Nation /(?)/

Na·tion

Nation

n.
  1. A part, or division, of the people of the earth, distinguished from the rest by common descent, language, or institutions; a race; a stock. (Ethnol.)
    All nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues.
    — Rev. vii. 9.
  2. The body of inhabitants of a country, united under an independent government of their own.
    A nation is the unity of a people.
    Praise the power that hath made and preserved us a nation.
    — F. S. Key.
  3. Family; lineage. [Obs.]
  4. One of the divisions of university students in a classification according to nativity, formerly common in Europe. (Scotch Universities)
  5. A great number; a great deal; -- by way of emphasis; as, a nation of herbs.

Phrases & Compounds
Five nations
See under Five.
Law of nations
See International law, under International, and Law.