col ‧ o ‧ ny /ˈkɒləni $ ˈkɑː-/ BrE AmE noun ( plural colonies ) [countable]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: colonie , from Latin colonia , from colonus 'farmer, someone who develops a new place' , from colere 'to prepare land for crops' ]
1 . a country or area that is under the political control of a more powerful country, usually one that is far away ⇨ colonial , colonize :
Algeria was formerly a French colony.
⇨ ↑ crown colony
2 . one of the 13 areas of land on the east coast of North America that later became the United States
3 . a group of people who are similar in some way and who live together, or the place where they live:
an artists’ colony
a leper colony
4 . a group of animals or plants of the same type that are living or growing together:
a seal colony
breeding colonies of rare birds