mother country

noun

1
: the country of one's parents or ancestors
also : fatherland
2
: the country from which the people of a colony or former colony derive their origin
3
: a country that is the origin of something

Examples of mother country in a Sentence

Greece can boast to being the mother country of democracy. even after decades of living in their adopted nation, they maintained a strong attachment to the mother country
Recent Examples on the Web Their speeches were now peppered with professions of faith in the nation, in Magyar tradition, in the homeland, in national interests, in respectability, in middle-class values, in the family, in love of the mother country. Paul Lendvai, Foreign Affairs, 12 Aug. 2019 Korea, director Bong’s mother country, was our first choice in terms of where to debut the film. Patrick Frater, Variety, 14 Mar. 2024 In my mother country, all the tools of propaganda would keep painful truths at bay. Vadim Smyslov, WIRED, 21 Feb. 2024 Not all Americans thought British infringements warranted a severing of ties with the mother country, and after the Continental Congress declared independence, the struggle against Britain became a civil war among Americans, pitting Patriots against Loyalists. Washington Post, 29 Oct. 2021 See all Example Sentences for mother country 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mother country.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1567, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of mother country was in 1567

Dictionary Entries Near mother country

Cite this Entry

“Mother country.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mother%20country. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

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