Fatherland

:Alternative meanings: Fatherland (novel). Fatherland movie directed by Ken Loach

Related Topics:
Fatherland ''(novel) - Ken Loach

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Fatherland is the nation of one's "fathers" or "forefathers." It can be viewed as a nationalist concept, insofar as it relates to nations. (Compare to motherland and homeland.)

Related Topics:
Nationalist - Motherland - Homeland

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Groups that refer to their native country as a "fatherland" (or rather, cognates of this English word in their languages), or, arguably, associate it primarily with paternal concepts include:

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• Romans, as patria, the rootword for patriotism
• Italians, as patria, too.
• the French, as Patrie (as in the national anthem la Marseillaise)
• the Greeks as patrida
• Armenians, as Hayrenik (as in the national anthem Mer Hayrenik)
• the Poles, as Ojczyzna (but there is also macierz, that is Motherland)
• the Germans, as das Vaterland (as in the national anthem Das Lied der Deutschen)
• the Russians, as Otechestvo or Otchizna, although Rodina, that is Motherland, is more common.
• the Serbs as otadzbina
• the Danes as fædreland
• the Finns as isänmaa
• the Lithuanians as t?vyn?
• the Frisians as heitelân
• the Czechs as vlast

Note for German, however, that "das" is grammatically neuter since the German word "Land" is neuter." Die Heimat (the homeland) is grammatically feminine. Vaterland has been used since the 12th century with the meaning "native country". An adjective vaterländisch has been used since the 18th century, meaning something like patriotic or nationalistic. Mutterland (motherland) means a mother country in contrast to its colonies.

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Fatherland: See also: ►