country English · revision 2002

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=before 1250|origins=la contrā}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈkʌn.tri/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|contre]], [[bor|fro|contree]] or [[m|fro|cuntree|t=region, district]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) [[der|la-vul|*contrāta]], short for [[m|la-vul|*terra contrāta|t=land lying opposite]], the landscape spread out before the viewer,^(Etymonline)^(COED 2004)^(MWU 2024) from [[la|contrā|t=opposite, against]].^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2000) [[it|contrada]] and other Romance words have the same source,^(Klein 1966)^(Barnhart 1988) and [[de|Gegend|t=region]], from [[m|de|gegen|t=against]], was formed on its model.^(Barnhart 1988) The native English word was [[land]].^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ One's native land (probably before 1250).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ About 1300 ''country'' came to mean any region, sometimes with a sense of political organization, and also the open land round a walled town,^(Etymonline) and the territory of a nation is also recorded about 1300.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) The people of a country are so called from about 1300.^(Etymonline) By the early 16th century the word was applied mainly to rural areas as opposed to towns,^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) and the adjective took on the sense “rural”, often with a hint of “unpolished”, by the 1520s.^(Etymonline) A ''country mouse'' (mid-16th century) recalls Aesop's fable of the town mouse and the country mouse.^(Cresswell 2021) ''Country air'' “fresh air” is from the 1630s,^(Etymonline) ''country club'' from 1886 (American),^(Etymonline) ''country mile'' from 1915,^(Etymonline) ''country and western'' from 1942 and ''country music'' from 1968.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) Lloyd George's promise of “a fit country for heroes to live in” dates from 1918.^(Cresswell 2021)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 1250 – one's native land.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1279 – ''Contreman'' as a surname.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1300 – a region, a nation's territory, and its people.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * before 1387 – adjective.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * c. 1450 – ''countryside''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * early 16th century – rural areas as opposed to towns.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1520s – adjective, rural.^(Etymonline)

+ * mid-16th century – ''country mouse''.^(Cresswell 2021)

+ * 1630s – ''country air''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1653 – ''countrified''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1886 – ''country club''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1915 – ''country mile''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1942 – ''country and western''.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1968 – ''country music''.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A [[nation]] or state, or its territory.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The people of a nation: ''the country went to the polls''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The land of one's birth or citizenship.^(AHD)

+ # A region with distinct features: ''hill country''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Rural districts, away from towns: ''live in the country''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A jury.^(AHD)

+ # Country music.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of or typical of the countryside: ''a country cottage''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Of country music.^(AHD)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[countryish]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[countrify]]

+ * [[counter]]

+ * [[contra-]]

+ * [[contrary]]

+ * [[encounter]]

+ * [[countryside]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}