Noun

(principalities)

(obsolete) The state of being a prince or ruler; sovereignty, absolute authority.

A region or sovereign nation headed by a prince or princess.

* 1990 , (Peter Hopkirk), The Great Game , Folio Society 2010, p. 14:

At this time Russia consisted of a dozen or so principalities , which were frequently at war with one another.

(theology) A spiritual being, specifically in Christian angelology, the fifth level of angels, ranked above powers and below dominions.

Noun

(countries)

(label) An area of land; a district, region.

* 2010 , David Vann, The Observer , 7 Mar 2010:

We walk along flat, open country , red dirt and spinifex grass, a few short trees.

A set region of land having particular human occupation or agreed limits, especially inhabited by members of the same race, language speakers etc., or associated with a given person, occupation, species etc.

* 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.

The territory of a nation, especially an independent nation state or formerly independent nation; a political entity asserting ultimate authority over a geographical area.

*{{quote-book, year=1935, author= George Goodchild

, title=Death on the Centre Court, chapter=5 , passage=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, p. 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.

* {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-22, volume=407, issue=8841, page=68, magazine=(The Economist)

, title= T time , passage=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.}}

*, II.17:

*: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.

Country music.

(label) The rock through which a vein runs.