different between nation vs nationality

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: n?'sh?n, IPA^(key): /?ne??.??n/, /?ne??.??n/
• Rhymes: -e???n, -e???n

Etymology 1

From Middle English nacioun, nacion, from Old French nation, nacion, nasion (“nation”), from Latin n?ti?nem, accusative of (g)n?ti? (“nation, race, birth”) from (g)n?tus, past participle stem of (g)n?sc? (“to be born”). Displaced native Middle English theode, thede (“nation”) (from Old English þ?od), Middle English burthe (“birth, nation, race, nature”), Middle English leod, leode, lede (“people, race”) (from Old English l?od). Compare Saterland Frisian Nation (“nation”), West Frisian naasje (“nation”), Dutch natie (“nation”), German Low German Natschoon (“nation”). German Nation (“nation”), Danish nation (“nation”), Norwegian Bokmål nasjon (“nation”), Norwegian Nynorsk nasjon (“nation”), Swedish nation (“nation”).

Noun

nation (plural nations)

1. A 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.

2. (international law) A sovereign state.

3. (chiefly historical) An association of students based on its members' birthplace or ethnicity.

4. (obsolete) A great number; a great deal.

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

• (nationality, people group, race or kindred): thede (archaic or obsolete)
• (association of students): student nation

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

See also

Etymology 2

Probably short for damnation.

Noun

nation

1. (rare) Damnation.

Adverb

nation

1. (rare, dialectal) Extremely, very.

References

• "Notable and Quotable," Merriam Webster Online Newsletter (November, 2005) [1] (as accessed on December 23, 2005).

Anagrams

• Tonian, anoint

Danish

Etymology

From Latin n?ti? (“birth, people”), derived from the verb n?scor (“to be born”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [na??o?n]

Noun

nation c (singular definite nationen, plural indefinite nationer)

1. a nation, a people with a common identity, united in history, culture or language
2. a nation, a country that is a politically independent unity

Inflection

References

• “nation” in Den Danske Ordbog

French

Etymology

From Middle French nation, from Old French nacion, borrowed from Latin n?ti?nem, accusative singular of n?ti?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /na.sj??/
• Rhymes: -??

Noun

nation f (plural nations)

1. nation

Derived terms

Anagrams

• tonnai

Further reading

• “nation” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French nacion.

Noun

nation f (plural nations)

1. nation

Descendants

• French: nation

Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nat??u?n/

Noun

nation c

1. a nation, a nationality, a people
2. a nation, a country, a state
3. a union or fraternity of students from the same province

Declension

Related terms

• Förenta nationerna
• nationaldag
• nationalism
• nationalist
• nationalitet
• nationell
• Nationernas förbund
• nationshus
• nationsliv
• studentnation

English

Etymology

From national +? -ity, perhaps after French nationalité; ultimately from Latin n?tio (“nation, people”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?næ.???næ.l?.ti/, /?næ?.?næ.l?.ti/, /-?næ.l?.ti/, /-?næl.ti/
• Hyphenation: na?tion?al?i?ty, na?tion?al?ity

Noun

nationality (plural nationalities)

1. (now rare) National, i.e. ethnic and/or cultural, character or identity. [from 17th c.]
2. (now rare) Nationalism or patriotism. [from 18th c.]
   • 1791, James Boswell, Life of Johnson, Oxford 2008, p. 599:

     ‘You are, to be sure, wonderfully free from that nationality: but so it happens, that you employ the only Scotch shoe-black in London.’

3. National origin or identity; legal membership of a particular nation or state, by origin, birth, naturalization, ownership, allegiance or otherwise. [from 18th c.]

4. A people sharing a common origin, culture and/or language, and possibly constituting a nation-state. [from 19th c.]
5. (obsolete) Political existence, independence or unity as a national entity. [19th c.]

Synonyms

• (membership of a nation or state): affiliation, allegiance, ancestry, citizenship, descent, enfranchisement, ethnicity, national status, naturalization, origin, parentage, race, residence, status
• (national character or identity): ancestry, color, colour, ethnicity, identity, origin
• (a people): clan, confederation, cultural group, culture, denomination, ethnic group, ethnicity, faith, group, nation, people, persuasion, race, sect, tribe
• (political existence as a national entity): autarchy, autonomy, freedom, independence, liberty, nationhood, self-determination, self-government, self-rule, separation, sovereignty
• (nationalism): nationalism, patriotic sentiment, patriotism,

Related terms

• nation, national, nationalise, nationalism, nationalist, nationalistic, nationalize
• nationhood
• nation-state
• nationwide

Translations

See also

• naturalize