a politically organized body of people under a single government
"the state has elected a new president"
"African nations"
"students who had come to the nation's capitol"
"the country's largest manufacturer"
"an industrialized land"
an area outside of cities and towns
"his poetry celebrated the slower pace of life in the country"
An area of land; a district, region.
"The old map showed that our family's ancestral country was nestled deep within the northern mountains."
In plain English: A country is a large area of land with its own government and people who live there together.
"We traveled to France for our summer vacation."
Usage: Use "country" to refer to a nation or its people, not an agricultural field or rural area. Do not use it interchangeably with "countryside," which specifically denotes the open spaces outside towns and cities.
From or in the countryside or connected with it.
"We drove out to the country to enjoy a peaceful picnic away from the city noise."
In plain English: Country means something that is not modern or urban, often referring to places with farms and open spaces instead of big cities.
"The country music festival attracted hundreds of visitors from all over the state."
Usage: Use country as an adjective to describe things located in rural areas rather than cities, such as country music or a country road. Avoid using it for anything related to nations when you mean the nation itself, which requires the noun form.
The word "country" entered English from Old French, originally describing land that lay opposite or spread out before someone. By around 1300, it had evolved to mean the area surrounding a walled town and eventually replaced the native English word "land" in many contexts.