nation

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Contents 1 English 1.1 Pronunciation 1.2 Etymology 1 1.2.1 Noun 1.2.1.1 Usage notes 1.2.1.2 Derived terms 1.2.1.3 Related terms 1.2.1.4 Translations 1.2.1.5 See also 1.3 Etymology 2 1.3.1 Noun 1.3.2 Adverb 1.3.3 References 2 French 2.1 Pronunciation 2.2 Noun 2.2.1 Derived terms

[edit] English

[edit] Pronunciation

• enPR: nā'shən, IPA: /ˈneɪʃən/, SAMPA: /"neIS@n/
•  Audio (US)^{help, file}

  Rhymes: -eɪʃən

[edit] Etymology 1

Middle English nation, nacioun from Old French nation, nacion from Latin nationem, accusative of natio, (g)natio "nation, race, birth" from (g)natus, past participle stem of (g)nasci “to be born”. Displaced native Middle English theode, thede "nation" (from Old English þēod), Middle English burthe "birth, nation, race, nature", Middle English leod, leode, lede "people, race" (from Old English lēod).

[edit] Noun

nation (plural nations)

1. A group of people sharing aspects of language, culture and/or ethnicity.

   The Roma are a nation without a country.

2. A historically constituted, stable community of people, formed on the basis of a common language, territory, economic life, and psychological make-up manifested in a common culture

   The Kurdish people constitute a nation in the Middle East

3. (law) (international law) A sovereign state.

   Though legally single nations, many states comprise several distinct cultural or ethnic groups.

[edit] Usage notes

(British) Following the establishment of the Scottish and Welsh parliaments, England, Scotland and Wales are normally considered distinct nations. Application of the term nation to the United Kingdom as a whole is deprecated in most style guides, including the BBC, most newspapers and in UK Government publications. Northern Ireland, being of less clear legal status, generally remains a province.

[edit] Derived terms

• nation building
• nation-state
• United Nations
• First Nations

[edit] Related terms

antenatal innate nascent natal national nationality native

nativity nativization nativism nature natural naturism naturalism prenatal

[edit] Translations

[edit] See also

• country
• culture
• homeland
• ethnicity
• people
• race
• society
• state

[edit] Etymology 2

Probably short for damnation

[edit] Noun

nation

1. Damnation.

[edit] Adverb

nation

1. (chiefly dialectal) Extremely; very

   I'm nation sorry for you. -- Mark Twain

[edit] References

• "Notable and Quotable," Merriam Webster Online Newsletter (November, 2005) [1] (as accessed on December 23, 2005).

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[edit] French

[edit] Pronunciation

•  Audio^{help, file}

[edit] Noun

nation f. (plural nations)

1. nation

[edit] Derived terms

• national