"nation"

[David Bergdahl]

I'm reading a history of the Jews in France and even in the medieval
period groups of people from other nationalities (e.g. Portuguese)
were referred to as nations, so this usage may have a longer history
than we credit.
-db

On Jan 19, 2007, at 7:55 AM, Charles Doyle wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Charles Doyle <cdoyle at UGA.EDU>
> Subject:      "nation"
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> ---------
>
> A couple of weeks ago, we discussed the use of "nation" extended to
> designate the collective supporters or fans of an academic
> institution (its athletic program, at least) or a professional
> sports team ("Bulldog nation," "Red Sox nation").
>
> Last night on Comedy Central a series of individuals proudly
> identified themselves as members of "the Colbert nation."
>
> --Charlie
>
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