country

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English[edit]

English Wikipedia has articles on:
Wikipedia

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle English contre, contree, borrowed from Old French contree, from Vulgar Latin (terra) contrāta (“(land) lying opposite; (land) spread before”), derived from Latin contra (“against, opposite”). Cognate with Scots kintra.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

country (plural countries)

  1. (chiefly British) An area of land; a district, region. [from 13th c.]
    • 2010, David Vann, The Observer, 7 Mar 2010:
      We walk along flat, open country, red dirt and spinifex grass, a few short trees […].
  2. A set region of land having particular human occupation or agreed limits, especially inhabited by members of the same race, speakers of the same language etc., or associated with a given person, occupation, species etc. [from 13th c.]
    • 2007, Chris Moss, The Guardian, 17 Feb 2007:
      This is condor country - the only region this far east where you can see the magnificent vulture - and a small national park straddling the passes, El Condorito, is a good stopover for walkers and birders.
  3. The territory of a nation, especially an independent nation state or formerly independent nation; a political entity asserting ultimate authority over a geographical area; a sovereign state. [from 14th c.]
    • 1935, George Goodchild, chapter 5, in Death on the Centre Court:
      By one o'clock the place was choc-a-bloc. […] The restaurant was packed, and the promenade between the two main courts and the subsidiary courts was thronged with healthy-looking youngish people, drawn to the Mecca of tennis from all parts of the country.
    • 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, Abacus 2010, page 3:
      It is a beautiful country of rolling hills, fertile valleys, and a thousand rivers and streams which keep the landscape green even in winter.
    • 2010, The Economist, 3 Feb 2011:
      These days corporate Germany looks rather different. Volkswagen, the country’s leading carmaker, wants to be the world’s biggest by 2018.
    • 2013 June 22, “T time”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 68:
      The ability to shift profits to low-tax countries by locating intellectual property in them, which is then licensed to related businesses in high-tax countries, is often assumed to be the preserve of high-tech companies.
  5. (uncountable, usually preceded by “the”) A rural area, as opposed to a town or city; the countryside. [from 16th c.]
    • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 17, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes, […], book II, printed at London: By Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], OCLC 946730821:
      I was borne and brought up in the Countrie, and amidst husbandry […].
    • 2000, Alexander Chancellor, The Guardian, 4 Mar.:
      I have always thought that one of the main reasons for the popularity of blood sports in the country is the pointlessness of going outdoors with no purpose or destination in mind.
  6. Ellipsis of country music [from 20th c.]
  7. (mining) The rock through which a vein runs.
  8. (vulgar, countable) The female genitalia, especially the vagina.
    • 1988, K.T. Oslin, "Hey Bobby"
      Hey Bobby
      Would you like to go for a ride in the country with me?

Usage notes[edit]

The geographical sense of "country" usually refers to a sovereign state, that is, a nation with no administrative dependence on another one, which is the definition adopted in most world maps. In a broader sense, however, "country" may also refer to nations with some degree of autonomy and cultural identity but still under the sovereignty of another state. Examples of the latter include Scotland, Tibet, Abkhazia, and Greenland.

Hyponyms[edit]

Hyponyms of country (noun)

Derived terms[edit]

Terms derived from country (noun)

Descendants[edit]

  • Sranan Tongo: kondre

Translations[edit]

See also[edit]

Adjective[edit]

country (not comparable)

  1. From or in the countryside or connected with it.
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 5, in The Celebrity:
      When this conversation was repeated in detail within the hearing of the young woman in question, and undoubtedly for his benefit, Mr. Trevor threw shame to the winds and scandalized the Misses Brewster then and there by proclaiming his father to have been a country storekeeper.
  2. Of or connected to country music.

Translations[edit]

References[edit]

  • country at OneLook Dictionary Search
  • country in Keywords for Today: A 21st Century Vocabulary, edited by The Keywords Project, Colin MacCabe, Holly Yanacek, 2018.
  • "country" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 81.
  • country in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911

Finnish[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Unadapted borrowing from English country.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈkɑntri/, [ˈkɑn̪t̪ri]

Noun[edit]

country

  1. country music

Declension[edit]

Inflection of country (Kotus type 1/valo, no gradation)
nominative country —
genitive countryn —
partitive countrya —
illative countryyn —
singular plural
nominative country —
accusative nom. country —
gen. countryn
genitive countryn —
partitive countrya —
inessive countryssa —
elative countrysta —
illative countryyn —
adessive countrylla —
ablative countrylta —
allative countrylle —
essive countryna —
translative countryksi —
instructive — —
abessive countrytta —
comitative — —
Possessive forms of country (type valo)
possessor singular plural
1st person countryni countrymme
2nd person countrysi countrynne
3rd person countrynsa

Synonyms[edit]

French[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From English

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

country m (uncountable)

  1. country music

Italian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From English

Noun[edit]

country m (invariable)

  1. (music) country music

Portuguese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from English country.

The pronunciation reflects the incorrect belief that the <oun> represents /aʊn/ in the English etymon.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

country m (uncountable)

  1. country music

Spanish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

English. Doublet of contrada.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈkantɾi/, [ˈkãn̪t̪ɾi]

Noun[edit]

country m (uncountable)

  1. country music

Swedish[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From English

Noun[edit]

country c (uncountable)

  1. country music

Declension[edit]

Declension of country 
Uncountable
Indefinite Definite
Nominative country countryn — —
Genitive countrys countryns — —
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