nation

na·tion

N0026800 (nā′shən)n.1. a. A relatively large group of people organized under a single, usually independent government; a country.b. The territory occupied by such a group of people: All across the nation, people are voting their representatives out.2. The government of a sovereign state.3. A people who share common customs, origins, history, and frequently language; a nationality: "Historically the Ukrainians are an ancient nation which has persisted and survived through terrible calamity" (Robert Conquest).4. a. A federation or tribe, especially one composed of Native Americans.b. The territory occupied by such a federation or tribe.

[Middle English nacioun, from Old French nation, from Latin nātiō, nātiōn-, from nātus, past participle of nāscī, to be born; see genə- in Indo-European roots.]

na′tion·hood′ n.na′tion·less adj.

nation

(ˈneɪʃən) n1. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) an aggregation of people or peoples of one or more cultures, races, etc, organized into a single state: the Australian nation. 2. (Sociology) a community of persons not constituting a state but bound by common descent, language, history, etc: the French-Canadian nation. 3. (Sociology) a. a federation of tribes, esp American Indiansb. the territory occupied by such a federation[C13: via Old French from Latin nātiō birth, tribe, from nascī to be born] ˈnationˌhood n ˈnationless adj

na•tion

(ˈneɪ ʃən)

n. 1. a body of people, associated with a particular territory, that is sufficiently conscious of its unity to seek or to possess a government peculiarly its own. 2. the territory or country itself. 3. a. an American Indian people or tribe. b. a member tribe of an American Indian confederation. 4. a people having the same ethnic ancestry, history, and culture, often speaking the same language. [1250–1300; Middle English < Latin nātiō birth, people, nation] na′tion•hood`, n. na′tion•less, adj.

Na•tion

(ˈneɪ ʃən)

n. Carry or Carrie (Amelia Moore), 1846–1911, U.S. temperance leader.

country, nation - Both came into English c. 1330 and tend to be used interchangeably. Country comes from Latin contrata (terra), "the landscape in front of one, the landscape lying opposite to the view." Nation is from Latin nation-/natio, "race, class of person."See also related terms for country.

nation

, country - A nation is made up of states—and a country is a nation defined geographically.See also related terms for states.

Nation

inhabitants of a country; a community of men or animals; the people of the earth, collectively, 1667. See also people, race.Examples: nation of field and wood, 1733; of hedges and copses, 1726; of herbs, 1768; of sea, 1697; of unfortunate birds, 1590.

nation

You use nation to refer to a country, together with its social and political structures.

These policies require cooperation between the world's industrialized nations.

You can also use nation to mean the people who live in a country.

He asked the nation to be patient.

Nation can also to refer to a group of people who are part of the same linguistic or historical group, even if they are not politically independent.

We studied the traditions and culture of the Great Sioux Nation.

Be Careful!
Don't use 'nation' simply to refer to a place. Don't say, for example, 'What nation do you come from?' When you are referring to a place, use country, not 'nation'.

There are over a hundred edible species growing in this country.Have you any plans to leave the country in the next few days?

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	nation - a politically organized body of people under a single government; "the state has elected a new president"; "African nations"; "students who had come to the nation's capitol"; "the country's largest manufacturer"; "an industrialized land"body politic, country, res publica, commonwealth, state, landcommonwealth country - any of the countries in the British Commonwealthdeveloping country - a country that is poor and whose citizens are mostly agricultural workers but that wants to become more advanced socially and economicallyDominion - one of the self-governing nations in the British Commonwealthestate of the realm, the three estates, estate - a major social class or order of persons regarded collectively as part of the body politic of the country (especially in the United Kingdom) and formerly possessing distinct political rightsforeign country - any state of which one is not a citizen; "working in a foreign country takes a bit of getting used to"Reich - the German staterenegade state, rogue nation, rogue state - a state that does not respect other states in its international actionssuzerain - a state exercising a degree of dominion over a dependent state especially in its foreign affairssea power - a nation that possesses formidable naval strengthgreat power, major power, superpower, world power, power - a state powerful enough to influence events throughout the worldcity state, city-state - a state consisting of a sovereign cityally - a friendly nationpolitical entity, political unit - a unit with political responsibilities
	2.	nation - the people who live in a nation or country; "a statement that sums up the nation's mood"; "the news was announced to the nation"; "the whole country worshipped him"country, landpeople - (plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively; "old people"; "there were at least 200 people in the audience"national, subject - a person who owes allegiance to that nation; "a monarch has a duty to his subjects"Dutch, Dutch people - the people of the Netherlands; "the Dutch are famous for their tulips"British, British people, Brits - the people of Great BritainEnglish people, English - the people of EnglandIrish, Irish people - people of Ireland or of Irish extractionFrench people, French - the people of FranceSpanish people, Spanish - the people of SpainSwiss, Swiss people - the natives or inhabitants of Switzerland
	3.	Nation - United States prohibitionist who raided saloons and destroyed bottles of liquor with a hatchet (1846-1911)Carry Amelia Moore Nation, Carry Nation
	4.	nation - a federation of tribes (especially Native American tribes); "the Shawnee nation"federation of tribes, tribe - a federation (as of American Indians)confederacy, confederation, federation - a union of political organizationsU.S.A., United States, United States of America, US, USA, America, the States, U.S. - North American republic containing 50 states - 48 conterminous states in North America plus Alaska in northwest North America and the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean; achieved independence in 1776

nation

noun1. country, state, nation state, power, land, federation, commonwealth, kingdom, realm, superpower, confederation, sovereign state, polity Such policies would require unprecedented cooperation between nations.2. public, people, community, society, population, populace, body politic It was a story that touched the nation's heart.Quotations
"For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom" Bible: St. Matthew
"No nation is fit to sit in judgement upon any other nation" [Woodrow Wilson speech]
"A nation is the same people living in the same place" [James Joyce Ulysses]

nation

nounAn organized geopolitical unit:body politic, country, land, polity, state.

Translations

国家民族

nation

(ˈneiʃən) noun1. a group of people living in a particular country, forming a single political and economic unit. 国家2. a large number of people who share the same history, ancestors, culture etc (whether or not they all live in the same country). the Jewish nation.民族national (ˈnӕʃənəl) adjective of or belonging to a particular nation. national government; national pride.国家的ˈnationally adverb全国性地ˈnationalism (ˈnӕ-) noun1. a sense of pride in the history, culture, achievements etc of one's nation. 国家主义，爱国心 2. the desire to bring the people of one's nation together under their own government. 民族主义ˈnationalist (ˈnӕ-) noun 民族主义者，国家主义者 ˌnationaˈlistic adjective 民族主义的，国家主义的 nationality (nӕʃəˈnӕləti) – plural natioˈnalities – noun (the state of belonging to) a particular nation. `What nationality are you?' `I'm German'; You can see (people of) many nationalities in London.国籍ˈnationalize, ˈnationalise (ˈnӕ-) verb to make (especially an industry) the property of the nation as a whole rather than the property of an individual. 使国有化ˌnationaliˈzation, ˌnationaliˈsation noun国有化national anthem a nation's official song or hymn. 国歌national service in some countries, a period of compulsory service in the armed forces. 义务兵役制ˌnation-ˈwide adjective, adverb (happening etc) throughout the whole nation. a nation-wide broadcast; They travelled nation-wide.全国性的

nation

→ 国家zhCN

nation

an aggregation of people or peoples of one or more cultures, races, etc., organized into a single state

nation

a community of sentiment (Max WEBER, 1920) or an imagined community (B. Anderson, Imagined Communities, 1983) based on one or more of the following: race, ethnicity, language, religion, customs, political memory, and shared experience of the Other. A nation exists where a people succeeds in its claim to be one by securing recognition of it from others. Ethnicity has proved neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition of nationhood. According to Weber, modern nations usually need a state to protect their integrity and interests, and states usually need a nation if they are to command the allegiance of the individual. There are, however, many stateless nations, such as Scotland, and there have been many nationless (or multinational) states such as Prussia and the Soviet Union. Differences between ethnic nations (communities of descent) and civic nations (associations within a territory) have major implications for pluralism and the accommodation of difference, the character of civil society and the definition of citizenship.

Nation

(natsiia), a historical community of people that comes into existence with the formation of a common territory, common economic ties, a literary language, a general character, and certain cultural features that constitute its identifying traits.

A truly scientific theory of nations was created by Marx and Engels and developed by Lenin. According to the theory, the nation emerged as a new sociohistorical phenomenon when the feudal fragmentation of society was being overcome and political centralization based on capitalist economic ties was being consolidated. The classical Marxist-Leninist theorists emphasized the importance of the state in the consolidation of the nation. Lenin wrote that the formation of national states was the tendency (or aspiration) of every national movement. “Therefore, the national state is typical and normal for the capitalist period” (Poln. sobr. Soch, 5th ed., vol. 25, p. 259). Lenin rejected the favorite device of bourgeois sociology and historiography, which is to confuse the nation with the race or tribe and to portray it as a continuation and more complex development of tribal and kinship ties and as an eternal, natural, suprahistorical phenomenon. He criticized the views of O. Bauer, who defined the nation as a community of culture and character based on common historical destiny. According to Lenin, this theory is idealistic (Leninskii sb., XXX, 1937, p. 53). The presence of ethnically related tribes and nationalities (narodnosti) facilitates the consolidation of a nation but is not a necessary condition for this process. Furthermore, a direct genetic line connecting the ethnic attributes of a tribe, nationality, and nation is not necessary for the consolidation of a nation. In fact, there are no homogeneous nations. All nations grew out of disparate tribes. Some trace their origins to several distinct nationalities. Many nations, including the Americans, were formed not only from different ethnic groups but even from different races. Thus, racial homogeneity cannot be included in the concept of nation. A nation cannot be defined in terms of a common religion or state. Although some nations profess one religion, others are made up of groups that belong to different religions. There are single states that include several different nations, and there are nations that do not have a state.

In the history of a nation and in its relations with other nations, ethnic characteristics (language, culture, and customs) are very important. They are not biologically determined but are the product of social development. When different ethnic groups live and act together in the framework of a fully developed nation, a new ethnic (or national) character is produced, in which it is possible to trace certain “lasting” elements inherited from earlier historical communities. For all their durability, however, even these lasting elements are not unchangeable. Thus, the nation is essentially a sociohistorical phenomenon.

Lenin constantly emphasized the social origin and social essence of the nation and pointed out that the creation “of national ties was nothing else than the creation of bourgeois ties” (Poln. sobr. soch., 5th ed., vol. 1, p. 154). According to Lenin, “the transition from feudalism to capitalism would have been impossible without national ideas” (ibid., vol. 26, p. 35), and “nations are an inevitable product, an inevitable form, in the bourgeois epoch of social development” (ibid., p. 75). Lenin believed that the historical stage of the formation of nations began in the late Middle Ages and at the beginning of the modern era. In capitalism Lenin saw the economic foundation of the nation because of its call for a domestic market and a common language for a particular community as important tools in forging commercial ties.

The development of a bourgeoisie and the formation of a single market were necessary conditions for the rise of many modern nations. A fully developed nation has an explicit “economic character” (Leninskii sb., XXX, 1937, p. 53). Before a common economic life can develop, there must be a common territory. A common territory is a necessary condition for the formation of a nation and, subsequently, one of a nation’s distinguishing features. During the consolidation of a nation a common literary language develops in various ways and becomes a powerful means for forging national ties. A common cultural life also arises, based on the long common experience of people linked by a single economy, territory, and language.

Although the founders of Marxism-Leninism considered a unified cultural life important to the development of a nation, they stressed the contradictory character of the culture and psychology of a nation made up of hostile classes. Bearing in mind the opposition between bourgeois-landlord and clerical culture and democratic and socialist culture, Lenin wrote: “There are two national cultures in every national culture” (Poln. sobr. soch., 5th ed., vol. 24, p. 129). These two cultures are created by representatives of the same nationality who are also representatives of “two different nations within one nation,” with distinct social ideologies and psychologies. Nonetheless, it is correct to speak of the psychological traits of a nation as one of its distinctive features.

Common economic ties, a common language and territory, and certain traditions and characteristics of a national culture and psychology give rise to a national unity—a national consciousness. Once it has emerged, national consciousness becomes an important factor in the existence and development of a nation. It begins to function not only as an objective tie among people but also as a tie based on consciousness in a broader sense, including consciousness of a common ethnic background, national language, homeland, culture, certain set of relations with other nations, and feeling of national pride.

The vitality and activity of a nation are to a considerable extent determined by the character and degree of national consciousness. Nevertheless, the antagonistic classes and their parties adhere to opposing views and develop opposing political lines for promoting national consciousness. The Marxist-Leninist parties promote national consciousness in a manner consistent with the true national interests, which are inseparably linked with the international unity of the working people of all countries. The bourgeois and petit bourgeois ideologists, however, distort national consciousness and pretend that narrow egoistic, nationalistic interests are the true national interests.

The formation of different nations is determined by the correlation of economic, political, and ethnic factors, as well as by the character of the historical epoch. In some cases the processes of a nation’s formation and the conditions for its existence run parallel and supplement each other. For example, the first European nations were based on major, well-developed nationalities that had a common language, territory, and various ethnic features that were conditions for the formation of these nations. In other cases nations have come into existence before all the conditions for their formation are fully ready. Thus, in a number of Asian and African countries nations have developed during the struggle for independence and particularly after the winning of independence. Such nations emerge on territory that has been shaped historically by colonial partitioning and is inhabited by tribes and nationalities with different languages, cultures, and economic ties. They become the form for the territorial and economic consolidation and political and cultural development of the countries in which they arise. It is necessary to keep in mind that the formation of a nation is not a universal stage of development for all peoples of the world. Many numerically small peoples, such as tribes and territorial linguistic groups, have merged with larger nations.

In order to arrive at a correct understanding of the essence of the nation and the role and significance of its ethnic characteristics, it is necessary to recognize the differences between such related but not identical concepts as natsiia and natsional’nost’. The term natsional’nost’, which signifies a common ethnicity, is only one of the factors contributing to a nation or to nationhood. Thus, natsional’nost’ is a narrower concept than “nation.” The distinction between the two concepts helps explain why a group of people who are of the natsional’nost’ of a particular nation but who do not live on its territory are not members of that nation. Also, it is clear why a nation or nationality under socialism radically changes its social essence while retaining its natsional’nost’.

During socialist construction exploitative classes and antagonisms within and between nations are eliminated. Nations undergo fundamental changes, and the nations of capitalist society are transformed into socialist nations. Preserving their distinctive ethnic traits or modifying them to some extent, nations fundamentally change their social type and become socialist in their class structure, political system, and cultural makeup. To a great extent, the original characteristics of the nation are given new content, and new traits appear, the product of the nation’s socialist and international life.

The development of the socialist nations and their social, political, and ideological unity are based on the establishment of a genuinely common economic life in each of them. In the multinational states the unity of interests of the working people of all nations emerges. The common territory, a condition for the existence of a socialist nation, acquires a new quality. The borders of national republics (for example, in the USSR) lose their former significance and do not promote national exclusiveness. Contacts of every kind are maintained among the Soviet nations, which seek to rationally utilize the entire territory of the USSR as the common property of the Soviet people.

Socialism creates the most favorable conditions for the development of national languages. In addition to the native tongue, the knowledge of a language of international communication, such as Russian has become in the USSR, contributes to the mutual enrichment of the national cultures, which are national in form and socialist in content. On the basis of their common economic, social, ideological, and political ties, the socialist nations develop the international features of their cultures, and the national cultures draw closer together. While preserving their progressive cultural heritage, the socialist nations create new cultural values that become the common property of all the peoples. The national and international elements in the culture of the socialist nations make up an integral whole in which the international aspect is dominant. With the building of communism new traditions develop, bringing the socialist nations closer together, uniting them, and strengthening their shared cultural values.

The new features of socialist nations are formed under the decisive influence of the working class, the leading international force in the nation. Under socialism, revolutionary changes in all aspects of social, economic, political, and cultural life give rise to a socialist national consciousness. In mature socialist society an intensive, integrated process is under way in which each nation flourishes and all nations draw closer together. The socialist nations can truly thrive not through national isolation but through an internationalized economy and politics, a unified ideology, and the development of international features in their culture and cultural life. For this reason, the flourishing of nations promotes their drawing together, which, in turn, promotes their flourishing.

One of the most essential characteristics of the socialist nations is their fraternal cooperation and mutual assistance based on the principles of socialist internationalism, which have given rise to new international communities such as the Soviet people and the ever stronger commonwealth of socialist peoples.

Under communist construction the drawing together of nations is accelerated, leading to the obliteration of differences among them that are associated with outdated forms of existence and resulting in the amalgamation of small ethnic groups. The obliteration of national differences is a more prolonged process than the breakdown of class differences. The complete integration of nations will take place as a result of their further flowering and their gradual drawing together in all spheres of life. Communists do not advocate making national distinctions eternal and everlasting and support the objective, progressive, comprehensive drawing together of nations, which creates the conditions for their ultimate fusion and integration on a fully voluntary and democratic basis. Marxist-Leninists are equally opposed to retarding this process and to forcing it artificially.

A clear knowledge of the prospects for national development are especially important to the socialist countries, whose social relations, including national relations, are scientifically guided and directed toward a definite goal. On the basis of Marxist-Leninist theory, it is possible to predict that the victory of communism throughout the world will create the conditions necessary for the amalgamation of nations and that all people will belong to a worldwide human society free from classes or nations, with a unified economy and a unified communist culture, tremendously rich and varied.

REFERENCES

Marx, K., and F. Engels. Manifest Kommunisticheskoipartii. Soch., 2nd ed., vol. 4.
Marx, K., and F. Engels. “O pol’skom voprose.” Ibid., vol. 4.
Engels, F. “Po i Rein.” Ibid., vol. 13.
Engels, F. Proiskhozhdenie sem ’i, chastnoi sobstvennosti i gosudarstva. Ibid., vol. 21.
Engels, F. O razlozhenii feodalizma i vozniknovenii natsional’nykh gosudarstv. Ibid., vol. 21.
Lenin, V. I. Chto takoe ’druz’ia naroda’ i kak oni voiuiut protiv sotsialdemokratov? Poln. sobr. soch., 5th ed., vol. 1.
Lenin, V. I. “Ot kakogo nasledstva my otkazyvaemsia?” Ibid., vol. 2.
Lenin, V. I. v “Polozhenie Bunda ν partii.” Ibid., vol. 8.
Lenin, V. I. “K voprosu ob obshchenatsional’noi revoliutsii.” Ibid., vol. 15.
Lenin, V. I. “Kriticheskie zametki po natsional’nomu voprosu.” Ibid., vol. 24.
Lenin, V. I. “O ’kul’turno-natsional’noi’ avtonomii.” Ibid.
Lenin, V. I. “O natsional’noi programme RSDRP.” Ibid.
Lenin, V. I. “Tezisy referata po natsional’nomu voprosu. Mezhdu 10 i 20 ianvaria (23 ianvaria i 2 fevralia) 1914 g.” Ibid.
Lenin, V. I. “Pod chuzhim flagom.” Ibid., vol. 26.
Lenin, V. I. Sotsialisticheskaia revoliutsiia i pravo natsii na samoopredelenie. Ibid., vol. 27.
Lenin, V. I. “Rech’ po natsional’nomu voprosu 29 aprelia (12 maia) 1917 g.” Ibid., vol. 31.
Lenin, V. I. “II Kongress Kommunisticheskogo Internatsionala.” Ibid., vol. 41.
Lenin, V. I. O proletarskoi kul’ture. Ibid.
Lenin, V. I. “III Kongress Kommunisticheskogo Internationala.” Ibid., vol. 44.
Lenin, V. I. “K voprosu o natsional’nostiakh ili ob ’avtonomizatsii’.” Ibid., vol. 45.
Programma KPSS (Priniata XXII s”ezdom KPSS). Moscow, 1973.
Mezhdunarodnoe soveshchanie kommunisticheskikh i rabochikh partii: Dokumenty i materialy. Moscow, 1969.
Materialy XXIVs”ezda KPSS. Moscow, 1971.
Marksizm-leninizm o proletarskom internatsionalizme. Moscow, 1969. [A collection.]
Leninizm i natsional’nyi vopros v sovremennykh usloviiakh. 2nd ed. Moscow, 1974.

S. T. KALTAKHCHIAN

nation

na·tion

nation

na•tion

Na•tion

nation

Nation

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nation

nation

nation

nation

all nations

one nation

the gaiety of nations

the gaiety of nations

one nation

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nation

nation

Nation

REFERENCES

Nation

Nation

nation

Synonyms for nation

noun country

Synonyms

noun public

Synonyms

Synonyms for nation

noun an organized geopolitical unit

Synonyms

Synonyms for nation

noun a politically organized body of people under a single government

Synonyms

Related Words

noun the people who live in a nation or country

Synonyms

Related Words

noun United States prohibitionist who raided saloons and destroyed bottles of liquor with a hatchet (1846-1911)

Synonyms

noun a federation of tribes (especially Native American tribes)

Related Words