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colonial

colonial [ kə lṓni əl ]

adjective

Definition:

1. relating to colony: possessing, ruling over, living in, or relating to a colony

2. of British Empire: relating to the colonies of the former British Empire, or to the Empire as a whole

3. relating to British colonies in America: relating to the 13 original British colonies in North America before their independence in 1776

4. in style of American colonies: dating from or in a style typical of British North America in the late 17th to the early 19th century

5. history from Australian time as colony: dating from or related to the period before the Federation of Australia in 1901

6. New Zealand New Zealand pre-1840: in New Zealand, relating to the period before 1840

7. living in colonies: describes animals that live in groups or colonies and are dependent on each other. Some, e.g. corals, are physically joined, while others such as insects show social organization and specialized functions.

noun (plural colonials)

Definition:

1. somebody who lives in colony: a resident of a colony who comes from the colonizing country

2. somebody from colony: somebody whose native country is a colony

[Late 18th century. <colony]

colonially adverb

colonialness noun

Cultural Note


	The Wild Colonial Boy, an anonymous song from the 1860s. It tells the story of Jack Doolan, an Irish boy transported to Australia for theft, who becomes an outlaw before being hunted down and killed by police. In Australia, the phrase came to mean 'bushranger'.

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