micronation
/ˈmaɪ.kɹoʊˌneɪ.ʃən/
Word Rarity
Very rare
Frequency: 1.42 in modern English
15
Scrabble Score
11
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
A non-autonomous entity that claims to be a sovereign state and mimics the actions of a state (with varying degrees of seriousness), but lacks any legal recognition and exists only on paper or in the mind of its creator; a micronational entity.
noun
Synonym of microstate (“a country that has a very small population and land area”).
noun
A small nation (“historically constituted, stable community of people, formed based on a common language, territory, economic life, ethnicity and manifested in a common culture”).
Example Sentences
- "For every dreamer there is somewhere a doer, and in the realm [of] the strange micro-nations, the Republic of Minerva has plunged a bit ahead of the nebulous status of most others."
- "Oceanus ... This is the world's largest micronation, taking up all the seas of the world beyond national 3-mi. limits."
- "The list of micro-nations is long and colorful. The spirit of new nation-building that resonates from King Robert's descriptions of these countries, is seductive."
- "Even if you are very well traveled, you may not yet have visited any of the world's micronations. There are places all over where someone or some group has declared a sort of mock sovereignty. Real nations mostly ignore them, and so does everyone else usually."
- "[Never heard of] the Imperial Kingdom of Calsahara? The Conch Republic? The Principality of Sealand? You’re not alone. Léo Delafontaine hadn’t either until 2012, when he visited the Republic of Saugeais, a self-proclaimed micronation in eastern France. He's since become fascinated with "countries" unrecognized by world governments and organizations. […] Some micronations are easily accessible while others are difficult to get to."
- "After exploring several classificatory accounts that identify commonalities and distinctions among and between different types of micronation, we outline our definition. We find that micronations are self-declared nations that perform and mimic acts of sovereignty, and adopt many of the protocols of nations, but lack a foundation in domestic and international law for their existence and are not recognised as states in domestic or international forums."
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *mey-der.? Ancient Greek μῑκρός (mīkrós) Ancient Greek μῑκρο- (mīkro-)lbor. English micro- Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *ǵénh₁tisder. Proto-Italic *gnātiō Latin nātiōbor. Old French nacionbor. Middle English nacioun English nation English micronation From micro- (“very small”) + nation (“a sovereign state; country”). Compare microcountry, mini-nation, mini-country and ministate. The first sense was coined on 11 March 1973 by the editors of the Lansing State Journal (see quotations) in a republication of an article by Philip J. Hilts, originally writing for Potomac Magazine (Sunday supplement to The Washington Post), and so-called because most micronations are small in size. The article was referring to the unrecognised political entities listed in the Ephemeral States file, a collection of physical micronational records maintained by the Office of the Geographer of the United States Department of State, launched in 1933.
Word Breakdown
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈmaɪ.kɹoʊˌneɪ.ʃən/
- British English: /ˈmaɪ.kɹəʊ.neɪ̯.ʃən/