nation n. 1. A people , usually the inhabitants of a specific territory, who share common customs, origins, history, and frequently language or related languages. 2. An aggregation of people organized under a single government; a country. 3. The government of a sovereign state: The Western nations have reacted favorably to the proposal. 4.a. A federation or tribe, especially one composed of North American Indians. b. The territory occupied by such a federation or tribe. --the nation. The entire people of a country, as distinct from any of the classes composing it: "By subduing disparate lesser groups the nation has . . . broadened the capacity for individual liberty." (Arthur S. Miller). --the nations. 1. In biblical use, the gentile or heathen peoples: "And the Lord shall scatter you among the nations." 2. The population of the earth; the peoples. [Middle English nacioun, from old French nacion, from Latin natio, "race," "breed," from nasci (past participle natus), to be born. See gene- in Appendix.*]
Synonyms: nation, state, commonwealth, country, land, people, race, folk. Nation primarily signifies a political body rather than a physical territory -- the citizens united under one independent government, without close regards to their origins; secondarily it denotes institutional ties, a community of economic and cultural interests. State even more specifically indicates political (governmental) organization, generally on a sovereign basis and pertaining to a well-defined area. Commonwealth is also used in a variety of political senses; to a much lesser degree it retains an earlier sense of union based on mutual interests. Country, in strict usage, is a geographical term signifying the territory of one nation, but is is often used in the extended sense of nation. Land, specifically, is a somewhat less precise geographical term for an area inhabited by one people, but not necessarily a single political unit. People, in this context, signifies a group united over a long period by common cultural and social ties, although not necessarily racial or national bonds. Race refers to those recognizable physical traits, stemming from a common ancestry, that the succeeding generations have in common. Folk, somewhat narrower than people, has specific reference to distinctive cultural characteristics of long standing.
Note: the Latin words above are missing the 'accents' as they were placed in the original document; specifically the words: natio, nasci. Also in the word gene the last e should be upside-down.
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