nationalism English · revision 39441

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1798|origins=la nāscor}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /ˈnæʃənəlɪz(ə)m/, /ˈnaʃənl̩ɪz(ə)m/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /ˈnæʃ(ə)nəˌlɪzəm/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed [[af|en|national|-ism]],^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)^(MWU 2024)^(Dictionary.com 2016) probably on the model of [[de|Nationalismus]], recorded from 1774.^(OED 2026) Etymonline instead derives it from [[nationalist]] and the suffix, with some uses taken from [[fr|nationalisme]], which the OED dates to 1798.^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026) The base word [[nation]] goes back to [[la|nātiō|t=birth, race, people]], from [[m|la|nāscor|t=to be born]].^(AHD 2024)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Support for the interests of one's own nation, especially at the expense of others: 1798, in R. Clifford's translation of Barruel's ''Memoirs''.^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) Merriam-Webster's Unabridged also dates it to 1798.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Other dictionaries date the word later: Merriam-Webster's Collegiate to 1844, Dictionary.com to 1830–40, and Etymonline to 1841, when it meant devotion to one's country and the wish for national unity, independence or prosperity, often with reference to Ireland.^(MW Collegiate)^(Dictionary.com 2016)^(Etymonline) With a capital, ''Nationalism'' was the programme of the Irish Nationalist Party (1882–1922), from 1885.^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) Two rare senses died out: a national turn of speech or idiom (1823–46) and the theological doctrine that God chooses nations rather than individuals (1836).^(OED 2026)^(HTOED) In the United States in 1889 it named a proposed socialism built on the nationalization of industry, inspired by Edward Bellamy's novel ''Looking Backward''.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1798 – support for one's own nation's interests.^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1823–46 – a national idiom (obsolete).^(OED 2026)^(HTOED)

+ * 1836 – the doctrine of the election of nations (obsolete).^(OED 2026)

+ * 1841 – devotion to one's country, often of Ireland (Etymonline).^(Etymonline)

+ * 1844 – Merriam-Webster's Collegiate date.^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1885 – the programme of the Irish Nationalist Party.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1889 – a proposed American form of socialism.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # Loyalty and devotion to one's [[nation]], especially when it sets that nation above all others.^(AHD 2024)^(MWU 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The belief that a people with a shared culture or ethnicity should form its own [[state]]; a movement for national [[independence]].^(AHD 2024)^(Collins 2023)

+ # The view that a country does best by pursuing its own aims rather than acting together with others.^(AHD 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[nationalist]]

+ * [[nationalistic]]

+ * [[nationalistically]]

+ * [[supernationalism]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[patriotism]]

+ * [[chauvinism]]

+ * [[internationalism]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}