I. ˈnāshən noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English nacioun, from Middle French nation, from Latin nation-, natio birth, race, people, nation, from gnatus, natus (past participle of nasci to be born) + -ion-, -io -ion; akin to Latin gignere to beget — more at kin
1.
a.
(1) : nationality 5a
after the division of Poland … the nation existed without a state — F.A.Magruder
three Slav peoples … forged into a Yugoslavia without really fusing into a Yugoslav nation — Hans Kohn
(2) : a politically organized nationality ; especially : one having independent existence in a nation-state
b. : a community of people composed of one or more nationalities and possessing a more or less defined territory and government
India is … a member nation of the British Commonwealth — New York Times Magazine
Canada is a nation with a written constitution — B.K.Sandwell
— compare state
c. : a territorial division containing a body of people of one or more nationalities and usually characterized by relatively large size and independent status
a Roman province was far above a satrapy though far below a nation — Goldwin Smith
a nation of vast size with a small population — Mary K. Hammond
2. archaic : a particular group or aggregation (as of men or animals)
the scaly nations of the sea profound — John Dryden
you are a subtle nation , you physicians — Ben Jonson
3.
a. : a division of the student body forming a relatively independent community within a medieval university and comprising students from a particular locality (as a country or region)
b. : a similar division of students at Glasgow and Aberdeen universities in Scotland for the purpose of electing a rector
the nations into which the body of matriculated students is divided — Glasgow University Cal.
4.
a. : tribe : a federation of tribes (as of American Indians) ; specifically : one having a measure of political cohesion
that part of the Shawnee nation inhabiting the upper Savannah river — Geraldine De Courcy
the five nations of Iroquois
b. : the territory occupied by such a tribe or federation of American Indians
Synonyms: see race
II. adjective
Etymology: short for damnation, from damnation, n.
chiefly dialect : great , large
there was a nation sight of folks there — T.C.Haliburton
III. adverb
Etymology: short for damnation, from damnation, n.
chiefly dialect : extremely , very
I'm nation sorry for you — Mark Twain
IV. noun
( -s )
Etymology: short for damnation
chiefly dialect : damnation
nation seize such husbands as you seem to get — Thomas Hardy
what in the nation are we doing down here — MacKinlay Kantor
how in the nation are these fellows going to be ransomed — Mark Twain