n.
Pronunciation: ˌ na-sh ə - ' na-l ə -t ē , ˌ nash- ' na-
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -ties
Date: 1691
1 : national character
2 : NATIONALISM 1
3 a : national status specifically : a legal relationship involving allegiance on the part of an individual and usually protection on the part of the state b : membership in a particular nation
4 : political independence or existence as a separate nation
5 a : a people having a common origin, tradition, and language and capable of forming or actually constituting a nation-state b : an ethnic group constituting one element of a larger unit (as a nation)