District of Columbia
28
3.5
- proper noun
- /ˈdɪstrɪkt əv kəˈlʌmbɪə/
:
Distrito de Columbia
- I live in the District of Columbia, where the U.S. government is located.
- the District of Columbia
- District of Columbia Court
- District of Columbia Circuit
Examples
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Seven states and the District of Columbia allow some form of recognition of same-sex unions.
Academic text (2006) -
The Department of Education distributes money to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
Academic text (2005) -
It's already up and running in 20 states and the District of Columbia.
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Each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia was represented.
Academic text (1999) -
Data was collected from all 50 states and the District of Columbia between June 2004 and September 2004.
Academic text (2005) -
In fourteen states and the District of Columbia, there is no right to counsel at all.
Academic text (2017) -
Program managers from 29 states and the District of Columbia responded via e-mail to discussion items.
Academic text (2006) -
And now, nine years later, the District of Columbia is the safest city in America.
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Twenty states and the District of Columbia do not provide a statewide right to counsel for civil contempt proceedings.
Academic text (2017) -
Twenty-five states and the District of Columbia have no statewide right to counsel in civil contempt cases.
Academic text (2017)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
The capital city of the United States in the District of Columbia
343
1.0
The capital city of the United States where the national government is based
12
6.0
An area set aside for the national government that is not part of any state
1
2.5
The city of Washington, the capital of the United States
A district of the United States that contains the capital city Washington
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly derivable from combining 'district' (an area for administration) with 'of Columbia' (Columbia referring to the United States); a learner who knows these constituents can infer it names an administrative district associated with Columbia (i.e., the U.S.). The 'district of X' construction is a straightforward, compositional pattern found across languages, so the phrase is immediately comprehensible to B1 learners who know the parts.
Etymology
District of Columbia comes from two simple parts: District means a special area, and Columbia is an old poetic name for America that may come from the explorer Columbus. When the country's leaders made a separate area for the capital, they used this name, so the phrase today refers to the federal 'district' that is home to Washington.