old country
5
3.4
- noun
- US
:
país de origen
- My grandmother came from the old country many years ago to start a new life.
Now, this is a man that was called a doctor back in the old country.
- Now, this is a man that was called a doctor back in the old country.
- I was first born, oldest son only, you know, only kid that was born in the old country.
Examples
-
We talked about "the old country," redefining the past until we became our parents, immigrants immersing mind and heart in der heym.
Academic text (2000) -
You flee the old country for the promise of a better life, and then you spend your time regretting what you left behind.
Academic text (2012) -
I had an uncle lived in the old country, see.
-
My grandmother came in from the old country, from Russia.
-
He came from the old country.
-
Charlie, I'm from the old country, and these American ways sometimes confuse me.
Fiction book (1991) -
Mom and Dad may live here now, but their brains are hard-wired to the old country.
Fiction book (2002) -
They'd been dating for a while and he was dragging his feet, so she finally suggested they pay a visit to the old country.
-
My father came from the old country in middle age, and to his last, he instilled in me the peculiarities of his native tongue.
Fiction book (1994) -
Real prayer—davening, as we Jews used to say back in the old country—is not a rational matter.
Blog text (19)
Synonyms
177
3.1
The country where someone is born or where they feel they belong
22
4.6
The country where you were born or that you feel strongly connected to
12
7.4
The country where a person is born or feels strong loyalty to
11
2.7
A country where a person was born or something was made
9
3.6
A country where a person was born and still feels at home
3
3.5
The country where you were born or the one you feel most connected to
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'country of origin' depends on a non-literal use of 'old' (sense of 'former' or 'one's native') rather than the straightforward reading 'ancient' or 'aged country'. A B1 learner who knows the words may guess a related sense but could also interpret it literally, so the relation is partially recoverable but not fully predictable without exposure.
Etymology
Old country may come from how people who moved to a new land talked about the place they left: the familiar, older home where their family lived, the old country. So the phrase now means 'the country someone or their family first came from'.