1.a politically organized body of people under a single government;
the state has elected a new president
2.the people who live in a nation or country;
a statement that sums up the nation's mood
3.a federation of tribes (especially native American tribes);
the Shawnee nation
葛林費(fèi)爾德曾經(jīng)對“nation”這個英文字在語義學(xué)上的演變情形,提供了一個明晰而完整的說明。她將nation這個字在意義上的演變分成以下五個階段︰⑴在羅馬時代,nation指的是一群從同一個地域來的外國人(a group of foreigners)﹔⑵在中世紀(jì)的大學(xué)興起以后,nation的意義變成了一個意見的社群(a community of opinion)﹔⑶接下來,nation的意義又和教會委員會(church council)的參與者有了連結(jié)關(guān)系,而有了精英份子(an elite