nationality

na·tion·al·i·ty

noun \ˌna-shə-ˈna-lə-tē, ˌnash-ˈna-\

plural na·tion·al·i·ties

Definition of NATIONALITY

1

: national character

2

: nationalism 1

3

a : national status; specifically : a legal relationship involving allegiance on the part of an individual and usually protection on the part of the state

b : membership in a particular nation

4

: political independence or existence as a separate nation

5

a : a people having a common origin, tradition, and language and capable of forming or actually constituting a nation-state

b : an ethnic group constituting one element of a larger unit (as a nation)

Examples of NATIONALITY

1. The country is home to five nationalities and seven languages.
2. people of all races and nationalities
3. She's American, but her parents are of Japanese nationality.
4. He has held French nationality for the past 20 years.
5. The university has students of over 50 nationalities.

First Known Use of NATIONALITY

1691

Related to NATIONALITY

Synonyms

ethnicity, nation, race

Related Words

minority; clan, family, folk, house, kindred, tribe

Other Government and Politics Terms

agent provocateur, agitprop, autarky, cabal, egalitarianism, federalism, hegemony, plenipotentiary, popular sovereignty, socialism

Rhymes with NATIONALITY

abnormality, actuality, amorality, animality, atonality, axiality, bestiality, bilinguality, bimodality, bipedality, cardinality, classicality, coevality, comicality, commonality, communality, conjugality, cordiality, corporality, criminality, criticality, ethicality, externality, factuality, farcicality, fictionality, functionality, generality, geniality, hospitality, ideality, illegality, immorality, immortality, informality, integrality, internality, irreality, joviality, lexicality, liberality, lineality, literality, logicality, lognormality, marginality, musicality, mutuality, notionality, nuptiality, optimality, parfocality, partiality, personality, physicality, practicality, principality, prodigality, punctuality, quizzicality, rationality, seasonality, sensuality, sexuality, siege mentality, sociality, speciality, subnormality, surreality, technicality, temporality, textuality, topicality, triviality, typicality, unmorality, unreality, verticality, virtuality, whimsicality

nationality

noun    (Concise Encyclopedia)

Affiliation with a particular nation or sovereign state. People, business corporations, ships, and aircraft all have nationalities. Nationality is inferior to citizenship, insofar as the latter implies a full set of political privileges and the former does not. Countries have limited rights to determine which of their inhabitants will be their nationals. People generally acquire a nationality by birth within a particular country's territory, by inheritance from one or both parents, or by naturalization. It may change or be augmented or taken away if a country cedes control of the territory where one lives to another country.