country
/ˈkʌntɹi/
Word Rarity
Common
Frequency: 5.48 in modern English
12
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
2
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The territory of a nation; a sovereign state or a region once independent and still distinct in institutions, language, etc.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
A large area regarded as distinct from other areas, e.g. because it is inhabited by a specific group of people
Countable; Uncountable
noun
An area of land of undefined extent; a region, a district.
British usage; Countable; Uncountable
noun
An area of land of undefined extent; a region, a district.
British usage; Countable; Uncountable
noun
The inhabitants or people of a district, region, or nation; the populace, the public.
Countable; Uncountable
noun
Traditional lands of Indigenous people with embedded cultural, spiritual, cosmological, ecological, and physical attributes and values.
Australian usage; Countable; Uncountable
Example Sentences
- "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."
- "But that expropriation of the Third World, [that] has been going on for 400 years, brings us to another revelation: namely, that the Third World is not poor. You don't go to poor countries to make money. There are very few poor countries in this world. Most countries are rich: the Philippines are rich, Brazil is rich, Mexico is rich, Chile is rich; only the people are poor. But there's billions to be made there, to be carved out, and to be taken; there's been billions for 400 years! The Capitalist European and North American powers have carved out and taken the timber, the flax, the hemp, the cocoa, the rum, the tin, the copper, the iron, the rubber, the bauxite, the slaves, and the cheap labour. They have taken out of these countries. These countries are not underdeveloped; they're overexploited!"
- "It is a beautiful country of rolling hills, fertile valleys, and a thousand rivers and streams which keep the landscape green even in winter."
- "These days corporate Germany looks rather different. Volkswagen, the country’s leading carmaker, wants to be the world’s biggest by 2018."
- "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."
- "Most foreigners who have heard of Bhutan know two things: the country charges international visitors a $100/day sustainable development fee (aka tourist tax), and that it is the birthplace of the Gross National Happiness Index, a system intended to look after the well-being of citizens and the environment."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe? Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Italic *kom Proto-Italic *kom- Proto-Indo-European *-teros Proto-Italic *-teros Proto-Italic *komterosder. Proto-Italic *komterād Latin contrā Proto-Indo-European *-h₂ Proto-Indo-European *-éh₂ Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Indo-European *-eh₂tos Proto-Italic *-ātos Latin -ātus Latin -āta Vulgar Latin *(terra) contrāta Old French contreebor. Middle English contre English country Inherited from Middle English contre, borrowed from Old French contree, from Vulgar Latin *(terra) contrāta (“facing land”), from Latin contrā (“against”) + -āta (noun-forming suffix). Cognate with Scots kintra. Unrelated to county. Displaced native English land in some of its senses. From around 1300 as "area surrounding a walled city or town; the open country." By early 16th century the sense was applied mostly to rural areas, as opposed to towns and cities. Compare typologically Russian страна́ (straná), сторона́ (storoná).
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈkʌntɹi/
- British English: /ˈkʌntɹi/
Usage
- Countable
- Uncountable
- British usage
- Australian usage
- Informal
- Indian usage
Inflected Forms
countries (plural)
contree (alternative, archaic)
countrey (alternative, archaic)
contrey (alternative, obsolete)
countre (alternative, obsolete)
countrie (alternative, obsolete)
counterie (alternative, obsolete)
counthry (alternative, pronunciation spelling)
cuntry (alternative, derogatory)
countrier (comparative)
more country (comparative)
countriest (superlative)
Derived Forms
Phrases
Frequently Paired Words
Synonyms
native
country
sovereign country
sovereign state
nation
land
state
commonwealth
res publica
body politic