/ ˈneɪʃn; NAmE / noun
1.
[ C ] a country considered as a group of people with the same language, culture and history, who live in a particular area under one government :
an independent nation
the African nations
2.
[ sing. ] all the people in a country
SYN population :
The entire nation, it seemed, was watching TV.
► na·tion·hood / ˈneɪʃnhʊd; NAmE / noun [ U ]:
Citizenship is about the sense of nationhood.
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WORD ORIGIN
Middle English : via Old French from Latin natio(n-) , from nat- born, from the verb nasci .