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colony

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The definition of a colony is a group of people who create a settlement in a distant land but remain under the governmental control of their native country or a group of similar animals that live together.

(noun)

An example of a colony was Massachusetts under British rule during the 17th and 18th centuries.
An example of a colony is a group of ants.

See colony in Webster's New World College Dictionary

noun pl. colonies

1. a group of people who settle in a distant land but remain under the political jurisdiction of their native land
2. the region thus settled
a territory distant from the state having jurisdiction or control over it
the thirteen British colonies in North America that won their independence in the Revolutionary War and became the U.S.: they were Va., N.Y., Mass., Conn., R.I., N.H., Md., N.J., N.C., S.C., Pa., Del., and Ga.
1. a community of people of the same nationality or pursuits concentrated in a particular district or place: the Hungarian colony of Cleveland, an artists' colony
2. such a district or place
Bacteriology a group of cells that are derived from a single initial cell, growing separately on a solid culture medium
Biol. a group of similar plants or animals living or growing together
Zool. a compound organism consisting of several to many incompletely separated individuals, as in corals and hydroids

Origin: ME colonie < L colonia < colonus, farmer < colere, to cultivate: see cult

See colony in American Heritage Dictionary 4

noun pl. col·o·nies

a. A group of emigrants or their descendants who settle in a distant territory but remain subject to or closely associated with the parent country.
b. A territory thus settled.
A region politically controlled by a distant country; a dependency.
a. A group of people with the same interests or ethnic origin concentrated in a particular area: the American colony in Paris.
b. The area occupied by such a group.
Colonies The British colonies that became the original 13 states of the United States.
A group of people who have been institutionalized in a relatively remote area: an island penal colony.
Ecology A group of the same kind of animals, plants, or one-celled organisms living or growing together.
Microbiology A visible growth of microorganisms, usually in a solid or semisolid nutrient medium.