country
- country
- [13] Etymologically, the meaning of
country is virtually ‘surroundings’. It originated
in medieval Latin contrātus ‘lying on the
opposite side’, an adjective formed from the
proposition contrā ‘against, opposite’. This was
used in the phrase terra contrāta ‘land opposite
or before one, spread out around one’, and soon
broke free to act as a noun in its own right. In Old
French it became cuntree, the form in which it
was borrowed into English. Its original notion of
‘area of land’ had quickly become narrowed
down to ‘district controlled or occupied by a
particular people’, hence ‘nation’, but its use for
‘rural areas as opposed to cities’ does not seem
to have developed until the 16th century. The
county 136
compound countryside originated in Scotland
and northern England, probably in the 17th
century.
The Hutchinson dictionary of word origins.
2013.
:
Look at other dictionaries:
Country Is — Single by Tom T. Hall from the album Country Is B side God Came Through Bellville Georgia Released September 9, 1974 … Wikipedia
country — [ kuntri ] n. f. ou m. inv. • country music 1972; mot angl. « campagne » ♦ Anglic. Musique américaine populaire dérivée du folklore blanc du sud ouest des États Unis. ⇒ folk. Adj. inv. Des guitaristes country. ● country nom masculin ou féminin et … Encyclopédie Universelle
Country — Coun try (k?n tr?), n.; pl. {Countries} ( tr?z). [F. contr[ e]e, LL. contrata, fr. L. contra over against, on the opposite side. Cf. {Counter}, adv., {Contra}.] 1. A tract of land; a region; the territory of an independent nation; (as… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
country — (izg. kȁntri) m DEFINICIJA glazb. tradicionalni sjevernoamerički glazbeni žanr; korijeni u folklornoj glazbi juga SAD a, jednostavna forma praćena mahom samo gitarom i violinom; ima brojne podžanrove SINTAGMA country dance (izg. country dȇns) pov … Hrvatski jezični portal
country — ► NOUN (pl. countries) 1) a nation with its own government, occupying a particular territory. 2) districts outside large urban areas. 3) an area with regard to its physical features: hill country. ● across country Cf. ↑across country … English terms dictionary
Country — Coun try, a. 1. Pertaining to the regions remote from a city; rural; rustic; as, a country life; a country town; the country party, as opposed to city. [1913 Webster] 2. Destitute of refinement; rude; unpolished; rustic; not urbane; as, country… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
country — adj. (În sintagma) Muzică country = muzică din folclorul american, devenită stil în muzica uşoară contemporană. [pr.: cántri] – cuv. am. Trimis de LauraGellner, 30.07.2004. Sursa: DEX 98 COUNTRY [CÁNTRI] s. n. muzică country = muzică de cowboy … Dicționar Român
country — [adj] rural, pastoral agrarian, agrestic, Arcadian, bucolic, campestral, countrified, georgic, homey, out country, outland, provincial, rustic, uncultured, unpolished, unrefined, unsophisticated; concepts 401,536,589 Ant. city, metropolitan,… … New thesaurus
country — [kun′trē] n. pl. countries [ME contre < OFr contrée < VL * (regio) contrata, region lying opposite < L contra: see CONTRA ] 1. an area of land; region [wooded country] 2. the whole land or territory of a nation or state 3. the people of… … English World dictionary
Country E.P. — Country E.P. EP by Anaïs Mitchell and Rachel Ries Released September 2, 2008 Recorded 2008 … Wikipedia
country — mid 13c., district, native land, from O.Fr. contree, from V.L. * (terra) contrata (land) lying opposite, or (land) spread before one, from L. contra opposite, against (see CONTRA (Cf. contra )). Sense narrowed 1520s to rural areas, as opposed to… … Etymology dictionary
