NYT Dictionary

COLONY

/ˈkɔl.ə.ni/
NounVerbCOL-o-nycol-o-ny · 3 syllablesGrade 3

Accepted in official NYT Spelling Bee puzzle years: 2018, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2024, 2025, 2026

Meaning

A geographical area under the remote control of a country; especially to extract resources or exploit labor from that area.

Etymology

Origin: Middle English

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *kʷelh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-eti Proto-Indo-European *kʷélh₁eti Proto-Italic *kʷelō Latin colō Latin colōnus Proto-Indo-European *-(i)yós Proto-Italic *-ijos Proto-Italic *-ios Old Latin -ios Latin -ius Latin -ia Latin colōniader. Middle English colane English colony From Middle English colane, colonye, from Latin colōnia (“colony”), from colōnus (“farmer; colonist”), from colō (“till, cultivate, worship”), from earlier *quelō, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷel- (“to move; to turn (around)”). Doublet of Cologne, Colonia, and Köln.

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

settlementdependencyallyarmyashrambodybunchcastechieftaincyclaim

NYT Puzzle Appearances

Accepted in 3 recorded puzzles:

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