nation
nation Lexical Profile
nation Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A large body of people united by common descent, history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular country or territory under a single government.
"Leaders from every industrialized nation gathered in Geneva to negotiate the new climate accord."
North American An Indigenous North American people or confederacy of tribes sharing a common language, culture, and governance structure.
"Representatives of the Navajo Nation met with federal officials to discuss water rights across the region."
Word Nuance & Usage
In political science and international law, 'nation' refers specifically to a cultural or ethnic community bound by shared heritage, whereas 'state' refers to a sovereign political government and 'country' refers to a geographical territory, though the three terms are frequently used interchangeably in everyday speech.
• Rhymes for nation
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in Middle English from Old French nacion, from Latin natio ('birth, origin, breed, or tribe'), derived from the past participle stem of nasci ('to be born').