Definition

1. Noun:
   • The legal status of being a citizen or subject of a particular country: This refers to the official relationship between an individual and a state, acquired by birth or through legal processes like naturalization.
   • A group of people sharing a common ethnic, cultural, or historical identity, often forming a nation: This sense refers to a collective identity based on shared origins, traditions, and culture, which may or may not correspond to a specific state.

Examples of Usage

• Legal/Citizenship Status: (She is a legal citizen of France.) (Some countries allow a person to be a legal citizen of two countries.)
• Ethnic/Cultural Identity: (The festival honors the cultural traditions of many different national/ethnic groups.) (People sharing a common cultural or ethnic background often live close to each other.)

Advanced Usage

• "Sense of nationality": Refers to a person's feeling of belonging to a national group. (Their common history created a powerful feeling of national identity.)
• "Nationality law": Refers to the legal rules governing how citizenship is acquired or lost. (The laws concerning citizenship were recently changed.)

Variants and Related Words

• National (adj): Relating to a nation or country. (The anthem of the country was played.)
• Nationalize (verb): To bring an industry or asset under state control. (Note: This is a distinct concept from nationality.) (The government decided to bring the railways under state ownership.)

Synonyms

• Citizenship: The legal status of being a recognized member of a state. (Often used interchangeably with the first meaning of "nationality".)
• Ethnicity: The fact or state of belonging to a social group that has a common national or cultural tradition. (Related to the second meaning of "nationality".)

Related Phrases

• "To acquire nationality": To obtain citizenship, often through naturalization. (He became a British citizen after a decade of residence.)
• "To renounce one's nationality": To formally give up one's citizenship. (She legally gave up her old citizenship.)

Related Idioms

• "A man/woman of no nationality": A person who is not recognized as a citizen by any country; a stateless person. (Following the conflict, many refugees were left without citizenship from any state.)

Noun

1. the status of belonging to a particular nation by birth or naturalization
2. people having common origins or traditions and often comprising a nation
   • immigrants of the same nationality often seek each other out
   • such images define their sense of nationality