government of their own. "A nation is the unity of a people." "Praise the power that hath made and preserved us a nation."

Family; lineage. (Obs.)

(a)

One of the divisions of university students in a classification according to nativity, formerly common in Europe.

(b)

(Scotch Universities) One of the four divisions (named from the parts of Scotland) in which students were classified according to their nativity.

A great number; a great deal; by way of emphasis; as, a nation of herbs.

Five nations. See under Five.

Law of nations. See International law, under International, and Law.

Synonyms: people; race. See People.

See images of 'Nation'

Etymology of 'Nation'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

Share |

"Nation" Quotes from Famous Books

... of thirty, strong in limb, clear in brain and yet a dependent! No one but himself to support, and couldn't even do that! Gadzooks! Fie upon all poetry and a plague upon this dumb, dense, shopkeeping, beer-drinking nation upon which ...

— Little Journeys to the Homes of the Great, Volume 5 (of 14) • Elbert Hubbard

... cannon boomed in honor of Jefferson Davis's election, and day before yesterday Washington's Birthday was made the occasion of another grand display and illumination, in honor of the birth of a new nation and the breaking of that Union which he labored to cement. We drove to the racecourse to see the review of troops. A flag was presented to the Washington Artillery by ladies. Senator Judah Benjamin made an impassioned speech. The banner ...

— Strange True Stories of Louisiana • George Washington Cable

... those who pass up or down. Our path lay along the bed of the Nake for some distance, the banks being covered with impenetrable thickets. The villages are not numerous, but we went from one to the other, and were treated kindly. Here they call themselves Bambiri, though the general name of the whole nation is Banyai. One of our guides was an inveterate talker, always stopping and asking for pay, that he might go on with a merry heart. I thought that he led us in the most difficult paths in order to make us feel ...

— Missionary Travels and Researches in South Africa - Journeys and Researches in South Africa • David Livingstone

... concerning the thousand pounds alleged to have been received by him from an anonymous giver. We may add that we scarcely expected it. Yet there is another long list of acknowledgments of sums received by Mr. Brooks this morning. We are either the most credulous nation in the world, or there are a good many people who don't know what to do with their money. We should like to direct their attention to half-a-dozen excellent and most deserving charities which we can personally recommend, and whose accounts ...

— A Prince of Sinners • E. Phillips Oppenheim

... father,' said Louis, smiling, while a tear rose to his eyes, 'I little thought I was obstructing the business of the nation. What will Sir Miles ...

— Dynevor Terrace (Vol. I) - or, The Clue of Life • Charlotte M. Yonge

More quotes...