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Nation vs Colony - What's the difference?

nation | colony |

As nouns the difference between nation and colony

is that nation is an historically constituted, stable community of people, formed on the basis of a common language, territory, economic life, ethnicity and/or psychological make-up manifested in a common culture while colony is a settlement of emigrants who move to a new place, but remain culturally tied to their original place of origin.

As an adverb nation

is extremely; very.

nation

English

Etymology 1

From (etyl) ).

Noun

(en noun)
  • An historically constituted, stable community of people, formed on the basis of a common language, territory, economic life, ethnicity and/or psychological make-up manifested in a common culture.
  • A sovereign state.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-07, author=David Simpson
  • , volume=188, issue=26, page=36, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Fantasy of navigation , passage=It is tempting to speculate about the incentives or compulsions that might explain why anyone would take to the skies in [the] basket [of a balloon]: 
  • (chiefly, historical) An association of students based on their birthplace or ethnicity. (jump)
  • (obsolete) A great number; a great deal.
  • a nation of herbs
    (Sterne)
    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.
    Synonyms
    * thede * (an association of students) student nation
    Derived terms
    * First Nations * Ford Nation * national * nationality * nation building * nation-state * student nation * United Nations
    See also
    * country * culture * homeland * ethnicity * people * race * society * state * thede

    Etymology 2

    Probably short for (m).

    Noun

  • (rare) Damnation.
  • Adverb

  • (rare, dialectal) Extremely; very
  • * Mark Twain:
  • I'm nation sorry for you.

    References

    * "Notable and Quotable," Merriam Webster Online Newsletter (November, 2005) [http://www.word.com/unabridged/archives/2005/11/notable_and_quo_4.html] (as accessed on December 23, 2005).

    Statistics

    *

    Anagrams

    * (l), (l) 1000 English basic words ----

    colony

    English

    Noun

    (colonies)
  • A settlement of emigrants who move to a new place, but remain culturally tied to their original place of origin
  • Region or governmental unit created by another country and generally ruled by another country.
  • * Bermuda is a crown colony of Great Britain .
  • A group of people with the same interests or ethnic origin concentrated in a particular geographic area
  • * The in Iowa were settled by people from Germany
  • A group of organisms of same or different species living together in close association.
  • * ant colony
  • * The Portuguese Man O' War (Physalia physalis), also known as the bluebubble, bluebottle or the man-of-war, is commonly thought of as a jellyfish but is actually a siphonophore — a colony of specialized polyps and medusoids. Wikipedia article on (w, Portuguese Man o' War)
  • A collective noun for rabbits.
  • Derived terms

    * colonial (adj., n.) * colonialism (n.) * colonise, colonize * colonist (n.) * colonyhood (n.) * Cologne (city, n.) * penal colony * space colony