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political unit

political unit

1 4.4
An area with its own government and rules, like a country or city
  • noun
translation icon : unidad política
  • Increasingly, states favor self-governance of dependent political units such as counties, townships, and municipalities.
  • larger political units
  • important political units
  • small political units

Examples

  • The trend toward larger political units.

    Academic text (1997)
  • Up until the seventeenth century, the European continent was divided into many small political units with vague and porous borders.

    Academic text (2010)
  • Some goods and services require smaller political units.

    Academic text (1998)
  • Although a single town may include multiple villages, they are officially part of one political unit.

    Academic text (2018)
  • Most tribes were quite cohesive social, economic, and political units.

    Academic text (1995)
  • Pakistan has existed as a political unit since the Indus Valley.

    Blog text (25)
  • Under the British Mandate, Palestine was separated from Syria and became its own administrative and political unit.

    Academic text (2004)
  • Nations can form nation-states or enter larger political units such as multinational federations.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Under the British Mandate, Palestine was separated from Syria and became its own administrative and political unit.

  • Although a single town may include multiple villages, they are officially part of one political unit.

Synonyms

polity
vspolitical unit
  • Specialized
8 7.7

A country or area with its own government and laws

is about a defined area or group with formal administrative duties
political entity
vspolitical unit
4 4.6

A country or state that has its own government and laws

is broader highlighting formal administrative duties plus a defined area or group
administrative unit
vspolitical unit
3.6

A part of an organization that manages specific tasks and services

is a whole area or group with formal political and administrative responsibilities

How Big

empire
226 3.5
country
1.0
political unit
1 4.4
municipality
63 4.4
neighborhood
  • US
1.8

Surface Forms

Morphology

political + unit

The meaning is directly compositional: 'political' (relating to government/public affairs) modifies 'unit' (an individual entity), so a 'political unit' is simply an entity defined by political/administrative status. This modifier+noun structure is cross-linguistically common and should be immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows both words.

Etymology

Political unit comes from political, meaning about government, and unit, meaning a single part. Picture a map where each colored block is one part with its own rules and leaders, so a political unit is an 'area' or 'group' that 'acts as one' for government, like a country, state, or city.