colonialism

C2+ Topic:Politics & International Affairs

US /kəˈloʊniəˌlɪzəm/ UK /kəˈləʊniəlɪzəm/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
the policy of one nation controlling and exploiting another territory

The novel critiques the lasting wounds of colonialism.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · the policy of one nation... imperialism expansionism colonization domination

Opposites

decolonizationindependence sovereignty

Word family

Derived forms colonialistcolonialistic

Related forms colony colonial colonist colonize

Etymology

From colonial + -ism, ultimately from Latin colonia ('settlement, farm'), from colonus ('farmer, settler'), from colere ('to cultivate, inhabit').

colonia Latin colere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Politics & International Affairs Word Formation & Derivatives

# colonialism

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** kəˈloʊniəˌlɪzəm
**IPA (UK):** kəˈləʊniəlɪzəm

## Meanings
1. the policy of one nation controlling and exploiting another territory

## Examples
- The novel critiques the lasting wounds of colonialism.

## Synonyms
- imperialism
- expansionism
- colonization
- domination

## Antonyms
- decolonization
- independence
- sovereignty

## Derived Forms
- colonialist
- colonialistic

## Related Forms
- colony
- colonial
- colonist
- colonize

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: colonia
- Root: colere

## Etymology
From colonial + -ism, ultimately from Latin colonia ('settlement, farm'), from colonus ('farmer, settler'), from colere ('to cultivate, inhabit').

## AI Etymology
Colonialism comes from colonial + -ism, ultimately from Latin colonia ('settlement, farm'), from colonus ('farmer, settler'), from colere ('to cultivate, inhabit'). The historical trail runs through colonia in Latin and colere in Latin. Morphologically, colonialism is transparent: it draws on colonial + -ism, ultimately from Latin colonia ('settlement, farm'), from colonus ('farmer, settler'), from colere ('to cultivate, inhabit'). Used as a noun, colonialism now means "the policy of one nation controlling and exploiting another territory", so the present definition can be read against the older forms and meanings. The same lexical family is also visible in derived forms such as colonialist and colonialistic and related forms such as colony, colonial, colonist, and colonize. The result is a borrowed or transmitted form whose modern spelling carries a compact record of its route into English.

## Topics
- Politics & International Affairs
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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colonialism

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