Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The status of belonging to a particular nation by origin, birth, or naturalization.
  • noun A people having common origins or traditions and often constituting a nation.
  • noun Existence as a politically autonomous entity; national independence.
  • noun National character.
  • noun Nationalism.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The fact of being a member of a particular nation; birth and membership in a particular nation; relationship by birth and race to a particular nation: as, the nationality of an immigrant.
  • noun Relationship as property, etc., to a particular nation, or to one or more of its members: as, the nationality of a ship.
  • noun The people constituting a particular nation; a nation; a race of people.
  • noun Separate existence as a nation; national unity and integrity.
  • noun Nationalism; devotion or strong attachment to one's own nation or country.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The quality of being national, or strongly attached to one's own nation; patriotism.
  • noun The sum of the qualities which distinguish a nation; national character.
  • noun A race or people, as determined by common language and character, and not by political bias or divisions; a nation.
  • noun Existence as a distinct or individual nation; national unity and integrity.
  • noun The state or quality of belonging to or being connected with a nation or government by nativity, character, ownership, allegiance, etc..

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Membership of a particular nation or state, by origin, birth, naturalization, ownership, allegiance or otherwise.
  • noun National, i.e. ethnic and/or cultural, character or identity.
  • noun A people sharing a common origin, culture and/or language, and possibly constituting a nation-state.
  • noun Political existence, independence or unity as a national entity.
  • noun archaic Nationalism or patriotism.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun people having common origins or traditions and often comprising a nation
  • noun the status of belonging to a particular nation by birth or naturalization

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From national +‎ -ity, recorded since 1691, perhaps modelled on French nationalité; ultimately from Latin nātio ("nation, people").

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Examples

  • In other words, each country in a sense would think of themselves as the Chairman, because they know their nationality is the ideal one for the Chairman and what could be done with the role of every other country, as if being the responsible Chairman of a Committee one said, Now this week I want Australia on the committee -- they will be able to make that particular point.

    How Fast Can Men Change? (New Patterns of International Relations) 1957

  • Says Mayo-Smith, "It is not in unity of blood but in unity of institutions and social habits and ideals that we are to seek that which we call nationality," and nationality is the result of assimilation.

    Introduction to the Science of Sociology Robert Ezra Park 1926

  • Such is the Roman origo, quite akin to what we call nationality, except that the origo relates to the restricted locality of one's birth, and nationality to one's native land.

    The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 5: Diocese-Fathers of Mercy 1840-1916 1913

  • I think that the lived reality of intangible/immaterial constructions such as nationality is more authoritative in terms of what they “are” – which is a descriptive statement – than your insistence that they are certain platonic ideals even nobody involved understands them that way.

    Matthew Yglesias » Far-Right European Posters 2010

  • The fact that the two states still have their differences over the national question and other matters such as nationality is explicitly stated in the treaty.

    The Aims and Responsibilities of German Foreign Policy 1973

  • And "nationality" is nothing if not a spiritual phenomenon.

    Christian Lange - Nobel Lecture 1921

  • Out of curiosity, under "Article 30 - Mexican nationality is acquired by birth or by naturalization", would that mean that if a Canadian couple gave birth to their baby in Mexico, that baby could aquire Mexican citizenship when it's born?

    Calling all Canadians... 2009

  • Yes, a child born on Mexican territory of foreign parents, regardless of the parents 'nationality, is a Mexican by birth.

    Calling all Canadians... 2009

  • Article 30 - Mexican nationality is acquired by birth or by naturalization.

    Calling all Canadians... 2009

  • The death of civilians, of any nationality, is a tragedy.

    Slaughter “A Product of Circumstance” « Antiwar.com Blog 2009

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