Standard Lemma guide

nationality

noun · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˌnæʃ.əˈnæl.ɪ.ti/
  • /ˌnæʃˈnæl.ɪ.ti/
  • /-ˈnæl.ə.ti/
  • /-ˈnæl.ti/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: N AE2 SH AH0 N AE1 L AH0 T IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: N AE2 SH AH0 N AE1 L IH0 T IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Legal membership of a particular nation or state, by origin, birth, naturalization, ownership, allegiance or otherwise.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • By living in the country for five years, you are entitled to get nationality.
  • Stefi was born in Spain to a Brazilian father and a Chilean mother, so is eligible for three nationalities.
  • Please include your nationality on the form.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A people sharing a common origin, culture and/or language, and possibly constituting a nation-state.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

National, i.e. ethnic and/or cultural, character or identity.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

Nationalism or patriotism.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

Political existence, independence or unity as a national entity.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

people having common origins or traditions and often comprising a nation

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • immigrants of the same nationality often seek each other out
  • such images define their sense of nationality

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: people

7

noun

Meaning 7

the status of belonging to a particular nation by birth or naturalization

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: status, position

History

Etymology

From national + -ity, perhaps after French nationalité; ultimately from Latin nātio (“nation, people”).

Across languages

Translations

173 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: nasionaliteit — membership of a nation or state
  • Albanian: kombësi — membership of a nation or state
  • Southern Altai: ук (uk) — membership of a nation or state
  • Southern Altai: национальность (nacionalʹnostʹ) — membership of a nation or state
  • Amharic: ዜግነት (zegnät) — membership of a nation or state
  • Arabic: جِنْسِيَّة (jinsiyya) — membership of a nation or state
  • Armenian: ազգություն (azgutʻyun) — membership of a nation or state
  • Armenian: քաղաքացիություն (kʻaġakʻacʻiutʻyun) — membership of a nation or state
  • Azerbaijani: milliyyət — membership of a nation or state
  • Bashkir: милләт (millət) — membership of a nation or state
  • Belarusian: нацыяна́льнасць (nacyjanálʹnascʹ) — membership of a nation or state
  • Belarusian: наро́днасць (naródnascʹ) — membership of a nation or state
  • Belarusian: грамадзя́нства (hramadzjánstva) — membership of a nation or state
  • Bengali: জাতীয়তা (jatiẏota) — membership of a nation or state
  • Bulgarian: национа́лност (nacionálnost) — membership of a nation or state
  • Bulgarian: гра́жданство (gráždanstvo) — membership of a nation or state
  • Burmese: အမျိုးသား (a.myui:sa:) — membership of a nation or state
  • Catalan: nacionalitat — membership of a nation or state
  • Chechen: къам (qʼam) — membership of a nation or state
  • Chinese Cantonese: 國籍 /国籍 (gwok3 zik6) — membership of a nation or state
  • Chinese: 國籍 /国籍 (zh-min-nan) — membership of a nation or state
  • Chinese Mandarin: 國籍 /国籍 (guójí) — membership of a nation or state
  • Czech: národnost — membership of a nation or state
  • Czech: občanství — membership of a nation or state
  • Danish: nationalitet — membership of a nation or state
  • Dutch: nationaliteit — membership of a nation or state
  • Esperanto: nacieco — membership of a nation or state
  • Estonian: rahvuslikkus — membership of a nation or state
  • Estonian: rahvus — membership of a nation or state
  • Faroese: tjóðskapur — membership of a nation or state
  • Finnish: kansalaisuus — membership of a nation or state
  • French: nationalité — membership of a nation or state
  • Friulian: nazionalitât — membership of a nation or state
  • Galician: nacionalidade — membership of a nation or state
  • Georgian: ეროვნება (erovneba) — membership of a nation or state
  • Georgian: მოქალაქეობა (mokalakeoba) — membership of a nation or state
  • German: Nationalität — membership of a nation or state
  • Greek: εθνικότητα (ethnikótita) — membership of a nation or state
  • Haitian Creole: nasyonalite — membership of a nation or state
  • Hebrew: אזרחות (ezrakhút) — membership of a nation or state
  • Hindi: राष्ट्रीयता (rāṣṭrīytā) — membership of a nation or state
  • Hindi: नागरिकता (nāgriktā) — membership of a nation or state
  • Hungarian: nemzetiség — membership of a nation or state
  • Hungarian: állampolgárság — membership of a nation or state
  • Icelandic: þjóðerni — membership of a nation or state
  • Indonesian: bangsa — membership of a nation or state
  • Indonesian: kebangsaan — membership of a nation or state
  • Irish: náisiúntacht — membership of a nation or state
  • Italian: nazionalità — membership of a nation or state
  • Japanese: 国籍 (kokuseki) — membership of a nation or state
  • Kazakh: ұлт (ūlt) — membership of a nation or state
  • Khmer: សញ្ជាតិ (sañciət) — membership of a nation or state
  • Korean: 국적 (gukjeok) — membership of a nation or state
  • Central Kurdish: نەتەوایەتی (netewayetî) — membership of a nation or state
  • Northern Kurdish: miliyet — membership of a nation or state
  • Kyrgyz: улут (ulut) — membership of a nation or state
  • Lao: ສັນຊາດ (san sāt) — membership of a nation or state
  • Latvian: tautība — membership of a nation or state
  • Lithuanian: tautybė — membership of a nation or state
  • Luxembourgish: Nationalitéit — membership of a nation or state
  • Macedonian: национа́лност (nacionálnost) — membership of a nation or state
  • Malay: kerakyatan — membership of a nation or state
  • Malay: kewarganegaraan — membership of a nation or state
  • Maltese: nazzjonalità — membership of a nation or state
  • Mongolian: үндэстэн (ündesten) — membership of a nation or state
  • Mongolian: яс үндэс (jas ündes) — membership of a nation or state
  • Norman: nâtionalité — membership of a nation or state
  • Norwegian Bokmål: nasjonalitet — membership of a nation or state
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: nasjonalitet — membership of a nation or state
  • Pashto: مليت (melyat) — membership of a nation or state
  • Dari: مِلِّیَت (milliyat) — membership of a nation or state
  • Dari: قَوْمِیَّت (qawmiyyat) — membership of a nation or state
  • Iranian Persian: مِلِّیَت (melliyat) — membership of a nation or state
  • Iranian Persian: قُوْمِیَّت (ġowmiyyat) — membership of a nation or state
  • Polish: narodowość — membership of a nation or state
  • Polish: obywatelstwo — membership of a nation or state
  • Portuguese: nacionalidade — membership of a nation or state
  • Romani: themutnipen — membership of a nation or state
  • Romanian: naționalitate — membership of a nation or state
  • Romanian: националитате (naționalitate) — membership of a nation or state
  • Russian: национа́льность (nacionálʹnostʹ) — membership of a nation or state
  • Russian: наро́дность (naródnostʹ) — membership of a nation or state
  • Russian: гражда́нство (graždánstvo) — membership of a nation or state
  • Serbo-Croatian: национа́лно̄ст — membership of a nation or state
  • Serbo-Croatian: nacionálnōst — membership of a nation or state
  • Sinhalese: ජාතිකත්වය (jātikatwaya) — membership of a nation or state
  • Slovak: národnosť — membership of a nation or state
  • Slovak: občianstvo — membership of a nation or state
  • Slovene: državljanstvo — membership of a nation or state
  • Spanish: nacionalidad — membership of a nation or state
  • Swahili: uraya — membership of a nation or state
  • Swahili: utaifa — membership of a nation or state
  • Swedish: nationalitet — membership of a nation or state
  • Tagalog: katauhambansa — membership of a nation or state
  • Tagalog: kabansaan — membership of a nation or state
  • Tajik: миллият (milliyat) — membership of a nation or state
  • Tajik: миллачӣ (millači) — membership of a nation or state
  • Tajik: қавмият (qavmiyat) — membership of a nation or state
  • Tatar: милләт (millät) — membership of a nation or state
  • Thai: สัญชาติ (sǎn-châat) — membership of a nation or state
  • Tigrinya: ዜግነት (zegnät) — membership of a nation or state
  • Turkish: milliyet — membership of a nation or state
  • Ottoman Turkish: ملیت (milliyyet) — membership of a nation or state
  • Turkmen: millet — membership of a nation or state
  • Ukrainian: націона́льність (nacionálʹnistʹ) — membership of a nation or state
  • Ukrainian: наро́дність (naródnistʹ) — membership of a nation or state
  • Ukrainian: громадя́нство (hromadjánstvo) — membership of a nation or state
  • Urdu: قَومِیَت (qaumiyat) — membership of a nation or state
  • Urdu: مِلِّیَت (milliyat) — membership of a nation or state
  • Uyghur: مىللەت (millet) — membership of a nation or state
  • Uzbek: millat — membership of a nation or state
  • Vietnamese: quốc tịch — membership of a nation or state
  • Yiddish: נאַציאָנאַליטעט (natsyonalitet) — membership of a nation or state
  • Czech: národnost — people belonging to a nation or state — see also nation
  • Czech: občané — people belonging to a nation or state — see also nation
  • Czech: obyvatelé — people belonging to a nation or state — see also nation
  • Dutch: nationaliteit — people belonging to a nation or state — see also nation
  • Dutch: natie — people belonging to a nation or state — see also nation
  • Dutch: volk — people belonging to a nation or state — see also nation
  • Finnish: kansa — people belonging to a nation or state — see also nation
  • Finnish: kansakunta — people belonging to a nation or state — see also nation
  • Hebrew: לאום (leóm) — people belonging to a nation or state — see also nation
  • Hebrew: אומה (umá) — people belonging to a nation or state — see also nation
  • Hungarian: nemzet — people belonging to a nation or state — see also nation
  • Indonesian: warga negara — people belonging to a nation or state — see also nation
  • Indonesian: kewarganegaraan — people belonging to a nation or state — see also nation
  • Russian: наро́д (naród) — people belonging to a nation or state — see also nation
  • Russian: на́ция (nácija) — people belonging to a nation or state — see also nation
  • Russian: э́тнос (étnos) — people belonging to a nation or state — see also nation
  • Russian: пле́мя (plémja) — people belonging to a nation or state — see also nation
  • Swahili: uraya — people belonging to a nation or state — see also nation
  • Swahili: utaifa — people belonging to a nation or state — see also nation
  • Ukrainian: наро́д (naród) — people belonging to a nation or state — see also nation
  • Ukrainian: на́ція (nácija) — people belonging to a nation or state — see also nation
  • Ukrainian: люд (ljud) — people belonging to a nation or state — see also nation
  • Ukrainian: е́тнос (étnos) — people belonging to a nation or state — see also nation
  • Ukrainian: пле́м'я (plémʺja) — people belonging to a nation or state — see also nation
  • Urdu: قَومِیَت (qaumiyat) — people belonging to a nation or state — see also nation
  • Arabic: جِنْسِيَّة (jinsiyya) — national character or identity
  • Armenian: ազգություն (azgutʻyun) — national character or identity
  • Belarusian: нацыяна́льнасць (nacyjanálʹnascʹ) — national character or identity
  • Belarusian: наро́днасць (naródnascʹ) — national character or identity
  • Burmese: လူမျိုး (lu-myui:) — national character or identity
  • Chinese Cantonese: 國籍 /国籍 (gwok3 zik6) — national character or identity
  • Chinese: 國籍 /国籍 (zh-min-nan) — national character or identity
  • Chinese Mandarin: 國籍 /国籍 (guójí) — national character or identity
  • Czech: národní charakter — national character or identity
  • Dutch: nationaliteit — national character or identity
  • Dutch: volksaard — national character or identity
  • Finnish: kansallisuus — national character or identity
  • Greek: ιθαγένεια (ithagéneia) — national character or identity
  • Greek: εθνικότητα (ethnikótita) — national character or identity
  • Hebrew: לאומיות (leumiyút) — national character or identity
  • Hindi: राष्ट्रीयता (rāṣṭrīytā) — national character or identity
  • Hungarian: nemzetiség — national character or identity
  • Indonesian: nasionalisme — national character or identity
  • Portuguese: nacionalidade — national character or identity
  • Russian: национа́льность (nacionálʹnostʹ) — national character or identity
  • Russian: наро́дность (naródnostʹ) — national character or identity
  • Swahili: uraya — national character or identity
  • Swahili: utaifa — national character or identity
  • Ukrainian: націона́льність (nacionálʹnistʹ) — national character or identity
  • Ukrainian: наро́дність (naródnistʹ) — national character or identity
  • Bulgarian: гра́жданство (gráždanstvo) — political existence as a national entity — see also nationhood
  • Finnish: kansallinen olemassaolo — political existence as a national entity — see also nationhood
  • Finnish: itsenäisyys — political existence as a national entity — see also nationhood
  • Hebrew: לאומיות (leumiyút) — political existence as a national entity — see also nationhood
  • Hungarian: nemzetiség — political existence as a national entity — see also nationhood
  • Swahili: uraya — political existence as a national entity — see also nationhood
  • Ukrainian: націона́льність (nacionálʹnistʹ) — political existence as a national entity — see also nationhood
  • Ukrainian: незале́жність (nezaléžnistʹ) — political existence as a national entity — see also nationhood
  • Ukrainian: самості́йність (samostíjnistʹ) — political existence as a national entity — see also nationhood
  • Ukrainian: автоно́мія (avtonómija) — political existence as a national entity — see also nationhood
Real reading context

nationality in complete knowledge articles