Jump to content

micronation

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: micro-nation

English

[edit]
WOTD – 2 September 2026
The Principality of Sealand is an unrecognized micronation (sense 1) occupying a decommissioned British military offshore platform in the North Sea.

Etymology

[edit]
Etymology tree
Proto-Indo-European *mey-der.?
Ancient Greek μῑκρός (mīkrós)
Ancient Greek μῑκρο- (mīkro-)lbor.
English micro-
Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁-
Proto-Indo-European *-tis
Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁tisder.
Proto-Italic *gnātiō
Latin nātiōbor.
Old French nacionbor.
Middle English nacioun
English nation
English micronation

    From micro- (prefix meaning ‘very small’) + nation (“country, sovereign state; historically constituted, stable community of people, formed based on a common economic life, ethnicity, language, religion, and/or territory”).[1]

    Sense 1 (“non-autonomous entity that claims to be a sovereign state”) was coined by the editors of the The State Journal (Lansing, Michigan) in a March 11, 1973, article (see the quotation) which republished a January 21, 1973, article by the American journalist Philip J. Hilts (1947–2022) published in Potomac Magazine, the Sunday supplement to The Washington Post,[2] with alterations. The original article referred to the unrecognized political entities listed in the Ephemeral States file, a collection of physical micronational records maintained by the Office of the Geographer of the United States Department of State, launched in 1933. It did not contain the word micronation; this only appeared in the State Journal version of the article.

    Pronunciation

    [edit]

    Noun

    [edit]

    micronation (plural micronations) (politics)

    2. A non-autonomous entity, generally small and having few residents, which claims to be a sovereign state and mimics the actions of a state (with varying degrees of seriousness), but lacks any legal recognition and exists only in theory or in the mind of its creator; a micronational entity. [from 1973]
      Synonyms: (obsolete) countercountry, ephemeral state, (rare) microcountry, (nonstandard) micropatria, (abbreviation) MN, (clipping, informal, rare) mnation, (clipping, informal, rare) mrnation, (one sense) model country, (informal, rare) nationette, project nation; see also Thesaurus:micronation
      Antonyms: country, (micronational slang) macronation, nation, sovereign state
      Hypernyms: aspirant state, political entity, pseudonation
      Hyponyms: bedroom nation, bug nation, egonation, egostan, mini-independent country, nanonation, new country project, space nation
      • 1973 March 11, Philip J[ames] Hilts, “Micro-nations Nebulous Fourth World: Republic of Minerva Might Mean Business”, in The State Journal, Lansing, Mich.: State Journal Co., →OCLC, section C, page C-5:
        For every dreamer there is somewhere a doer, and in the realm [of] the strange micro-nations, the Republic of Minerva has plunged a bit ahead of the nebulous status of most others.
        A revised version of Hilts’ January 21, 1973, article,[2] the corresponding passage of which (page PC13, column 3) referred to “these strange countries”.
      • 1978 October, David Wallechinsky, “Micronations”, in David Wallechinsky, Irving Wallace, The People’s Almanac #2, New York, N.Y.: Bantam Books, →ISBN, page 330:
        Oceanus […] This is the world's largest micronation, taking up all the seas of the world beyond national 3-mi. limits. […] Income, as with Minerva, would come from international ship registration. This cannot begin, however, until all of the nations of the world agree to give Ed Welles sovereignty over the seas.
      • 1996 April 1, David Zgodziński, “Net full of nations: Partitionists should discover the wealth of micro-nations online”, in Joan Fraser, editor, The Gazette, Montreal, Que.: Southam Inc., →ISSN, →OCLC, section B (World), page B3, column 3:
        The list of micro-nations is long and colorful. The spirit of new nation-building that resonates from King Robert [Ben Madison]'s descriptions of these countries, is seductive.
      • 2006 November 1, Alex Chadwick, “‘Lonely Planet’ Explores Micronations”, in NPR‎[1], archived from the original on 12 April 2025:
        Even if you are very well traveled, you may not yet have visited any of the world's micronations. There are places all over where someone or some group has declared a sort of mock sovereignty. Real nations mostly ignore them, and so does everyone else usually.
      • 2014 November 18, Jordan Teicher, “The World’s Tiniest Countries and the Eccentrics Who Rule Them”, in Wired‎[2], San Francisco, Calif.: Condé Nast Publications, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 29 June 2025:
        Never heard of the Imperial Kingdom of Calsahara? The Conch Republic? The Principality of Sealand? You’re not alone. Léo Delafontaine hadn't either until 2012, when he visited the Republic of Saugeais, a self-proclaimed micronation in eastern France. He's since become fascinated with "countries" unrecognized by world governments and organizations. […] Some micronations are easily accessible while others are difficult to get to. In Copenhagen, tourists can enter Christiania on foot, while visitors to the Principality of Sealand, a WWII island fortress six miles off the eastern shores of Britain, have to shell out over $2,000 for transport and a visa.
      • 2021, Harry Hobbs, George Williams, Micronations and the Search for Sovereignty (Cambridge Studies in Constitutional Law), Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 21:
        After exploring several classificatory accounts that identify commonalities and distinctions among and between different types of micronation, we outline our definition. We find that micronations are self-declared nations that perform and mimic acts of sovereignty, and adopt many of the protocols of nations, but lack a foundation in domestic and international law for their existence and are not recognised as states in domestic or international forums.
    3. Synonym of microstate (“a sovereign state which has a very small land area and population”).
      Synonyms: mini-country, minination, ministate, (informal, rare) nationette
      • 1967 June 11, T. W. Carlson, “Open forum page: U.N. should act to save Nigeria [letter]”, in Minneapolis Tribune, volume CI, number 18, Minneapolis, Minn.: Minneapolis Star and Tribune Company, →OCLC, page 45, column 7:
        The absence of any action by the United Nations on the crisis in Nigeria is quote puzzling, […] Also, since Nigeria is the cornerstone of the economy of West Africa, many countries around its perimeter will suffer, including many of the "micro-nations" of the U.N. which were the biggest supporters of the actions in The Congo and Rhodesia.
      • 1971 January 31, John Handley, “Good bet for tourists: Taking a spin thru Monte Carlo”, in Chicago Tribune, Chicago, Ill.: Tribune Publishing, →ISSN, →OCLC, section 6 (Travel), page 12, column 1:
        You've spent the day in Monaco, this postage stamp country affixed to France's southern shore, a 370-acre micro-nation clinging to rugged cliffs that drop into the clear, blue sea.
      • 1973, James Griffin, “Movements for Separation and Secession”, in Anthony Clunies Ross, John Langmore, editors, Alternative Strategies for Papua New Guinea, London: Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 129:
        The concept of an independent Bougainville is sometimes denounced because such a micronation would necessarily restrict the scope of employment opportunities while increasing the frustrations of educated Bougainvilleans.
      • 1991 July 7, “Wanna try driving a ‘Yugo,’ mister? [editorial]”, in Robert M[oody] McKinney, editor, The Santa Fe New Mexican, Santa Fe, N.M.: The New Mexican, →ISSN, →OCLC, page A-6, column 2:
        Europe already has workable arrangements with micro-nations like Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Andorra and San Marino.
      • 2021 April 2, Chico Harlan, Stefano Pitrelli, “San Marino, the micronation within Italy, stokes envy with speedy Russian-supplied vaccine campaign”, in The Washington Post‎[3], Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 25 May 2023:
        But in easing its own vaccine crisis, this hilltop micronation—which is not a member of the European Union—has become a foil for a much larger crisis playing out beyond its borders.
    4. (uncommon) A very small nation (“historically constituted, stable community of people, formed based on a common economic life, ethnicity, language, religion, and/or territory, and manifested in a common culture”) not amounting to a sovereign state.
      Antonym: macronation
      Hypernyms: community, nation, people
      • 1943, Sax[tone E.] Bradford, “How Hive the Termites”, in The Battle for Buenos Aires, New York, N.Y.: Harcourt, Brace and Company, →OCLC, part 2 (Invasion), page 95:
        Careful groundwork had given Germany a highly unified micronation within the boundaries of Argentina, in many ways better prepared and better organized than the Argentine nation itself.
      • 1961, Mamadou Dia, “Epilogue: A Timely Revision”, in Mercer Cook, transl., The African Nations and World Solidarity, New York, N.Y.: Frederick A[mos] Praeger, →OCLC, page 143:
        We were defenders of federalism, but we need not be fanatics, since obviously its time has not yet come and since we are faced with micronationalisms that need be tamed, micronations that will have to be organized. Thus it is necessary for us to start with these micronationalisms and micronations, which are the realities of this strange twentieth-century African universe.
      • 1975, Patrick [O.] O’Meara, “White Rhodesia: Perspectives and Mechanisms of Control”, in Gwendolen M[argaret] Carter, editor, Rhodesia: Racial Conflict or Coexistence?, Ithaca, N.Y.; London: Cornell University Press, →ISBN, page 55:
        Margery Perham once remarked that white Rhodesia was a micronation equivalent to a medium-sized British town. How has this micronation, about 80 per cent of whom live in the urban areas, been able to develop and retain control over the African population for so long?
      • 1990 January 12, Martin Woollacott, “How the Soviet empire should be dismantled”, in Peter Preston, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 10, columns 7–8:
        Leaving aside micro-nations, the Soviet Union is a large Slavic nation state to which are attached some reluctant Europeans in the west, some colonised Muslims in the south, and large tracts of Russified territory in the east.

    Alternative forms

    [edit]

    Derived terms

    [edit]
    [edit]

    Translations

    [edit]

    See also

    [edit]

    References

    [edit]
    1. ^ “micronation, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, July 2023; “micronation, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
    2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Philip J[ames] Hilts (21 January 1973), “Where is this Place? Strange Shores, Indeed”, in Potomac Magazine, Washington, D.C.: The Washington Post Company, →OCLC, page PC12.

    Further reading

    [edit]
    Retrieved from "https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=micronation&oldid=92447650"