From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state.[1] For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the country of Wales is a component of a multi-part sovereign state, the United Kingdom. A country may be a historically sovereign area (such as Korea), a currently sovereign territory with a unified government (such as Senegal), or a non-sovereign geographic region associated with certain distinct political, ethnic, or cultural characteristics (such as the Basque Country).
The definition and usage of the word «country» is flexible and has changed over time. The Economist wrote in 2010 that «any attempt to find a clear definition of a country soon runs into a thicket of exceptions and anomalies.»[2] Most sovereign states, but not all countries, are members of the United Nations.
The largest country by area is Russia, while the smallest is the microstate Vatican City. The most populous is China, while the Pitcairn Islands are the least populous.
Etymology
The word country comes from Old French contrée, which derives from Vulgar Latin (terra) contrata («(land) lying opposite»; «(land) spread before»), derived from contra («against, opposite»). It most likely entered the English language after the Franco-Norman invasion during the 11th century.[3][better source needed]
Definition of a country
In English
In English the word has increasingly become associated with political divisions, so that one sense, associated with the indefinite article – «a country» – is now frequently applied as a synonym for a state or a former sovereign state. It may also be used as a synonym for «nation». Taking as examples Canada, Sri Lanka, and Yugoslavia, cultural anthropologist Clifford Geertz wrote in 1997 that «it is clear that the relationships between ‘country’ and ‘nation’ are so different from one [place] to the next as to be impossible to fold into a dichotomous opposition as they are into a promiscuous fusion.»[4]
Areas much smaller than a political state may be referred to as countries, such as the West Country in England, «big sky country» (used in various contexts of the American West), «coal country» (used to describe coal-mining regions in several sovereign states) and many other terms.[5][better source needed] The word «country» is also used for the sense of native sovereign territory, such as the widespread use of Indian country in the United States.[6] The term «country» in English may also be wielded to describe rural areas, or used in the form «countryside.» Raymond Williams, a Welsh scholar, wrote in 1975:[7]
‘Country’ and ‘city’ are very powerful words, and this is not surprising when we remember how much they seem to stand for in the experience of human communities. In English, ‘country’ is both a nation and a part of a ‘land’; ‘the country’ can be the whole society or its rural area. In the long history of human settlements, this connection between the land from which directly or indirectly we all get our living and the achievements of human society has been deeply known.
The unclear definition of «country» in modern English was further commented upon by philosopher Simon Keller:[8]
Often, a country is presumed to be identical with a collection of citizens. Sometimes, people say that a country is a project, or an idea, or an ideal. Occasionally, philosophers entertain more metaphysically ambitious pictures, suggesting that a country is an organic entity with its own independent life and character, or that a country is an autonomous agent, just like you or me. Such claims are rarely explained or defended, however, and it is not clear how they should be assessed. We attribute so many different kinds of properties to countries, speaking as though a country can feature wheat fields waving or be girt by sea, can have a founding date and be democratic and free, can be English speaking, culturally diverse, war torn or Islamic.
— New Waves In Political Philosophy, «Making Nonsense of Loyalty to Country», page 96
Melissa Lucashenko, an Aboriginal Australian writer, expressed the difficulty of defining «country» in a 2005 essay, «Unsettlement»:[9]
…What is this thing country? What does country
mean? … I spoke with others who said country meant Home, but who added the caveat that Home resided in people rather than places—a kind of portable Country… I tried to tease out some ways in which non-Indigenous people have understood country. I made categories: Country as Economy. Country as Geography. Country as Society. Country as Myth. Country as History. For all that I walked, slept, breathed and dreamed Country, the language still would not come.
In other languages
The equivalent terms in various Romance languages (e.g. the French pays) have not carried the process of being identified with sovereign political states as far as the English country. These terms are derived from the Roman term pagus, which continued to be used in the Middle Ages for small geographical areas similar to the size of English counties.[citation needed] In many European countries, the words are used for sub-divisions of the national territory, as in the German Bundesländer, as well as a less formal term for a sovereign state. France has very many «pays» that are officially recognized at some level and are either natural regions, like the Pays de Bray, or reflect old political or economic entities, like the Pays de la Loire.[citation needed]
A version of «country» can be found in modern French as contrée, derived from the Old French word cuntrée,[5][better source needed] that is used similarly to the word pays to define non-state regions, but can also be used to describe a political state in some particular cases. The modern Italian contrada is a word with its meaning varying locally, but usually meaning a ward or similar small division of a town, or a village or hamlet in the countryside.[citation needed]
Identification
Symbols of a country may incorporate cultural, religious or political symbols of any nation that the country includes. Many categories of symbols can be seen in flags, coats of arms, or seals.
Name
Most countries have a long name and a short name. The long name is typically used in formal contexts and often describes the country’s form of government. The short name is the country’s common name by which it is typically identified.[10][11][12][13][better source needed] The names of most countries are derived from a feature of the land, the name of a historical tribe or person, or a directional description.[14][better source needed] The International Organization for Standardization maintains a list of country codes as part of ISO 3166 to designate each country with a two-letter country code.[15] The name of a country can hold cultural and diplomatic significance. Upper Volta changed its name to Burkina Faso to reflect the end of French colonization, and the name of North Macedonia was disputed for years due to a conflict with the similarly named Macedonia region in Greece.[16]
Flags
Originally, flags representing a country would generally be the personal flag of its rulers; however, over time, the practice of using personal banners as flags of places was abandoned in favor of flags that had some significance to the nation, often its patron saint. Early examples of these were the maritime republics such as Genoa which could be said to have a national flag as early as the 12th century.[17] However, these were still mostly used in the context of marine identification.[citation needed]
Although some flags date back earlier, widespread use of flags outside of military or naval context begins only with the rise of the idea of the nation state at the end of the 18th century and particularly are a product of the Age of Revolution. Revolutions such as those in France and America called for people to begin thinking of themselves as citizens as opposed to subjects under a king, and thus necessitated flags that represented the collective citizenry, not just the power and right of a ruling family.[18][19] With nationalism becoming common across Europe in the 19th century, national flags came to represent most of the states of Europe.[18] Flags also began fostering a sense of unity between different peoples, such as the Union Jack representing a union between England and Scotland, or began to represent unity between nations in a perceived shared struggle, for example, the Pan-Slavic colors or later Pan-Arab colors.[20]
As Europeans colonized significant portions of the world, they exported ideas of nationhood and national symbols, including flags, with the adoption of a flag becoming seen as integral to the nation-building process.[21] Political change, social reform, and revolutions combined with a growing sense of nationhood among ordinary people in the 19th and 20th centuries led to the birth of new nations and flags around the globe.[22] With so many flags being created, interest in these designs began to develop and the study of flags, vexillology, at both professional and amateur levels, emerged. After World War II, Western vexillology went through a phase of rapid development, with many research facilities and publications being established.[23]
National anthems
A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation.[24] Though the custom of an officially adopted national anthem became popular only in the 19th century, some national anthems predate this period, often existing as patriotic songs long before designation as national anthem.[citation needed] Several countries remain without an official national anthem. In these cases, there are established de facto anthems played at sporting events or diplomatic receptions. These include the United Kingdom («God Save the Queen») and Sweden (Du gamla, Du fria). Some sovereign states that are made up of multiple countries or constituencies have associated musical compositions for each of them (such as with the United Kingdom, Russia, and the former Soviet Union). These are sometimes referred to as national anthems even though they are not sovereign states (for example, «Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau» is used for Wales, part of the United Kingdom).[citation needed]
Other symbols
- Coats of arms or national emblems
- Seals or stamps
- National mottos
- National colors
Sovereignty and recognition
When referring to a specific polity, the term «country» may refer to a sovereign state, a constituent country, or a dependent territory. A sovereign state is a political entity that has supreme legitimate authority over a part of the world.[25] There is no universal agreement on the number of «countries» in the world since several states have disputed sovereignty status, and a number of non-sovereign entities are commonly called countries.
By one application of the declarative theory of statehood and constitutive theory of statehood,[26][better source needed] there are 206 sovereign states; of which 193 are members of the UN, two have observer status at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) (the Holy See and Palestine), and 11 others are neither a member nor observer at the UNGA.[27][28][better source needed]
Some countries, such as Taiwan and the Sahrawi Republic, have disputed sovereignty status. Some sovereign states are unions of separate polities, each of which may also be considered a country in its own right, called constituent countries. The Danish Realm consists of Denmark proper, the Faroe Islands, and Greenland.[29] The Kingdom of the Netherlands consists of the Netherlands proper, Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten.[30][note 1][better source needed] The United Kingdom consists of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Dependent territories are the territories of a sovereign state that are outside of its proper territory. These include the Realm of New Zealand, the dependencies of Norway, the British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies, the territories of the United States, the territories of Australia, the special administrative regions of China, the Danish Realm, Åland, Overseas France, and the Caribbean Netherlands. Most dependent territories have ISO country codes.[15][better source needed] In total there are 249 ISO country codes, including all 193 UN members and a number of other countries.[31] Some dependent territories are treated as a separate «country of origin» in international trade,[32][33] such as Hong Kong,[34][35][36] Greenland,[37] and Macau.[38][better source needed]
Patriotism
A positive emotional connection to a country a person belongs to is called patriotism. Patriotism is a sense of love for, devotion to, and sense of attachment to one’s country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, and language relating to one’s homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political, or historical aspects. It encompasses a set of concepts closely related to nationalism, mostly civic nationalism and sometimes cultural nationalism.[39][40]
Economy
Several organizations seek to identify trends to produce economy country classifications. Countries are often distinguished as developing countries or developed countries.[citation needed]
The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs annually produces the World Economic Situation and Prospects Report classifies states as developed countries, economies in transition, or developing countries. The report classifies country development based on per capita gross national income (GNI). The UN identifies subgroups within broad categories based on geographical location or ad hoc criteria. The UN outlines the geographical regions for developing economies like Africa, East Asia, South Asia, Western Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. The 2019 report recognizes only developed countries in North America, Europe, Asia, and the Pacific. The majority of economies in transition and developing countries are found in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean.[citation needed]
The World Bank also classifies countries based on GNI per capita. The World Bank Atlas method classifies countries as low-income economies, lower-middle-income economies, upper-middle-income economies, or high-income economies. For the 2020 fiscal year, the World Bank defines low-income economies as countries with a GNI per capita of $1,025 or less in 2018; lower-middle-income economies as countries with a GNI per capita between $1,026 and $3,995; upper-middle-income economies as countries with a GNI per capita between $3,996 and $12,375; high-income economies as countries with a GNI per capita of $12,376 or more.[41]
It also identifies regional trends. The World Bank defines its regions as East Asia and Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Middle East and North Africa, North America, South Asia, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Lastly, the World Bank distinguishes countries based on its operational policies. The three categories include International Development Association (IDA) countries, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) countries, and Blend countries.[citation needed]
See also
- City network
- Country (identity)
- Lists of countries and territories
- List of former sovereign states
- List of sovereign states and dependent territories by continent
- List of states with limited recognition
- List of transcontinental countries
- Micronation
- Princely state
- Quasi-state
Notes
- ^ See Dutch: landen.
References
- ^ Jones, J (1964). «What Makes a Country?». Human Events. 24 (31): 14.
- ^ «In quite a state». The Economist. 8 April 2010. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on 24 August 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2022.
- ^ «Definition of COUNTRY». www.merriam-webster.com. Archived from the original on 5 August 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
- ^ Geertz, Clifford (1997). «What is a Country if it is Not a Nation?». The Brown Journal of World Affairs. 4 (2): 235–247. ISSN 1080-0786. JSTOR 24590031.
- ^ a b Simpson, John; Weiner, Edmund (eds.). «country, n.». Oxford English Dictionary (1971 compact ed.). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-861186-8.
- ^ Matal, Joseph (1 December 1997). «A Revisionist History of Indian Country». Alaska Law Review. 14 (2): 283–352. ISSN 0883-0568. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
- ^ Williams, Raymond (1973). The country and the city. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-519736-4. OCLC 624711. Archived from the original on 27 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ Keller, Simon (2009). «Making Nonsense of Loyalty to Country». In De Bruin, Boudewijn; Zurn, Christopher F. (eds.). New waves in political philosophy. Basingstoke, England: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 96. ISBN 978-0-230-23499-4. OCLC 441874932. Archived from the original on 27 August 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ Lucashenko, Melissa (1 January 2005). «Country: Being and belonging on aboriginal lands». Journal of Australian Studies. 29 (86): 7–12. doi:10.1080/14443050509388027. ISSN 1444-3058. S2CID 143550941.
- ^ «Publications Office – Interinstitutional Style Guide – Annex A5 – List of countries, territories and currencies». publications.europa.eu. Archived from the original on 28 May 2019. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
- ^ «UNGEGN World Geographical Names». Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
- ^ «FAO Country Profiles». www.fao.org. Archived from the original on 2 February 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
- ^ «Countries: Designations and abbreviations to use». Archived from the original on 4 January 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
- ^ Ha, Thu-Huong (15 October 2017). «Nearly every country on earth is named after one of four things». Quartz. Archived from the original on 22 August 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
- ^ a b «ISO 3166 — Country Codes». ISO. Archived from the original on 8 March 2017. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
- ^ Savage, Jonathan (21 January 2018). «Why do names matter so much?». BBC News. Archived from the original on 21 July 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
- ^ Barraclough 1971, pp. 7–8.
- ^ a b Nadler 2016.
- ^ Inglefield & Mould 1979, p. 48.
- ^ Bartlett 2011, p. 31.
- ^ Virmani 1999, p. 169.
- ^ Inglefield & Mould 1979, p. 50.
- ^ Xing 2013, p. 2.
- ^ «National anthem — The World Factbook». www.cia.gov. Archived from the original on 5 August 2022. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
- ^ Philpott, Daniel (1995). «Sovereignty: An Introduction and Brief History». Journal of International Affairs. 48 (2): 353–368. ISSN 0022-197X. JSTOR 24357595. Archived from the original on 7 August 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
- ^ «Declaratory and Constitutive Theories of State/Country Recognition». LawTeacher.net. 26 November 2021. Archived from the original on 10 March 2015.
- ^ «Non-Member-States». United Nations. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
- ^ «Member States». United Nations. Archived from the original on 29 June 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
- ^ «Greenland and the Faroe Islands». The Danish Parliament — EU Information Centre. 15 January 2020. Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved 25 January 2021.
- ^ «What are the different parts of the Kingdom of the Netherlands?». Government of the Netherlands. Retrieved 21 July 2022.[permanent dead link]
- ^ «Country names and code elements». ISO. Archived from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
Officially assigned codes 249
- ^ «Canadian Importers Database — Home». 23 November 2021. Archived from the original on 23 April 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
- ^ «Consolidated federal laws of canada, General Preferential Tariff and Least Developed Country Tariff Rules of Origin Regulations». 20 June 2017. Archived from the original on 17 April 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2022.
- ^ «Made In The British Crown Colony». Thuy-Tien Crampton. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014.
- ^ «Matchbox label, made in Hong Kong». delcampe.net. Archived from the original on 1 April 2014.
- ^ «Carrhart Made In Hong Kong?». ContractorTalk. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
- ^ «Product of Greenland Inland Ice Trademark of Inland Ice Denmark ApS. Application Number: 017910465 :: Trademark Elite Trademarks». Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
- ^ «Phillumeny.dk The website for collectors of matchboxes». Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
- ^ Harvey Chisick (10 February 2005). Historical Dictionary of the Enlightenment. ISBN 9780810865488. Archived from the original on 25 September 2014. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
- ^ «Nationalism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)». Plato.stanford.edu. Archived from the original on 22 September 2018. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
- ^ «How does the World Bank classify countries?». The World Bank. The World Bank. Archived from the original on 22 May 2020. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
Works cited
- Barraclough, E.M.C. (1971). Flags of the World. Great Britain: William Cloves & Sons Ltd. ISBN 0723213380.
- Bartlett, Ralph G. C. (2011). Unity in Flags (PDF). 24th International Congress of Vexillology. Alexandria, Virginia: International Federation of Vexillological Associations. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 December 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
- Inglefield, Eric; Mould, Tony (1979). Flags. Ward Lock. ISBN 9780706356526.
- Nadler, Ben (14 June 2016). «Where Do Flags Come From?». The Atlantic. Archived from the original on 24 November 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2021.
- Virmani, Arundhati (August 1999). «National Symbols under Colonial Domination: The Nationalization of the Indian Flag, March-August 1923». Past & Present. Oxford University Press. 164 (164): 169–197. doi:10.1093/past/164.1.169. JSTOR 651278.
- Xing, Fei (2013). The Study of Vexillology in China (PDF). 25th International Congress of Vexillology. Rotterdam: International Federation of Vexillological Associations. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 June 2022. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
Further reading
- Defining what makes a country The Economist
External links
- The CIA World Factbook
- Country Studies from the United States Library of Congress
- Foreign Information by Country and Country & Territory Guides from GovPubs at UCB Libraries
- United Nations statistics division
- Abkhaz: аҳәынҭқарра (aḥʷəntkarra)
- Adyghe: хэку (xekʷu)
- Afrikaans: land (af)
- Ainu: モシㇼ (mosir)
- Albanian: atdhe (sq), shtet (sq) m
- Antillean Creole: péyi
- Arabic: بَلَد (ar) f (balad), وَطَن (ar) m (waṭan)
- Egyptian Arabic: بلد f (balad), وطن m (waṭan)
- Armenian: երկիր (hy) (erkir), պետություն (hy) (petutʿyun)
- Asturian: país (ast) m
- Avar: улка (ulka)
- Azerbaijani: ölkə (az), dövlət (az), məmləkət (az)
- Bashkir: ил (il), дәүләт (däwlät)
- Basque: herrialde
- Belarusian: краі́на (be) f (kraína), дзяржа́ва (be) f (dzjaržáva)
- Bengali: দেশ (bn) (deś), রাষ্ট্র (bn) (raśṭro)
- Berber:
- Tashelhit: tamazirt f
- Breton: bro (br) f
- Bulgarian: страна́ (bg) f (straná), роди́на (bg) f (rodína), държа́ва (bg) f (dǎržáva)
- Burmese: နိုင်ငံ (my) (nuingngam)
- Catalan: país (ca) m
- Chechen: мохк (moxk), махкалла (maxkalla)
- Cherokee: ᎠᏰᏟᎤᏙᏢᏒ (ayetliudotlvsv)
- Chichewa: dziko
- Chinese:
- Cantonese: 國家／国家 (gwok3 gaa1)
- Dungan: гоцзя (goczi͡a)
- Mandarin: 國家／国家 (zh) (guójiā)
- Min Nan: 國家／国家 (zh-min-nan) (kok-ka)
- Chukchi: нутэнут (nutėnut), государство (gosudarstvo)
- Coptic: ⲭⲱⲣⲁ f (khōra), ⲕⲁϩⲓ m (kahi)
- Crimean Tatar: memleket
- Czech: země (cs) f, stát (cs) m
- Danish: land (da) n
- Dutch: land (nl) n
- Esperanto: lando (eo)
- Estonian: maa (et), riik (et)
- Faroese: land
- Finnish: maa (fi), valtio (fi)
- French: pays (fr) m, contrée (fr) f
- Galician: país (gl) m
- Georgian: ქვეყანა (kveq̇ana)
- German: Land (de) n; Staat (de) m; Vaterland (de) n
- Greek: χώρα (el) f (chóra)
- Ancient: χώρα f (khṓra)
- Greenlandic: nunaat
- Gujarati: દેશ (gu) (deś)
- Haitian Creole: peyi
- Hawaiian: kaumokuʻāina
- Hebrew: אֶרֶץ (he) f (érets), מְדִינָה (he) f (m’diná)
- Hindi: देश (hi) m (deś), राष्ट्र (hi) m (rāṣṭra)
- Hungarian: ország (hu)
- Icelandic: land (is) n, ríki (is) n
- Ido: lando (io)
- Indonesian: negara (id), bangsa (id)
- Ingrian: maa, riikki
- Interlingua: pais
- Irish: tír f
- Italian: paese (it) m, nazione (it) f, patria (it) f, stato (it) m
- Japanese: 国 (ja) (くに, kuni), 国家 (ja) (こっか, kokka)
- Jarai: čar
- Javanese: negara (jv)
- Kabardian: хэку (xekʷu)
- Kannada: ದೇಶ (kn) (dēśa), ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರ (kn) (rāṣṭra)
- Kashmiri: مُلک (mulk)
- Kashubian: państwò n
- Kazakh: ел (el), мемлекет (kk) (memleket)
- Khmer: ស្រុក (km) (srok), ប្រទេស (km) (prɑteih)
- Korean: 나라 (ko) (nara), 국가(國家) (ko) (gukga)
- Kumyk: пачалыкъ (paçalıq), уьлке (ülke)
- Kurdish:
- Central Kurdish: وِڵات (ckb) (willat)
- Laki: ڤِڵات (villat)
- Northern Kurdish: welat (ku)
- Southern Kurdish: وِڵات (ku) (willat)
- Kyrgyz: өлкө (ky) (ölkö), мамлекет (ky) (mamleket)
- Ladin: paeje
- Lao: ປະເທດ (pa thēt), ເມືອງ (lo) (mư̄ang), ຊາດ (lo) (sāt)
- Latin: terra (la) f, natio (la) f, patria (la) f
- Latvian: valsts m, zeme (lv) f
- Lezgi: уьлкве (ülk°e)
- Ligurian: pàize
- Lithuanian: valstybė (lt) f, šalis (lt) f, kraštas (lt) m
- Low German: land n
- Luri:
- Northern Luri: ولات (wlạt)
- Lutshootseed: swatixʷtəd
- Luxembourgish: Land (lb) n, Staat (lb) m
- Lü: ᦵᦙᦲᧂ (moeng), ᨾᩮᩥ᩠ᨦ
- Macedonian: држава f (država), земја f (zemja), нација f (nacija)
- Malagasy: tany (mg)
- Malay: negara (ms), nasional (ms)
- Malayalam: രാജ്യം (ml) (rājyaṃ)
- Maltese: pajjiż m
- Manchu: ᡤᡠᡵᡠᠨ (gurun)
- Marathi: देश (mr) m (deś)
- Mingrelian: ქიანა (kiana), ქიჸანა (kiʾana)
- Mongolian:
- Cyrillic: улс (mn) (uls), гүрэн (mn) (güren), орон (mn) (oron)
- Navajo: kéyah
- Nepali: देश (ne) (deś)
- Norman: pays m
- Northern Thai: please add this translation if you can
- Norwegian:
- Bokmål: land (no) n
- Nynorsk: land n
- Occitan: país (oc) m
- Ojibwe: aki, akiin pl
- Old Church Slavonic:
- Cyrillic: землꙗ f (zemlja), страна f (strana)
- Old East Slavic: землꙗ f (zemlja), краина f (kraina)
- Old English: land (ang) n
- Ottoman Turkish: ایل (il)
- Pa’o Karen: ခမ်းထီ
- Pashto: مملکت m (mamlakat)
- Pela: mau³¹, maŋ³¹, maŋ³¹ tɛ̃⁵⁵, kɔ³¹kja⁵⁵
- Persian: کشور (fa) (kešvar), میهن (fa) (mihan), سرزمین (fa) (sarzamin)
- Plautdietsch: Launt (nds) n
- Polish: kraj (pl) m inan, państwo (pl) n
- Portuguese: país (pt) m, nação (pt) f, países (pt) pl
- Punjabi: ਦੇਸ਼ (deś), ਮੂਲਕ (mūlak), ਰਾਸ਼ਟਰ (rāśṭar)
- Quechua: suyu (qu)
- Romani: them m
- Romanian: țară (ro) f, națiune (ro), stat (ro) n, patrie (ro) f
- Romansch: pajais m
- Russian: страна́ (ru) f (straná), госуда́рство (ru) n (gosudárstvo), держа́ва (ru) f (deržáva), (poetic, ironic) край (ru) m (kraj)
- Rusyn: краї́на f (krajína)
- Sahaptin: tiichám
- Sanskrit: देश (sa) m (deśa), राष्ट्र (sa) m (rāṣṭra)
- Saterland Frisian: Lound
- Scots: kintra
- Scottish Gaelic: dùthaich f, talamh m or f, tìr f
- Serbo-Croatian:
- Cyrillic: зѐмља f, др̀жава f, кра̏јина f, на̑ција f, (please verify) отачбина f
- Roman: zèmlja (sh) f, dr̀žava (sh) f, krȁjina (sh) f, nȃcija (sh) f, (please verify) otačbina f
- Sindhi: ملڪ
- Sinhalese: රට (si) (raṭa)
- Slovak: krajina (sk) f, štát (sk) m
- Slovene: država (sl) f
- Spanish: país (es) m
- Swahili: U- class 11/14, dola (sw) class 9/10, inchi (sw) class 9/10
- Swedish: land (sv) n
- Tagalog: bansa (tl)
- Tajik: давлат (tg) (davlat), мамлакат (mamlakat), кишвар (tg) (kišvar)
- Tamil: தேசம் (ta) (tēcam)
- Taos: pǫ̏’óna
- Tatar: ил (tt) (il), дәүләт (tt) (däwlät)
- Telugu: దేశము (te) (dēśamu)
- Thai: ประเทศ (th) (bprà-têet), เมือง (th) (mʉʉang), ชาติ (th) (châat), รัฐ (th) (rát)
- Tok Pisin: kantri (tpi)
- Turkish: ülke (tr), memleket (tr), il (tr), el (tr), devlet (tr)
- Turkmen: ülke (tk), döwlet, watan
- Uab Meto: pah
- Ugaritic: 𐎈𐎆𐎚 (ḥwt)
- Ukrainian: краї́на (uk) f (krajína), держа́ва (uk) f (deržáva)
- Urdu: ملک m (mulk), دیش m (deś), راشٹر m (rāṣṭra)
- Uyghur: دۆلەت (dölet), مەملىكەت (memliket)
- Uzbek: mamlakat (uz)
- Vietnamese: quốc gia (vi) (國家 (vi)), đất nước (vi)
- Volapük: län (vo)
- Walloon: payis (wa) m
- Welsh: gwladwriaeth (cy)
- West Frisian: lân (fy) n
- Wolof: réew (wo)
- Yiddish: מדינה f (medine)
- Zazaki: ware (diq) m, memleket m, cayer m
- Zhuang: guekgya
Educalingo cookies are used to personalize ads and get web traffic statistics. We also share information about the use of the site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners.
Download the app
educalingo
When you’re taking the country through difficult times and difficult decisions you’ve got to take the country with you. That means permanently trying to make the argument that what you’re doing is fair and seen to be fair.
David Cameron
ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD COUNTRY
From Old French contrée, from Medieval Latin contrāta, literally: that which lies opposite, from Latin contrā opposite.
Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.
PRONUNCIATION OF COUNTRY
GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF COUNTRY
Country is a noun.
A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.
WHAT DOES COUNTRY MEAN IN ENGLISH?
Country
A country is a region identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with sets of previously independent or differently associated peoples with distinct political characteristics. Regardless of the physical geography, in the modern internationally accepted legal definition as defined by the League of Nations in 1937 and reaffirmed by the United Nations in 1945, a resident of a country is subject to the independent exercise of legal jurisdiction. Sometimes the word country is used to refer both to sovereign states and to other political entities, while other times it refers only to states. For example, the CIA World Factbook uses the word in its «Country name» field to refer to «a wide variety of dependencies, areas of special sovereignty, uninhabited islands, and other entities in addition to the traditional countries or independent states».
Definition of country in the English dictionary
The first definition of country in the dictionary is a territory distinguished by its people, culture, language, geography, etc. Other definition of country is an area of land distinguished by its political autonomy; state. Country is also the people of a territory or state.
WORDS THAT RHYME WITH COUNTRY
Synonyms and antonyms of country in the English dictionary of synonyms
SYNONYMS OF «COUNTRY»
The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «country» and belong to the same grammatical category.
Translation of «country» into 25 languages
TRANSLATION OF COUNTRY
Find out the translation of country to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of country from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «country» in English.
Translator English — Chinese
国家
1,325 millions of speakers
Translator English — Spanish
país
570 millions of speakers
English
country
510 millions of speakers
Translator English — Hindi
देश
380 millions of speakers
Translator English — Arabic
بَلَد
280 millions of speakers
Translator English — Russian
страна
278 millions of speakers
Translator English — Portuguese
país
270 millions of speakers
Translator English — Bengali
দেশ
260 millions of speakers
Translator English — French
pays
220 millions of speakers
Translator English — Malay
Negara
190 millions of speakers
Translator English — German
Land
180 millions of speakers
Translator English — Japanese
国
130 millions of speakers
Translator English — Korean
나라
85 millions of speakers
Translator English — Javanese
Negara
85 millions of speakers
Translator English — Vietnamese
nước
80 millions of speakers
Translator English — Tamil
நாட்டின்
75 millions of speakers
Translator English — Marathi
देश
75 millions of speakers
Translator English — Turkish
ülke
70 millions of speakers
Translator English — Italian
nazione
65 millions of speakers
Translator English — Polish
kraj
50 millions of speakers
Translator English — Ukrainian
країна
40 millions of speakers
Translator English — Romanian
țară
30 millions of speakers
Translator English — Greek
χώρα
15 millions of speakers
Translator English — Afrikaans
land
14 millions of speakers
Translator English — Swedish
land
10 millions of speakers
Translator English — Norwegian
land
5 millions of speakers
Trends of use of country
TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «COUNTRY»
The term «country» is very widely used and occupies the 570 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
FREQUENCY
Very widely used
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «country» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of country
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «country».
FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «COUNTRY» OVER TIME
The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «country» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «country» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.
Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about country
10 QUOTES WITH «COUNTRY»
Famous quotes and sentences with the word country.
I see no reason to use offensive tools unless you’re defending the country or in a state of war, or you want to achieve some really important thing for the good of the nation and others.
I suppose I have become a sort of living monument in Portugal. But I come from a family with roots all over the world, so the idea of patriotism is not very strong in me. My country is the country of Chekhov, Beethoven, Velasquez — writers I like, painters and artists I admire.
Get up, groan, write a bit, moan, eat breakfast, write some more, cycle my bike through the Sligo hills, make up country songs as I pedal along, sing them, have lunch, have a nap, groan, moan, write a small bit more, cook dinner, feed wifey, open a bottle, or several, slump, sleep.
My dad and grandpa were in the army and as a country singer you’re constantly playing at military bases all across the country and meeting soldiers and their families and hearing their stories.
So Pakistan is a country that I’m very fond of and have spent a lot of time, but it is a country where conspiracy theories have a life of their own.
We will never abdicate the security of the United States to a foreign country or refrain from taking action when appropriate. But we cannot ignore the reality that cooperative counterterrorism activities are a key to our national defense.
Granted, we need to have a sound immigration policy that allows people into our country who are going to produce more than they are going to consume, but the bottom line is illegal aliens consume far more of our tax resources than they generate.
What I loved about country music when I was a kid was the Grand Ole Opry, was ‘Hee Haw,’ was 360 degrees of entertainment.
When you’re taking the country through difficult times and difficult decisions you’ve got to take the country with you. That means permanently trying to make the argument that what you’re doing is fair and seen to be fair.
A strong, educated middle class is what made America the greatest country in the world.
10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «COUNTRY»
Discover the use of country in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to country and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Cry, the Beloved Country
In Alan Paton’s Cry, the Beloved Country the statesman, the poet and the novelist meet in a unique harmony.” Cry, the Beloved Country is the deeply moving story of the Zulu pastor Stephen Kumalo and his son, Absalom, set against the …
2
Country Music Records : A Discography, 1921-1942: A …
With primary research based on files and session logs from record companies, interviews with surviving musicians, as well as the 200,000 recordings archived at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Frist Library and Archives, this …
Tony Russell, Bob Pinson, 2004
3
Country Music: A Biographical Dictionary
Select discographies are provided at the end of each entry, while a bibliography and indexes by instrument, musical style, genre, and song title round out the work.
The book includes an index to recipes hidden within the humorous narrative.
5
The Country and the City
As a brilliant survey of English literature in terms of changing attitudes towards country and city, Williams’ highly-acclaimed study reveals the shifting images and associations between these two traditional poles of life throughout the …
6
Country Path Conversations
Unique because of their conversational style, the lucid and precise translation of these texts offers insight into the issues that engaged Heidegger’s wartime and postwar thinking.
7
My Own Country: A Doctor’s Story
A young doctor of eastern Tennessee describes the town’s first introduction to the AIDS virus, which preceded a disturbing epidemic and introduced the doctor to many unique people
Parallel pictures reveal the essential similarities between the lives of two boys, one in a western country, one in a rural African village.
9
A Man Without a Country
A Man Without a Country is Kurt Vonnegut’s hilariously funny and razor-sharp look at life («If I die—God forbid—I would like to go to heaven to ask somebody in charge up there, ‘Hey, what was the good news and what was the bad news? …
Kurt Vonnegut, Daniel Simon, 2011
Brief text describes different styles of country music, including bluegrass, cowboy songs, and rockabilly; musical instruments; famous performers; the recording industry; and country music on television and radio.
David Armentrout, Patricia Armentrout, 1999
10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «COUNTRY»
Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term country is used in the context of the following news items.
Rejoice! Bro-country is dying out as new ideas push genre into …
At this point in 2015, any country music fan that even casually reads about the genre is undoubtedly tired of hearing about bro–country, the … «The Guardian, Jul 15»
Holding Country Airplay’s Top Spot Again, Blake Shelton’s ‘Sangria …
1 spot for a second week on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart (dated July 18). The content of the lyrics — drinking — has certainly been one of the … «Billboard, Jul 15»
Zac Brown Band, Little Big Town Top Country’s Slumping Second …
Sales of country recordings kept contracting during second-quarter 2015, though three acts who have created music that paints outside the … «Billboard, Jul 15»
Crackdown on regional football players’ match payments could see …
A crackdown on match payments for regional South Australian footballers could see an exodus of players from country leagues and result in … «ABC Online, Jul 15»
Australians paying for Greeks’ groceries as country teeters on brink
Greek-Australian families have resorted to unconventional ways of helping their relatives as a financial crisis which could split the eurozone … «ABC Online, Jul 15»
Booking blunder sends sports minister to wrong country
Constable Steve Pallett was scheduled to visit Bucharest, Romania, to attend the official handover of the Dance World Cup. Jersey is due to … «Telegraph.co.uk, Jul 15»
Tuvalu prime minister begs for help to stop his country disappearing …
The prime minister of the world’s fourth smallest nation has appealed for help from European leaders to stop it disappearing from the face of the … «The Independent, Jul 15»
Greece told now or never: Agreement must be reached or country …
GREECE has been told that it is drinking in the last chance saloon as EU leaders issued their bluntest warning yet that the country is set to … «Express.co.uk, Jul 15»
Special Report The Sanctuary Country
When national politicians fret about states that defy federal laws or even national attitudes, they aren’t talking about “sanctuary cities.” No, that … «American Spectator, Jul 15»
The Band Perry Talks About Their Upcoming Album
The three piece band, which also includes brothers Reid and Neil Perry, are keeping quiet about their next project although, like make country … «Country Fancast, Jul 15»
REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Country [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/country>. Apr 2023 ».
Download the educalingo app
Discover all that is hidden in the words on 
Same map as above, but showing sovereign states widely accepted by the UN instead of topographies
A country is a region legally identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with sets of previously independent or differently associated peoples with distinct political characteristics. Regardless of the physical geography, in the modern internationally accepted legal definition as defined by the League of Nations in 1937 and reaffirmed by the United Nations in 1945, a resident of a country is subject to the independent exercise of legal jurisdiction.
Sometimes the word country is used to refer both to sovereign states and to other political entities,[1][2][3] while other times it refers only to states.[4] For example, the CIA World Factbook uses the word in its «Country name» field to refer to «a wide variety of dependencies, areas of special sovereignty, uninhabited islands, and other entities in addition to the traditional countries or independent states».[5]
Contents
- 1 Etymology and usage
- 2 Nations
- 3 Countries of the world
- 4 See also
- 5 References
- 6 Further reading
- 7 External links
Etymology and usage
The word country has developed from the Late Latin contra meaning «against», used in the sense of «that which lies against, or opposite to, the view», i.e. the landscape spread out to the view. From this came the Late Latin term contrata, which became the modern Italian contrada. The term appears in the Vulgate version of Matthew 12:30 «Qui non est mecum, contra me est: et qui non congregat mihi, spargit. (He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.) In many ways this defined the agonistic world view of the early Christian identity in Europe.[6] From this new theological World view several different senses of the term developed in Middle English from the 13th century, all reflecting a sense of either opposition, or occupation.[7]
In English the word has increasingly become associated with political divisions, so that one sense, associated with the indefinite article – «a country» – is now a synonym for state, or a former sovereign state, in the sense of sovereign territory or «district, native land».[8] Areas much smaller than a political state may be called by names such as the West Country in England, the Black Country (a heavily industrialized part of England), «Constable Country» (a part of East Anglia painted by John Constable), the «big country» (used in various contexts of the American West), «coal country» (used of parts of the US and elsewhere) and many other terms.[9]
The equivalent terms in French and Romance languages (pays and variants) have not carried the process of being identified with political sovereign states as far as the English «country», instead derived from, pagus, which designated the territory controlled by a medieval count, a title originally granted by the Roman Church. In many European countries the words are used for sub-divisions of the national territory, as in the German Länder, as well as a less formal term for a sovereign state. France has very many «pays» that are officially recognised at some level, and are either natural regions, like the Pays de Bray, or reflect old political or economic unities, like the Pays de la Loire. At the same time Wales, the United States, and Brazil are also «pays» in everyday French speech.
A version of «country» can be found in the modern French language as contrée, based on the word cuntrée in Old French,[9] that is used similarly to the word «pays» to define regions and unities, but can also be used to describe a political state in some particular cases. The modern Italian contrada is a word with its meaning varying locally, but usually meaning a ward or similar small division of a town, or a village or hamlet in the countryside.
Nations
Although not sovereign states, England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (in the United Kingdom) are examples of entities that are regarded and referred to as countries.[10][11][12][13] Former states such as Bavaria (now part of Germany) and Piedmont (now part of Italy) would not normally be referred to as «countries» in contemporary English.[citation needed]
The degree of autonomy of non-sovereign countries varies widely. Some are possessions of sovereign states, as several states have overseas dependencies (such as the British Virgin Islands (GBR) and Saint Pierre and Miquelon (FRA)), with citizenry at times identical and at times distinct from their own. Such dependent territories are sometimes listed together with sovereign states on lists of countries, and may be treated as a «country of origin» in international trade, as Hong Kong is.
Countries of the world
The term «country» is commonly used to refer to sovereign states. There is no universal agreement on the number of «countries» in the world, seeing as a number of states have disputed sovereignty status. There are 206 total states, with 193 states participating in the United Nations and 15 states whose sovereignty status is disputed. The newest state is South Sudan.[14]
See also
- List of sovereign states
- Constituent country
References
- ^ «Acts Interpretation Act 1901 — Sect 22: Meaning of certain words». Australasian Legal Information Institute. http://scaleplus.law.gov.au/ComLaw/Legislation/ActCompilation1.nsf/framelodgmentattachments/C9CB248BCF472C8BCA257664002343B3. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
- ^ «The Kwet Koe v Minister for Immigration & Ethnic Affairs & Ors [1997] FCA 912 (8 September 1997)». Australasian Legal Information Institute. http://www.austlii.edu.au/cgi-bin/disp.pl/au/cases/cth/federal%5fct/1997/912.html. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
- ^ «U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual Volume 2—General» (PDF). United States Department of State. http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/84411.pdf. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
- ^ Rosenberg, Matt. «Geography: Country, State, and Nation». http://geography.about.com/cs/politicalgeog/a/statenation.htm. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
- ^ «CIA — The World Factbook». https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/docs/notesanddefs.html#T. Retrieved 2012-02-16.
- ^ John Burt Foster, Wayne Jeffrey Froman, Thresholds of western culture: identity, postcoloniality, transnationalism, Continuum International Publishing Group, 2002, p.208
- ^ John Simpson, Edmund Weiner, ed. «country». Oxford English Dictionary (1971 compact ed.). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-861186-2.
- ^ OED, Country
- ^ a b John Simpson, Edmund Weiner, ed. Oxford English Dictionary (1971 compact ed.). Oxford, England: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-861186-2.
- ^ «Legal Research Guide: United Kingdom — Law Library of Congress (Library of Cong». Library of Congress website. Library of Congress. 2009-07-23. http://www.loc.gov/law/help/uk.php. Retrieved 2009-09-22. «The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the collective name of four countries, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The four separate countries were united under a single Parliament through a series of Acts of Union.»
- ^ «countries within a country:number10.gov.uk». 10 Downing Street website. 10 Downing Street. 2003-01-10. http://www.number10.gov.uk/Page823. Retrieved 2009-09-22. «The United Kingdom is made up of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.»
- ^ «Commonwealth Secretariat — Geography». Commonwealth Secretariat website. Commonwealth Secretariat. 2009-09-22. http://www.thecommonwealth.org/YearbookInternal/139598/geography/. Retrieved 2009-09-22. «The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) is a union of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.»
- ^ «Travelling Europe — United Kingdom». European Youth Portal. European Commission. 2009-06-29. http://europa.eu/youth/travelling_europe/index_uk_en.html. Retrieved 2009-09-22. «The United Kingdom is made up of four countries: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.»
- ^ United_Nations#Membership
Further reading
- Defining what makes a country The Economist
External links
- Canada Foreign Affairs Travel Advisories
- The CIA World Factbook
- Country Portals from the United States Department of State, including Background Notes
- Country Profiles from BBC News
- Country Studies from the United States Library of Congress
- Foreign Information by Country and Country & Territory Guides from GovPubs at UCB Libraries
- PopulationData.net
- United Nations statistics division
Noun
The two countries have a lot in common.
They drove across the country from California to New York.
They are living in different parts of the country.
The whole country was stunned by the news.
The President has the support of most of the country.
He moved to the north country to fish and hunt.
We went camping in the hill country.
They drove through miles of open country.
She lives out in the country.
They prefer the country to the city.
Adjective
plain country living among unpretentious people
See More
Recent Examples on the Web
Leaders in the United States and other countries have expressed growing concern over TikTok’s ties to the Chinese government.
—
Annie Martin, Orlando Sentinel, 6 Apr. 2023
The crisis is amplified in Israel’s periphery, where 63% of medical professionals have obtained their degree from countries that will no longer be recognized.
—Noa Amouyal, Sun Sentinel, 6 Apr. 2023
The United States, Britain and several other countries sent only junior representatives to the meeting, who stood up and left the room when Lvova-Belova was speaking.
—Karen Deyoung, Anchorage Daily News, 6 Apr. 2023
Many would be from other countries, just starting out without much money and literally hungry.
—Amy Kaufman, Los Angeles Times, 6 Apr. 2023
Dozens of reporters from other agencies and other Western countries were also expelled from Eastern Europe around this time.
—Bill Kovarik, Fortune, 6 Apr. 2023
Hackers don’t always read through their emails before sending them, and some of them are from other countries where English is not their first language.
—Kurt Knutsson, Fox News, 5 Apr. 2023
As more wealth is created in emerging economies, such as China and Brazil, more meat is eaten, and the U.S. consumes more meat than any other country.
—Cara Korte, CBS News, 5 Apr. 2023
The majority of these papers were conducted in the U.S. or U.K., though several were conducted elsewhere, and most involved online samples, which often involved participants from different countries.
—Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 5 Apr. 2023
With all affected provinces sharing borders with Cameroon and Gabon, WHO has assessed the risk of a multi-country outbreak as high.
—Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 30 Mar. 2023
Both airports have benefited from American’s push to dominate mid-country airports.
—Ted Reed, Forbes, 14 Feb. 2023
The current West Africa clade would be divided into two designations, with the large multi-country outbreak that is currently underway belonging to what would be known as clade 3.
—Helen Branswell, STAT, 13 June 2022
In an effort to salvage their relationship, Rick decides to take the entire Mitchell family on a cross-country road trip to see Katie off.
—WIRED, 10 Feb. 2023
Take it with you on a cross-country road trip, while climbing Kilimanjaro, or while visiting bucket-list destinations such as Machu Picchu.
—Amanda Ogle, Travel + Leisure, 9 Feb. 2023
The race to beat Purja captivated the mountaineering world this summer, as Harila—a former elite cross-country skier—ascended multiple peaks in the early spring.
—Frederick Dreier, Outside Online, 28 Oct. 2022
American Olympic cross-country skier Kevin Bolger grew up in Wisconsin.
—Nathaniel Herz, Anchorage Daily News, 28 Feb. 2022
An Olympic cross-country skier sustained a nasty injury while competing in the men’s freestyle mass race at the Winter Games in Beijing on Sunday.
—Philip Ellis, Men’s Health, 21 Feb. 2022
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘country.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.