Colonial

/kəˈloʊniəl/

adjectiveIntermediate📊CommonGeneral
2 meanings1 question

Definitions

2 meanings
1

Relating to or characteristic of a colony or colonies; of, pertaining to, or characteristic of a colonizing power or its people.

/kəˈloʊniəl/

adjectiveneutralIntermediate
General

Relating to or characteristic of a colony or colonies.

The museum displayed many colonial artifacts.

💡 Simply: Imagine a faraway land controlled by another country. 'Colonial' describes anything to do with that setup, from the buildings to the history. Like, colonial houses are built in the style of those old settlements.

👶 For kids: It's about countries that used to own other lands far away.

More Examples

2

She studied colonial history in college.

How It's Used

History

"The colonial period in America saw significant conflict between the colonists and the British government."

Architecture

"The building exhibited distinct colonial architectural features."

2

A person who is a colonist.

/kəˈloʊniəl/

nounneutralIntermediate
General

The play depicted the struggles of the colonials against the British army.

💡 Simply: A colonial is someone who lives in or comes from a colony. Like, people who traveled from England to America were called colonials.

👶 For kids: Someone who lives in a land far away that is owned by another country.

How It's Used

Historical Fiction

"The novel focused on the lives of colonial families in the 18th century."

Tip:Think 'colony' and add '-al' to describe a person from a colony.

From Middle French *colonial, from Latin colonia "colony".

The term has evolved from its literal use to include broader implications of imperialism and cultural exchange.

Memory tip

Think 'colony' - it's all about settlements and the powers that control them.

Word Origin

Original meaning

"colony"

colonial eracolonial rulecolonial historycolonial architecturecolonial government

Common misspellings

colonailcoloniall

Usage

20%Spoken
80%Written