Etymology From Middle English nacioun, nacion, from Old French nacion, from Latin nātiōnem, accusative of nātiō (“nation”). Displaced Old English þēod.
1
Collective A historically constituted, stable community of people, formed based on a common language, territory, economic life, ethnicity and/or psychological make-up manifested in a common culture.
The Roma are a nation without a country.
pre-Columbian nations
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All the ends of the woꝛld ſhall remember, and turne vnto the Lord: and all the kinreds of the nations ſhall woꝛſhip befoꝛe thee.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Psalms 22:27:
2
Broadly, Collective, Humorous, Informal, Often A community united by some trait (especially an interest) but not historically constituted.
Near-synonym: tribe
the Dallas Cowboys nation
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the hip-hop nation
Did Pinterest create a culture of do-it-yourselfers, or did the DIY nation create Pinterest? The answer may not be certain, but we do know that a lot of customers love to do things on their own.2016 May 5, Johansson Anna, “5 Marketing Tips for Reaching the DIY Generation”, in Entrepreneur, retrieved 21 Dec 2023:
3
Metonymically A sovereign state; (loosely, metonymic, proscribed) a country.
International law
Though legally single nations, many states comprise several distinct cultural or ethnic groups.
It is tempting to speculate about the incentives or compulsions that might explain why anyone would take to the skies in [the] basket [of a balloon]: […] perhaps to muse on the irrelevance of the borders that separate nation states and keep people from understanding their shared environment.2013 June 7, David Simpson, “Fantasy of navigation”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 36:
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By the start of the 19th century, Europe was neckdeep in the Napoleonic Wars, which, at various times, amounted to the British Empire against Europe, and, at others, involved Britain subsidising various nations, such as Austria and Prussia, against Napoleon.2018 December 1, Drachinifel, 1:18 from the start, in Anti-Slavery Patrols - The West Africa Squadron, archived from the original on 29 Nov 2024:
4
Historical An association of students based on the birthplace or ethnicity of its members.
Once widespread across Europe in medieval times, nations are now largely restricted to the ancient universities of Sweden and Finland.
[…]and what a nation of herbs he had procured to mollify her humours, &c. &c.[…]1762, Laurence Sterne, The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, new edition, volume V, Altenburgh: G. E. Richter, published 1772, page 57:
6
In North America, an Indigenous people with federal and/or state recognition as such and (often also) their federally recognized territory.
The Choctaw Nation is the third-largest federally recognized tribe in the United States and the second-largest Indian reservation in area.
The term Navajo Nation refers both to the people and to their territory.
“Looky here, Bilgewater,” he says, “I’m nation sorry for you, but you ain’t the only person that’s had troubles like that.”1884 December 10, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter XIX, in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn: (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade) […], London: Chatto & Windus, […], →OCLC, page 186:
"Beleddy, Mester, yo're a dab hand at axing questions, at ony rate! One has to look back a 'nation long way into one's books to find what yo I axen after.1856, Mary Botham Howitt, My uncle the clockmaker, page 10:
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But no sense ov a place, some think, Is this here hill so high, - 'Cos there, full oft, 'tis nation coad, But that don't argufy.1896, English Dialect Society, Publications, page 71:
'... they seem 'nation fond of one another.' 'He haven't knowed her such a very long time,' said Job Mitchell dubiously.1899, Thomas Hardy, The trumpet major, page 122:
... a nation deal o' trouble to captivate him.1839, Grace Darling, Grace Darling, or the Heroine of the Fern Islands. A tale founded on recent facts. [With plates.], page 4:
... a nation lot of hunters assembled, for it war known there war plenty of game ...1840, Sporting Magazine, page 227:
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... a nation sight o' buzzin' an', ez Mr. Mayfield says,1885, John Hankins Wallace, Wallace's Monthly: An Illustrated Magazine Devoted to Domesticated Animal Nature, page 431:
I might not have been in such a nation hurry to jump from my cart to keep him from being pitched on the stones!1892, Isabella Banks, Mrs. George Linnaeus Banks, Glory, page 59:
... a nation sight o' good.1968, Graham's Illustrated Magazine of Literature, Romance, Art, and Fashion:
... what the nation's the matter of that boy now ? If he's got them highsterics ag'in , I'll blister him from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet , sure as he's a - livin ' . " The doctor took up his hat and started out to meet[…]1875, Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science, page 611:
O nation!.. if I were a man, […]1896, Hardy, Laodicean, page 487, quoted in the EDD
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What the nation's the matter now?1897, George Bartram, People of Clopton, page 193:
"What the nation's the matter with our John?" he broke off suddenly as his eyes fell on the occupant of the cot.2025 March 2, Warren H. Miller, Red Mesa : A tale of the southwest, Good Press: