n.
Pronunciation: ' kä-l ə -n ē
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural -nies
Etymology: Middle English colonie, from Middle French & Latin; Middle French, from Latin colonia, from colonus farmer, colonist, from colere to cultivate ― more at WHEEL
Date: 14th century
1 a : a body of people living in a new territory but retaining ties with the parent state b : the territory inhabited by such a body
2 : a distinguishable localized population within a species <a colony of termites>
3 a : a circumscribed mass of microorganisms usually growing in or on a solid medium b : the aggregation of zooids of a compound animal
4 a : a group of individuals or things with common characteristics or interests situated in close association <an artist colony > b : the section occupied by such a group
5 : a group of persons institutionalized away from others <a leper colony > <a penal colony > also : the land or buildings occupied by such a group