Country Meaning

/ˈkʌntɹi/
A1

Definition, CEFR level A1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.

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nounThe territory of a nation; a sovereign state or a region once independent and still distinct in institutions, language, etc.

nounAn area of land of undefined extent; a region, a district.

Italy is a very beautiful country.
Do you eat rice in your country?
The party campaigned vigorously in the north of the country.
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The small ____ struggled to maintain its independence after the treaty was signed.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Italy is a very beautiful ____.

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).

"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." — 1935, George Goodchild, chapter 5, in Death on the Centre Court:
"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!" — 1986 April 15, Michael Parenti, 02:53 from the start, in U.S. interventionism, the Third World, and the USSR, Boulder, Colorado:
"It is a beautiful country of rolling hills, fertile valleys, and a thousand rivers and streams which keep the landscape green even in winter." — 1994, Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela, London: Abacus, published 2010, page 3:
"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." — 2013 June 22, “T time”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, archived from the original on 11 Mar 2023, page 68:
"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." — 2024 July 4, Lilit Marcus, “This country has a national happiness index. But what is it really like to live there?”, in CNN, archived from the original on 24 Jul 2024:

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CEFR Practice Quiz
The small ____ struggled to maintain its independence after the treaty was signed.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
Italy is a very beautiful ____.

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