01 n. A part, or division, of the people of the earth, distinguished from the rest by common descent, language, or institutions; a race; a stock.
-
1.
A part, or division, of the people of the earth, distinguished from the rest by common descent, language, or institutions; a race; a stock.(Ethnol.)“All nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues.” — Rev. vii. 9.
-
2.
The body of inhabitants of a country, united under an independent government of their own.“A nation is the unity of a people.” — Coleridge.“Praise the power that hath made and preserved us a nation.” — F. S. Key.
-
3.
Family; lineage.[Obs.]
-
4.
One of the divisions of university students in a classification according to nativity, formerly common in Europe.(Scotch Universities)
-
5.
A great number; a great deal; -- by way of emphasis; as, a nation of herbs.
Phrases & compounds
Five nations —
See under Five.