Colony /(kŏl"ō̇*ny̆)/

pl. Colonies ((kŏl"ō̇*nĭz))

1. A company of people transplanted from their mother country to a remote province or country, and remaining subject to the jurisdiction of the parent state; as, the British colonies in America.

   The first settlers of New England were the best of Englishmen, well educated, devout Christians, and zealous lovers of liberty. There was never a colony formed of better materials.

2. The district or country colonized; a settlement.
3. a territory subject to the ruling governmental authority of another country and not a part of the ruling country.
4. A company of persons from the same country sojourning in a foreign city or land; as, the American colony in Paris.
5. A number of animals or plants living or growing together, beyond their usual range. (Nat. Hist.)
6. A cell family or group of common origin, mostly of unicellular organisms, esp. among the lower algæ. They may adhere in chains or groups, or be held together by a gelatinous envelope. (Bot.)
7. A cluster or aggregation of zooids of any compound animal, as in the corals, hydroids, certain tunicates, etc. (Zool.)
8. A community of social insects, as ants, bees, etc. (Zool.)
9. a group of microorganisms originating as the descendents of one individual cell, growing on a gelled growth medium, as of gelatin or agar; especially, such a group that has grown to a sufficient number to be visible to the naked eye. (Microbiology)