Wiktionary

country

EnglishEdit

 
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Alternative formsEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Middle English contre, contree, contreie, from Old French contree, from Vulgar Latin (terra) contrāta (“(land) lying opposite; (land) spread before”), derived from Latin contra (“against, opposite”). Cognate with Scots kintra.

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

country (plural countries)

  1. (chiefly British) An area of land; a district, region. [from 13th c.]
    • 2010, David Vann, The Observer, 7 Mar 2010:
      We walk along flat, open country, red dirt and spinifex grass, a few short trees […].
  2. A set region of land having particular human occupation or agreed limits, especially inhabited by members of the same race, speakers of the same language etc., or associated with a given person, occupation, species etc. [from 13th c.]
    • 2007, Chris Moss, The Guardian, 17 Feb 2007:
      This is condor country – the only region this far east where you can see the magnificent vulture – and a small national park straddling the passes, El Condorito, is a good stopover for walkers and birders.
  3. The territory of a nation, especially an independent nation state or formerly independent nation; a political entity asserting ultimate authority over a geographical area; a sovereign state. [from 14th c.]
    Synonyms: see Thesaurus:country
    • 1935, George Goodchild, chapter 5, in Death on the Centre Court:
      By one o'clock the place was choc-a-bloc. […] The restaurant was packed, and the promenade between the two main courts and the subsidiary courts was thronged with healthy-looking youngish people, drawn to the Mecca of tennis from all parts of the country.
    • 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, Abacus, published 2010, page 3:
      It is a beautiful country of rolling hills, fertile valleys, and a thousand rivers and streams which keep the landscape green even in winter.
    • 2010, The Economist, 3 Feb 2011:
      These days corporate Germany looks rather different. Volkswagen, the country’s leading carmaker, wants to be the world’s biggest by 2018.
    • 2013 June 22, “T time”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 68:
      The ability to shift profits to low-tax countries by locating intellectual property in them, which is then licensed to related businesses in high-tax countries, is often assumed to be the preserve of high-tech companies.
  5. (uncountable, usually preceded by “the”) A rural area, as opposed to a town or city; the countryside. [from 16th c.]
    • 1603, Michel de Montaigne, chapter 17, in John Florio, transl., The Essayes […], book II, London: […] Val[entine] Simmes for Edward Blount […], →OCLC:
      I was borne and brought up in the Countrie, and amidst husbandry […].
    • 2000, Alexander Chancellor, The Guardian, 4 Mar.:
      I have always thought that one of the main reasons for the popularity of blood sports in the country is the pointlessness of going outdoors with no purpose or destination in mind.
  6. Ellipsis of country music. [from 20th c.]
    a country song
    a country singer
    a country festival
  7. (mining) The rock through which a vein runs.

Usage notesEdit

The geographical sense of "country" usually refers to a sovereign state, that is, a nation with no administrative dependence on another one, which is the definition adopted in most world maps. In a broader sense, however, "country" may also refer to nations with some degree of autonomy and cultural identity but still under the sovereignty of another state. Examples of the latter include Scotland, Tibet, Abkhazia, and Greenland.

HyponymsEdit

See also Thesaurus:country.

Hyponyms of country (noun)

Derived termsEdit

Terms derived from country (noun)

DescendantsEdit

TranslationsEdit

See alsoEdit

AdjectiveEdit

country (not comparable)

  1. From or in the countryside or connected with it.
  2. Of or connected to country music.
  3. (India, historical) Originating in India rather than being imported from Europe or elsewhere.
    • 1872, Silk in India (page 16)
      We have seen that the Company manufactured silk stuffs at three of its Residencies, but from country-wound silk.
    • 1884, Journal of the United Service Institution of India (page 185)
      A reference to the Annual Administration Reports of the Department of Horse-breeding Operations […] will allow of the opinion being arrived at, that the breed of country horses under the present regime is steadily improving.
    • 1937, Brigadier-General H. A. Young, The East India Company’s Arsenals & Manufactories
      Country harness costs nearly as much, lasts half the time, and is in every respect inferior. It is understood that the only reason is that the Court desires to improve and encourage Indian manufactures.

TranslationsEdit

ReferencesEdit

  • country at OneLook Dictionary Search
  • country in Keywords for Today: A 21st Century Vocabulary, edited by The Keywords Project, Colin MacCabe, Holly Yanacek, 2018.
  • "country" in Raymond Williams, Keywords (revised), 1983, Fontana Press, page 81.
  • country in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911

FinnishEdit

Alternative formsEdit

EtymologyEdit

Unadapted borrowing from English country.

PronunciationEdit

  • IPA(key): /ˈkɑntri/, [ˈkɑn̪t̪ri]

NounEdit

country

  1. country music

DeclensionEdit

Inflection of country (Kotus type 1/valo, no gradation)
nominative country —
genitive countryn —
partitive countrya —
illative countryyn —
singular plural
nominative country —
accusative nom. country —
gen. countryn
genitive countryn —
partitive countrya —
inessive countryssa —
elative countrysta —
illative countryyn —
adessive countrylla —
ablative countrylta —
allative countrylle —
essive countryna —
translative countryksi —
instructive — —
abessive countrytta —
comitative — —
Possessive forms of country (type valo)
possessor singular plural
1st person countryni countrymme
2nd person countrysi countrynne
3rd person countrynsa

SynonymsEdit

FrenchEdit

EtymologyEdit

From English. Doublet of contrée.

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

country m (uncountable)

  1. country music

ItalianEdit

EtymologyEdit

Unadapted borrowing from English country.

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

country m (invariable)

  1. (music) country music

ReferencesEdit

  1. ^ country in Luciano Canepari, Dizionario di Pronuncia Italiana (DiPI)

PolishEdit

 
Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pl

EtymologyEdit

Borrowed from English country music.

PronunciationEdit

  • IPA(key): /ˈkan.trɨ/
  • Rhymes: -antrɨ
  • Syllabification: coun‧try

NounEdit

country n (indeclinable)

  1. country, country music

Derived termsEdit

adjectives

Further readingEdit

  • country in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • country in Polish dictionaries at PWN

PortugueseEdit

EtymologyEdit

Unadapted borrowing from English country.

The pronunciation reflects the incorrect belief that the <oun> represents /aʊn/ in the English etymon.

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

country m (uncountable)

  1. country music

RomanianEdit

EtymologyEdit

Unadapted borrowing from English country.

AdjectiveEdit

country m or n (feminine singular countryă, masculine plural countryi, feminine and neuter plural countrye)

  1. country (music)

DeclensionEdit

Declension of country
singular plural
masculine neuter feminine masculine neuter feminine
nominative/
accusative 		indefinite country countryă countryi countrye
definite countryul countrya countryii countryele
genitive/
dative 		indefinite country countrye countryi countrye
definite countryului countryei countryilor countryelor

SpanishEdit

EtymologyEdit

English. Doublet of contrada.

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

country m (uncountable)

  1. country music

Further readingEdit

SwedishEdit

EtymologyEdit

From English.

NounEdit

country c (uncountable)

  1. country music

DeclensionEdit

Declension of country 
Uncountable
Indefinite Definite
Nominative country countryn — —
Genitive countrys countryns — —
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