■ noun ( plural colonies )
1》 a country or area under the political control of another country and occupied by settlers from that country.
↘( the colonies ) all the foreign places formerly under British political control.
↘( the colonies ) the thirteen areas on the east coast of North America that gained independence and founded the United States of America.
2》 a group of people of one nationality or race living in a foreign place.
↘a place where a group of people with the same occupation or interest live together: a nudist ~.
3》 Biology a community of animals or plants of one kind living close together or forming a physically connected structure.
Origin
ME: from L. colonia 'settlement, farm', from colonus 'settler, farmer', from colere 'cultivate'.