Nation

I. 1. a. An extensive aggregate of persons, so closely associated with each other by common descent, language, or history, as to form a distinct race or people, usually organized as a separate political state and occupying a definite territory. In early examples the racial idea is usually stronger than the political; in recent use the notion of political unity and independence is more prominent. a1300 Cursor M. 241 Of Ingland the nacion Es Inglis man ar in commun. Ibid. 8225 All naciun and lede aght vr lauerd for to drede. c1380 WYCLIF Sel. Wks. III. 393 o gospels of Crist written in Englische, to moost lernyng of our nacioun. c1386 CHAUCER Man of Law's T. 183 Allas! un-to the Barbre nacioun I moste anon. c1460 FORTESCUE Abs. & Lim. Mon. iii. (1885) 115 The said kynge is compellid to make his armeys..of straungers, as Scottes, Spaynardes,..and of oer nacions. 1494 FABYAN Chron. clxxxviii. 190 With a great hoost of Danys, and other straunge nacyons. 1538 STARKEY England I. iv. 106 To defend thys custume long vsyd in our reame and natyon. 1596 SHAKES. Merch. V. I. ii. 49 He hates our sacred Nation. 1625 N. CARPENTER Geog. Del. II. iii. (1635) 53 Wee shall obserue..a multitude of miserable and wretched nations. 1682 G. VERNON Life Heylin 74 In almost all Nations Christened, the sam Law has continued to this very time. 1753 FOOTE Eng. in Paris Epil., Wks. 1799 I. 31 Not a Buck, nor a Blood, through the whole English nation, But his roughness she'll soften. 1793 BURKE Corr. (1844) IV. 159 Every thing we have done is in the style of hostility to France, as a nation. 1852 TENNYSON Ode Wellington 4 Let us bury the Great Duke To the noise of the mourning of a mighty nation. 1872 FREEMAN Gen. Sk. Europ. Hist. xvii. §1 (1874) 349 In Switzerland four languages are spoken; yet the Swiss certainly make one nation. 1878 SEELEY Stein II. 20 When the state fell to pieces, the nation held together.

Comb. 1817-8 COBBETT Resid. U.S. (1822) 333 What should they run rambling about a nation-making for? 1878 GLADSTONE Prim. Homer vi. 77 His..was..a nation-making office. 1888 W. D. LIGHTHALL Yng. Seigneur 10 The people are the true nation-makers.

transf. 1658 SIR T. BROWNE Hydriot. v. 71 What time the persons of these Ossuaries entred the famous Nations of the dead. 1708 POPE Ode St. Cecilia 52 Love, strong as Death, the Poet led To the pale nations of the dead. 1725 Odyss. x. 627 To all the phantom nations of the dead.

b. A number of persons belonging to a particular nation; representatives of any nation. 1572 J. BOSSEWELL Armorie II. 23 Whiche heauenly signe so seene on bothe Nations, they of the Frenche [etc.]. 1725 DE FOE Voy. round World (1840) 190 It being express in his orders not to permit any nation..to come on shore and stay there. 1818 SHELLEY Eugan. Hills 261 Once remotest nations came To adore that sacred flame.

c. In the mediæval universities, a body of students belonging to a particular district, country, or group of countries, who formed a more or less independent community; still retained in the universities of Glasgow and Aberdeen, in connexion with the election of the Rector. See Rashdall Univ. Mid. Ages (1895) I. 157, II. 367, etc. [c1411 St. Andrews Univ. Statute (MS.), Item..statutum fuit ut omnino essent quatuor nationes. 1453 in Munim. Univ. Glasg. (Maitland) I. 6 Rectores.., decanos, procuratores nacionum, regentes, magistros et scolares. 1482 Statutes ibid. II. 6 Divisio Suppositorum per quatuor Naciones. 1593 in Fasti Acad. Aberd. (1889) I. 57 [Rector] eligatur per omnes Academiæ Suppositos divisos in quatuor Nationes.]

1664 in Fasti Acad. Aberd. (1898) II. 11 The colledge being fullie conveened and divided in four nationes..did..nominat..procurators for electing of ane Rector. 1723 Ibid. 14 [The Principal, etc.] did..cause the whole students of the College divide themselves into the four Nations of Mar, Buchan, Murray, and Angus. 1735 St. Andrews Univ. Records (MS.), The Alban Nation met on Munday the 24th March. 1806 FORSYTH Beauties Scotl. IV. 92 [In St. Andrews] masters and students are divided, according to the place of their birth, into four nations. 1859 Scottish Univ. Comm., Glasgow Ord. 3 Parl. Papers (1863) XVI. 386 That in the Election of Rector.., the matriculated students shall vote, as at present, in four nations.

d. A country, kingdom. Obs. rare. 1663 MARVELL Corr. Wks. (Grosart) II. 88 Courts of Merchants to be erected in some few of the considerablest ports of the nation. 1668 WALTON Angler I. xvii. (ed. 2) 226 There be divers kinds of Cadis or Case-worms, that are to be found in this Nation in several distinct Counties.

2. the nations. a. In and after Biblical use: The heathen nations, the Gentiles. a1340 HAMPOLE Psalter xvii. 53 arfore i sall shrife til e in nacyons lord. 1382 WYCLIF Deut. iv. 27 e shulen dwelle fewe in the naciouns. 1398 TREVISA Barth. De P.R. III. v, Isider saye at anima, e soule, ha e name by settynge of nationis. 1593 G. HARVEY Pierce's Super. 81 S. Paule..was..omnisufficiently furnished to be a Doctour of the Nations. 1611 BIBLE Deut. iv. 27 And the Lord shall scatter you among the nations. 1656 MANASSEH BEN ISRAEL Vind. Jud. iii. §12 The holy Prophets made Prayers and Supplications for all Men, as well for the Nations as the Israelites.

b. The peoples of the earth; the population of the earth collectively. 1667 MILTON P.L. I. 598 As when the Sun..In dim Eclips disastrous twilight sheds On half the Nations. 1742 POPE Dunc. IV. 626 O sing, and hush the Nations with thy Song! 1796 H. HUNTER tr. St.-Pierre's Stud. Nat. (1799) III. 397 Egypt has attained a degree of power..which renders her the centre of the Nations. 1820 SHELLEY Liberty x, The trance In which, as in a tomb, the nations lay. 1842 TENNYSON Locksley Hall 124 There rain'd a ghastly dew From the nations' airy navies grappling in the central blue.

c. law of nations: see LAW n.1 4c.

3. Without article: Nationality. In phr. of English, etc. nation; of or by nation. Obs. 1375 BARBOUR Bruce I. 193 Schyrreffys and bailheys..He maid off Inglis nation. c1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xiv. (Luke) 2 Sancte lucas as of nacion cyrus [= Syrian] was. 1500-20 DUNBAR Poems viii. 29 And namelie we of Scottis natioun,..Forett we nevir into our orisoun To pray for him. 1579 FENTON Guicciard. v. (1618) 186 Brandano Constable of the Florentines, of nation a Lucquoys. 1641 EARL OF MONMOUTH tr. Biondi's Civil Wars IV. 53 Though he were a Fleming by Nation, yet was hee not separated from the interest of France.

4. a. the nation, the whole people of a country, freq. in contrast to some smaller or narrower body within it. 1602 SHAKES. Ham. II. ii. 370 The Nation holds it no sinne, to tarre them to Controuersie. 1661 DRYDEN On Coronation 35 Loud shouts the nation's happiness proclaim. 1709 POPE Ess. Crit. 546 Then unbelieving priests reform'd the nation. 1796 H. HUNTER tr. St.-Pierre's Stud. Nat. (1799) III. 509 Wishes for the Nation. c1812 JANE AUSTEN Mansf. Park (1851) 60 You are speaking of London, I am speaking of the nation at large. 1858 BRIGHT Sp. B'ham in Times 30 Oct. 9/5 The nation in every country dwells in the cottage. 1892 GLADSTONE in Daily News 12 July 3/7 Now..the nation votes and the nation rules.

b. two nations: phr. used of two groups within a given nation divided from each other by marked social inequality; hence one nation, a nation which is not divided by social inequalities. 1845 DISRAELI (title) Sybil, or The two nations. Ibid. I. II. v. 149 Two nations; between whom there is no intercourse and no sympathy; who are..ignorant of each other's habits, thoughts, and feelings..; who are formed by different breeding, are fed by different food,..and are not governed by the same laws... The Rich and the Poor. 1892 Youth's Compan. 8 Sept. 446/1 (heading) Salute to the Flag... I pledge allegiance to my Flag and the Republic for which it stands: one Nation indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all. 1971 Guardian 19 Nov. 12/2 There are two nations now within schools... Social inequality is growing. 1973 Times 15 Oct. 17/6 The Disraelian doctrine of ‘One Nation’ has..been in the past little more than an ideal or a pretence. 1974 Times 16 Oct. 14/6 God bless the squire and his relations; full speed astern to the Two Nations.

II. 5. a. A family, kindred. Obs. rare. c1386 CHAUCER Wife's T. 212 Allas! that any of my nacioun Sholde ever so foule disparaged be! 1508 KENNEDIE Flyting w. Dunbar 411 Homage to Edward Langschankis maid thy kyn, In Dunbar thai ressauit him, the false nacione.

b. The native population of a town or city. 1523 LD. BERNERS Froiss. I. ccxx. 284 Mo than sixscore, all yong men of the nacyon of ye towne. Ibid. ccliv. 377 They of the nacion of the towne were taken to mercy.

c. An Irish clan. Obs. 1584 in O'Flaherty West Connaught (1846) 390 He is, by her Majesties apointment, capten and chief both of his countrey and nacion.

d. A North American Indian people. 1650 Archives of Maryland (1883) I. 260 The Ports adjoyning are very much pestered with great Concourse of Indians of several nations. 1709 J. LAWSON New Voy. Carolina 199 Two Nations of Indians here in Carolina were at war together. 1722 D. COXE Descr. Carolana iv. 49 Near the Bottom of the Bay..is the fair River of the Miamihas (so call'd because upon it lives Part of a Nation bearing the same Name). 1740 in South Carolina Hist. Soc. Coll. (1887) IV. 83, I desire also that you will send me..the Indian presents, with power to distribute them, for much Depends on the Nations. 1763 in C. Gist Jrnls. (1893) 196 Negocieatory maters with a number of Indian nations. 1775 in Collect. Mass. Hist. Soc. 3rd Ser. V. 75 The sachems and warriors of the Six Nations. 1836 W. IRVING Astoria III. 24 There were white men residing with some of their nation. 1867 PARKMAN Jesuits N. Amer. xxxii. (1879) 426 That portion [of the Hurons] called the Tobacco Nation.

6. a. A particular class, kind, or race of persons. Also man's nation, human kind. Obs. 1382 WYCLIF Phil. ii. 15 In the myddel of a schrewid nacioun and weyward. 1390 GOWER Conf. II. 50 Among the gentil nacion Love is an occupacion. Ibid. I. 55 Out of mannes nacion Fro kynde thei be so miswent, That to the liknesse of Serpent Thei were bore. 1535 COVERDALE 1 Pet. ii. 9 But ye are..that kyngly presthode, that holy nacion. a1568 R. ASCHAM Scholem. II. (Arb.) 137 The worst of all, as Questionistes, and all the barbarous nation of scholemen. 1605 B. JONSON Sejanus I. ii, You are a subtile nation, you physicians! 1670-98 R. LASSELS Voy. Italy I. 14 Civil education..makes even schoolboyes (an insolent Nation any where else) most respectfull to one another. a1734 NORTH Exam. Pref. (1740) 11 These are what the Compilers, a most useful Nation, hunt after.

b. So of animals. Obs. 1590 SPENSER F. Q. II. xii. 36 All the nation of unfortunate And fatall birds about them flocked were. 1594 Astrophel 98 There his welwoven toyles..He laid the brutish nation to enwrap. 1697 DRYDEN Virg. Georg. III. 806 The scaly Nations of the Sea profound. 1733 POPE Ess. Man III. 99 The nations of the field and wood. 1781 COWPER Hope 353 The screaming nations, hovering in mid air.

7. Astrol. Nativity; nature. Obs. rare1. 1375 BARBOUR Bruce IV. 719 Gif thai men, that will study In the craft of astrology, Knaw all mennis nacioune.

8. A great number, a host of persons or things. 1762 STERNE Tr. Shandy V. xxi, The French had..a nation of hedges and copses..to cover them. 1765 Ibid. VII. xxi, What a nation of herbs he had procured.

9. attrib. and Comb. (see also sense 1a ad fin.), as nation-building, the creation of a new nation, spec. a newly independent nation; hence nation-builder; nation-state, a sovereign state the members of which are also united by those ties such as language, common descent, etc., which constitute a nation; nation-wide a., as wide as a nation; extending over, reaching, or affecting the whole nation; also as adv. 1907 Collier's 12 Jan. 7/2 Next week's issue will be our annual Automobile Number, and, in addition to general news and illustrations concerning the modern vehicle, it will give some lucid arguments for the automobile as a nation-builder. 1920 N. M. BUTLER Is Amer. Worth Saving? xvi. 285 (heading) Alexander Hamilton, nation-builder. 1933 P. S. CLEARY (title) Australia's debt to Irish nation-builders. 1967 Freedomways VII. 167 These are the new lessons in old African history that are giving many present-day African nation builders a new consciousness of past achievements.

1913 N. M. BUTLER in Educational Rev. (N.Y.) Apr. 405 These six men are..the moving forces of the constructive nation-building of the American people. Ibid. 406 The most prominent in the galaxy of our nation-building heroes. 1928 Daily Tel. 4 Sept. 10/4 For such an enterprise of nation-building peace..is the essential condition. 1931 Economist 7 Mar. 486/1 One of the urgent needs of India is that the Provinces should have funds available for so-called ‘nation building’ services. 1971 Sunday Nation (Nairobi) 11 Apr. 3/2 The Ambassador advised the students to study hard and return home after graduating to play their part in nation-building. 1973 Express (Trinidad & Tobago) 7 Apr. 12/4 Unless we are prepared to..rid ourselves of our petty differences and general smallmindedness, we are not ready for nation building.

1918 J. A. R. MARRIOTT European Commonwealth ii. 18 The ultimate genesis of the world conflict of to-day is sought..in..the existing European polity..based upon the recognition of the rights of a large number of Nation-States, entirely independent and nominally coequal. 1935 HUXLEY & HADDON We Europeans i. 11 The nation-state is a modern conception and product, the result of certain peculiar social and economic circumstances. Ibid. vi. 187 With the sixteenth century, nation-states of the modern type began to appear. 1945 H. KOHN Idea of Nationalism i. 19 Nationalism demands the nation-state; the creation of the nation-state strengthens nationalism. 1950 THEIMER & CAMPBELL Encycl. World Politics 301/2 Absolutism paved the way for the modern nation-state marked by sovereignty and the repudiation of any superior authority. 1959 Encounter July 75/1 Egypt is turning into a modern nation-state. 1971 Black Scholar June 29/1 As the cultural revolution and students become more politically sophisticated, the question of an independent black nation-state will become a popular demand. 1973 Listener 10 May 616/1 The nation state requires the idea of an entity along with other entities that are equal.

1915 Munsey's Mag. May 708/2 The nation-wide primary is coming. 1925 E. S. JONES Christ of Indian Road iii. 72 A year ago began a struggle in South India that has had nation-wide consequences. 1928 Daily Express 27 Apr. 1 In deciding to publish this most moving..narrative the ‘Daily Express’ embarks on a venture which will command nation wide attention. 1958 Economist 1 Nov. 413/1 The one real issue of nation-wide importance which this campaign has produced concerns the trade unions. 1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 15 Mar. 72/1 Perhaps F.M.C. could have done more if it hadn't started off on so wide a scalenation~wide in fact. 1972 Daily Tel. 21 Jan. 1/7 Mr. Ian Smith, the Rhodesian Prime Minister, is to make a nationwide broadcast today. 1975 Lamp (Exxon Corporation) Winter 3/2 Now being telecast nationwide..each of these television messages pays tribute to an outstanding man or woman.