Homeland
nounThe country where someone was born or to which they feel they belong by ancestry.
How to spell homeland
8 letters · 2 syllables
How to pronounce homeland
Say the part in capitals loudest.
What does homeland mean?
- nounThe country where someone was born or to which they feel they belong by ancestry.
Homeland in a sentence
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After twenty years abroad she finally returned to her homeland.
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Many refugees long to see their homeland again one day.
Where does homeland come from?
Language of origin: Germanic
Homeland is a transparent native English compound, joining two of the oldest words in the language: 'home', from Old English 'ham' meaning a dwelling, village, or settled place, and 'land', from Old English 'land' meaning ground, country, or territory. Both elements trace back to Germanic roots shared with Dutch and German, where 'Heim' and 'Land' carry the same senses. Although the two words are ancient, the combined noun 'homeland' is comparatively young, appearing in English only in the nineteenth century to mean the country of one's birth or ancestry. It gained particular weight in the twentieth century through political contexts such as national movements and, later, government security terminology. The spelling holds no surprises, since it simply sets the two familiar words side by side with no joining letter.
How the word is built
- home (one's dwelling place)
- land (territory, ground)
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