nationality

English

Etymology

From national +‎ -ity, perhaps after French nationalité; ultimately from Latin nātio (“nation, people”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˌnæʃ.əˈnæl.ɪ.ti/, /ˌnæʃ.ˈnæl.ɪ.ti/, /-ˈnæl.ə.ti/, /-ˈnæl.ti/

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• Hyphenation: na‧tion‧al‧i‧ty, na‧tion‧al‧ity

Noun

nationality (plural nationalities)

1. (now rare) National, i.e. ethnic and/or cultural, character or identity.
   • 1968, Sayyid Jamāl ad-Dīn, “Answer of Jamāl ad-Dīn to Renan”, in Nikki R. Keddie, translated by Nikki R. Keddie, An Islamic Response to Imperialism‎, University of California Press, →LCCN, page 185:

     […] permit me to say that the Harranians were Arabs and that the Arabs in occupying Spain and Andalusia did not lose their nationality; they remained Arabs. […] The fact that they preserved their former religion, Sabaeanism, does not mean they should be considered foreign to the Arab nationality.

2. (now rare) Nationalism or patriotism.
   • 1791, James Boswell, Life of Johnson, Oxford, published 2008, page 599:

     ‘You are, to be sure, wonderfully free from that nationality: but so it happens, that you employ the only Scotch shoe-black in London.’

3. National origin or identity; legal membership of a particular nation or state, by origin, birth, naturalization, ownership, allegiance or otherwise.

   By living in the country for five years, you are entitled to get nationality.

   Stefi was born in Spain to a Brazilian father and a Chilean mother, so is eligible for three nationalities.

   Please include your nationality on the form.

4. A people sharing a common origin, culture and/or language, and possibly constituting a nation-state.
5. (obsolete) Political existence, independence or unity as a national entity.

Synonyms

• (membership of a nation or state): affiliation, allegiance, ancestry, citizenship, descent, enfranchisement, ethnicity, national status, naturalization, origin, parentage, race, residence, status
• (national character or identity): ancestry, color, colour, ethnicity, identity, origin
• (a people): clan, confederation, cultural group, culture, denomination, ethnic group, ethnicity, faith, group, nation, people, persuasion, race, sect, tribe
• (political existence as a national entity): autarchy, autonomy, freedom, independence, liberty, nationhood, self-determination, self-government, self-rule, separation, sovereignty
• (nationalism): nationalism, patriotic sentiment, patriotism,

Derived terms

Related terms

• nation, national, nationalise, nationalism, nationalist, nationalistic, nationalize
• nationhood
• nation-state
• nationwide

Translations

See also

• naturalize