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nationality

nationality

33 3.2
A group of people who share the same country or cultural background
  • noun
  • /ˌnæʃəˈnælɪti/
translation icon : nacionalidad
  • We may be different nationalities, but we're both hardcore gold bugs.
  • nationality and identity
  • ethnicity and nationality
  • race and nationality

Each, like, nationality had its own church.

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Examples

  • The neighborhood was a mix of three races and nine or ten nationalities.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • When you look around this room tonight, what I love the most is that I see every race, ethnicity, nationality possible.

  • The United Kingdom has perhaps the most complex nationality laws in the world.

    Academic text (1990)
  • My dad is very proud of his nationality.

  • My favorite thing about Brooklyn is... that every nationality in the world is in Brooklyn.

  • So, in Svalbard, where I come from, everyone is welcome, regardless of nationality.

  • Greeks spend a greater portion of their income on produce than any other European nationality.

    Academic text (2011)
  • I enjoy people from different nationalities, different races, different religions, and I don't go by a lot of the things that people teach.

  • What is your nationality?

  • So, in Svalbard, where I come from, everyone is welcome, regardless of nationality.

Synonyms

nation
vsnationality
1.7

A large group of people in one country who share a common history and culture

focuses more on common origins and traditions than on territorial unity
ethnicity
vsnationality
89 4.6

Being part of a group with the same culture, race, or family background

refers to the group itself and its shared origins rather than the belonging state
ethnic group
vsnationality
58 2.8

People who share the same culture, language, or family history

is broader, highlighting shared origins and traditions beyond cultural markers
peoplehood
vsnationality
  • Jargon
1 7.3

A shared identity and culture that unites a community

stresses shared origins and traditions that can form a collective identity

Surface Forms

nationality singular
nationalities plural

Morphology

nationality = national (transparent) = nation + al + ity

Derived from the adjective 'national' with the productive noun-forming suffix '-ity', yielding 'the state or condition of being national' which maps to the group identity sense.

Etymology

Nationality comes from nation, a word that meant 'birth' or 'people from the same place' and is the same root you see in native. So nationality can also mean a group of people who share the same origin, language, or traditions.