fatherland

C2+ Topic:Places & Geography

US /ˈfɑðɚˌlænd/ UK /ˈfɑːðəlænd/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
one's native country, especially regarded with patriotic emotion

The exiles longed to return to their fatherland.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · one's native country,... homeland motherland countrynative landhome

Word family

Related forms father fatherly fatherhood

Etymology

A compound of 'father' + 'land', a calque of Dutch 'vaderland' or German 'Vaterland'. 'Father' is from Old English 'fæder', from Proto-Germanic '*fadēr', from Proto-Indo-European '*ph₂tḗr' ('father'); 'land' from Old English 'land'.

fæder Old English *ph₂tḗr Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Places & Geography

External links

# fatherland

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈfɑðɚˌlænd/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈfɑːðəlænd/

## Meanings
1. one's native country, especially regarded with patriotic emotion

## Examples
- The exiles longed to return to their fatherland.

## Synonyms
- homeland
- motherland
- country
- native land
- home

## Related Forms
- father
- fatherly
- fatherhood

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: fæder
- Root: *ph₂tḗr

## Etymology
A compound of 'father' + 'land', a calque of Dutch 'vaderland' or German 'Vaterland'. 'Father' is from Old English 'fæder', from Proto-Germanic '*fadēr', from Proto-Indo-European '*ph₂tḗr' ('father'); 'land' from Old English 'land'.

## AI Etymology
Fatherland is a compound of 'father' + 'land', a calque of Dutch 'vaderland' or German 'Vaterland'. 'Father' is from Old English 'fæder', from Proto-Germanic '*fadēr', from Proto-Indo-European '*ph₂tḗr' ('father'); 'land' from Old English 'land'. Important recorded forms include fæder (Old English) and *ph₂tḗr (Proto-Indo-European). Morphologically, the word is a built form whose named elements carry part of the historical sense. The current sense covers one's native country, especially regarded with patriotic emotion. The wider family includes related words such as father, fatherly, and fatherhood.

## Topics
- Places & Geography

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