country

A2 Topic:Places & Geography

US /ˈkʌntri/ UK /ˈkʌntɹi/ See IPA manual

Freq #530

Meanings

1

noun
A nation with its own land and government.

The country decided to elect a new leader.
2

noun
Land outside towns and cities, with fields, farms, and few buildings.

We love the slower pace of life in the country.
3

noun
The people who live in a nation.

The whole country celebrated when the team won.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a nation with its own land... state nation

2 noun · land outside towns and... rural areacountryside

3 noun · the people who live in a... land

Word family

Forms countries

Derived forms alt-countryanticountrybackcountrybro-countrycountrificationcountrifycountry-and-westerncountry-bluescountry-damagedcountry-dancecountry-friedcountry-rock

Related forms americo-countrifycountryishcountrylikedano-franco-greco-hispano-japano-polono-regionrusso-

Appears in

Phrases (11)

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foreign country
a country other than one's own

Adjective + noun
country house
a large, often elegant house set in a rural area, typically with surrounding grounds

Adjective + noun
native country
the country where someone was born or raised

Adjective + noun
cross-country running
running over natural terrain such as fields, hills, and mud

Adjective + noun
developing country
a country with a lower level of economic and industrial development

Adjective + noun
host country
a country that holds an international event or houses an international body

Adjective + noun

Proverbs (8)

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Simplified etymology

Country entered English in the Middle English period from medieval Latin contrata terra, “the land lying opposite” or “the landscape spread out before one.” The phrase was formed from Latin contra “against, opposite” and terra “land.”

Etymology

From Middle English contre, contree, contreie, from Old French contree, cuntrede, from Vulgar Latin *(terra) contrata (“(land) lying opposite; (land) spread before one”) (also in Medieval Latin as "country, region"), from Latin contrā (“against, opposite”) (whence contra-). Cognate with Scots kintra. Unrelated to county. Displaced native English land in some of its senses. From around 1300 as "area surrounding a walled city or town; the open country." By early 16th century the sense was applied mostly to rural areas, as opposed to towns and cities. Compare typologically Russian страна́ (straná…

contre Middle English contree Old French *contrata la-vul contrā Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Places & Geography

External links

# country

**Type:** Word
**Level:** A2
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈkʌntri/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈkʌntɹi/
**Frequency rank:** 530

## Meanings
1. A nation with its own land and government.
2. Land outside towns and cities, with fields, farms, and few buildings.
3. The people who live in a nation.

## Examples
- The country decided to elect a new leader.
- We love the slower pace of life in the country.
- The whole country celebrated when the team won.

## Derived Forms
- alt-country
- anticountry
- backcountry
- bro-country
- countrification
- countrify
- country-and-western
- country-blues
- country-damaged
- country-dance
- country-fried
- country-rock

## Related Forms
- americo-
- countrify
- countryish
- countrylike
- dano-
- franco-
- greco-
- hispano-
- japano-
- polono-
- region
- russo-

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: contre
- Root: contree
- Root: *contrata
- Root: contrā

## Etymology
From Middle English contre, contree, contreie, from Old French contree, cuntrede, from Vulgar Latin *(terra) contrata (“(land) lying opposite; (land) spread before one”) (also in Medieval Latin as "country, region"), from Latin contrā (“against, opposite”) (whence contra-). Cognate with Scots kintra. Unrelated to county. Displaced native English land in some of its senses. From around 1300 as "area surrounding a walled city or town; the open country." By early 16th century the sense was applied mostly to rural areas, as opposed to towns and cities. Compare typologically Russian страна́ (straná…

## AI Etymology
country comes from Middle English contre, contree, contreie, from Old French contree, cuntrede, from Vulgar Latin *(terra) contrata (“(land) lying opposite; (land) spread before one”) (also in Medieval Latin as "country, region"), from Latin contrā (“against, opposite”) (whence contra-). Cognate with Scots kintra. Unrelated to county. Displaced native English land in some of its senses. " By early 16th century the sense was applied mostly to rural areas, as opposed to towns and cities. Current senses include A nation with its own land and government and Land outside towns and cities, with fields, farms, and few buildings. English relatives and later formations include alt-country, anticountry, backcountry, americo-, countrify.

## Topics
- Places & Geography

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