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country
country country cousin a person with an unsophisticated and provincial appearance or manners. The phrase is recorded from the late 18th century, in Samuel Foote's The Lame Lover (1770): ‘Pester'd at table with the odious company of country cousins’.
go to the country test public opinion by dissolving Parliament and holding a general election; the term is first recorded in Disraeli's novel Sybil (1845). happy is the country that has no history memorable events are likely to be unhappy and disruptive. The saying is recorded from the early 19th century, but Thomas Carlyle attributed a similar remark to the French political philosopher Montesquieu (1689–1755), ‘Happy the people whose annals are blank in the history-books!’, and a related saying of the mid 18th century is found in Benjamin Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack of 1740, ‘Happy that Nation,—fortunate that age, whose history is not diverting.’ in the country of the blind, the one-eyed man is king someone of moderate ability will dominate those with none. Saying recorded from the early 16th century. See also country mouse. |
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Cite this article
ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "country." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "country." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-country.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "country." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-country.html |
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country
coun·try / ˈkəntrē/ • n. (pl. -tries) 1. a nation with its own government, occupying a particular territory. ∎ (the country) the people of a nation. ∎ the land of a person's birth or citizenship: both my native and adopted countries are at war with yours. 2. (often the country) districts and small settlements outside large towns, cities, or the capital: the airfield is right out in the country | [as adj.] a country lane. 3. an area or region with regard to its physical features: a tract of wild country. ∎ a region associated with a particular person, esp. a writer, or with a particular work: Steinbeck country includes the Monterey Peninsula. 4. short for country music. |
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Cite this article
"country." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "country." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-country.html "country." The Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current English. 2009. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O999-country.html |
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country
country tract of land; one's native land XIII; territory of a nation; nation, people XIV; rural districts XVI. ME. cuntre(e), contre(e) — OF. cuntrée, (mod.) contrée :- medL., Rom. contrāta, sb. use (sc. terra land) of fem. of adj. meaning ‘lying opposite or facing one’, hence ‘the landscape spread out before one’.
Hence countryman native XIV; compatriot XV; husbandman XVI. So countrywoman XV. countryside particular region of a country; orig. Sc. |
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Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "country." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "country." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-country.html T. F. HOAD. "country." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-country.html |
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country
country
•curry, dhurrie, flurry, hurry, Murray, scurry, slurry, surrey, worry
•penumbrae • sundry
•comfrey, Humphrey
•hungry • Cymru • sultry
•country, upcountry
•Guthrie • backcountry
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Cite this article
"country." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 1 Jun. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "country." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (June 1, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-country.html "country." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved June 01, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-country.html |
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