col·o·ny / ˈkälənē/ • n. (pl. -nies) 1. a country or area under the full or partial political control of another country, typically a distant one, and occupied by settlers from that country. ∎  a group of people living in such a country or area, consisting of the original settlers and their descendants and successors. ∎  (the Colonies) chiefly British term for Thirteen Colonies. ∎  (the colonies) all the foreign countries or areas formerly under British political control.2. a group of people of one nationality or ethnic group living in a foreign city or country: the British colony in New York. ∎  a place where a group of people with similar interests live together: an artists' colony.3. Biol. a community of animals or plants of one kind living together or forming a physically connected structure. ∎  a group of fungi or bacteria grown from a single spore or cell on a culture medium.ORIGIN: late Middle English (denoting a settlement formed mainly of retired soldiers, acting as a garrison in newly conquered territory in the Roman Empire): from Latin colonia ‘settlement, farm,’ from colonus ‘settler, farmer,’ from colere ‘cultivate.’

colonialism Control by one country over a dependent area or people. Although associated with modern political history, the practice is ancient. In European colonial history, economic, political and strategic factors were involved in the colonial enterprise, which created the world empires of countries such as Britain and France, subjugating mainly African and Asian states and often creating artificial boundaries. After World War II, colonialist exploitation was widely recognized, and colonial powers conceded, willingly or not, independence to their colonies. See also imperialism

colony
1. (in zoology) A group of animals of the same species living together and dependent upon each other. Some, such as the corals and sponges, are physically connected and function as a single unit. Others, such as insect colonies, are not physically joined but show a high level of social organization with members specialized for different functions (see caste).

2. (in microbiology) A group of microorganisms, usually bacteria or yeasts, that are considered to have developed from a single parent cell. Colonies that grow on agar plates differ in shape, colour, surface texture, and translucency and can therefore be used as a means of identification.

Colony

a group of people transported to another place or part of the world; a collection of people associated with a craft, occupation, decorative art, etc.; a number of animals or plants in a group. See also community.

Examples: colony of ants—Lipton, 1970; of artists; of auks [on land]; of avocets; of badgers; of bats; of bees, 1713; of beggars, 1737; of chinchilla; of cormorants; of frogs; of gulls; of ibises; of lepers; of mice; of monks, 1844; of musicians, 1711; of penguins; of sparrows, 1840; of voles; of vampires.

colony XVI. — L. colōnia farm, landed estate, settlement, f. colōnus cultivator, settler, f. colere cultivate; see -Y 3.
Hence colonial XVIII, colonize XVII (whence colonist XVIII).