different between nation vs county

English

Pronunciation

• enPR: n?'sh?n, IPA^(key): /?ne??.??n/, /?ne??.??n/
• Rhymes: -e???n, -e???n

Etymology 1

From Middle English nacioun, nacion, from Old French nation, nacion, nasion (“nation”), from Latin n?ti?nem, accusative of (g)n?ti? (“nation, race, birth”) from (g)n?tus, past participle stem of (g)n?sc? (“to be born”). Displaced native Middle English theode, thede (“nation”) (from Old English þ?od), Middle English burthe (“birth, nation, race, nature”), Middle English leod, leode, lede (“people, race”) (from Old English l?od). Compare Saterland Frisian Nation (“nation”), West Frisian naasje (“nation”), Dutch natie (“nation”), German Low German Natschoon (“nation”). German Nation (“nation”), Danish nation (“nation”), Norwegian Bokmål nasjon (“nation”), Norwegian Nynorsk nasjon (“nation”), Swedish nation (“nation”).

Noun

nation (plural nations)

1. A historically constituted, stable community of people, formed on the basis of a common language, territory, economic life, ethnicity and/or psychological make-up manifested in a common culture.

2. (international law) A sovereign state.

3. (chiefly historical) An association of students based on its members' birthplace or ethnicity.

4. (obsolete) A great number; a great deal.

Usage notes

• (British) Following the establishment of the Scottish and Welsh parliaments, England, Scotland and Wales are normally considered distinct nations. Application of the term nation to the United Kingdom as a whole is deprecated in most style guides, including the BBC, most newspapers and in UK Government publications. Northern Ireland, being of less clear legal status, generally remains a province.

Synonyms

• (nationality, people group, race or kindred): thede (archaic or obsolete)
• (association of students): student nation

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

See also

Etymology 2

Probably short for damnation.

Noun

nation

1. (rare) Damnation.

Adverb

nation

1. (rare, dialectal) Extremely, very.

References

• "Notable and Quotable," Merriam Webster Online Newsletter (November, 2005) [1] (as accessed on December 23, 2005).

Anagrams

• Tonian, anoint

Danish

Etymology

From Latin n?ti? (“birth, people”), derived from the verb n?scor (“to be born”)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [na??o?n]

Noun

nation c (singular definite nationen, plural indefinite nationer)

1. a nation, a people with a common identity, united in history, culture or language
2. a nation, a country that is a politically independent unity

Inflection

References

• “nation” in Den Danske Ordbog

French

Etymology

From Middle French nation, from Old French nacion, borrowed from Latin n?ti?nem, accusative singular of n?ti?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /na.sj??/
• Rhymes: -??

Noun

nation f (plural nations)

1. nation

Derived terms

Anagrams

• tonnai

Further reading

• “nation” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French nacion.

Noun

nation f (plural nations)

1. nation

Descendants

• French: nation

Swedish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /nat??u?n/

Noun

nation c

1. a nation, a nationality, a people
2. a nation, a country, a state
3. a union or fraternity of students from the same province

Declension

Related terms

• Förenta nationerna
• nationaldag
• nationalism
• nationalist
• nationalitet
• nationell
• Nationernas förbund
• nationshus
• nationsliv
• studentnation

English

Etymology

From Middle English countee, counte, conte, from Anglo-Norman counté, Old French conté (French comté), from Latin comit?tus (“jurisdiction of a count”), from comes (“count, earl”). Cognate with Spanish condado (“county”). Doublet of comitatus, borrowed directly from Latin.

Pronunciation

• (General American, Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?ka?nti/
• Rhymes: -a?nti

Noun

county (countable and uncountable, plural counties)

1. (historical) The land ruled by a count or a countess.
2. An administrative region of various countries, including Bhutan, Canada, China, Croatia, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Romania, South Korea, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and 48 of the 50 United States (excluding Alaska and Louisiana).
3. A definitive geographic region, without direct administrative functions.

   traditional county

4. (US, slang, uncountable) A jail operated by a county government.

Usage notes

• In US usage, counties are almost always designated as such, with the word "County" capitalized and following the name — e.g., "Lewis County", rarely "Lewis", and never "County Lewis".
• In British and Irish usage, counties are referenced without designation — e.g. "Kent" and never "Kent County". Exceptions are; Durham, which is often "County Durham" (but never "Durham County"); and the counties of Ireland. An organisation such as Kent County Council is the "County Council" of "Kent" and not the "Council" of "Kent County".
• In Canadian usage, counties are typically designated as such, with the word "County" capitalized and usually preceding the name — e.g., "the County of Two Hills". Occasionally, "County" follows the name, as in "Sturgeon County".

Derived terms

Related terms

• count

Descendants

• ? German: County

Translations

See also

• shire

Adjective

county (comparative more county, superlative most county)

1. Characteristic of a ‘county family’; representative of the gentry or aristocracy of a county.
   • 1979, John Le Carré, Smiley's People, Folio Society 2010, p. 274:

     She was a tall girl and county, with Hilary's walk: she seemed to topple even when she sat.