Colonialisms

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The various practices and systems that involve the domination and exploitation of one nation or territory by another through settlement or governance
2. The policies and ideologies that support the control and administration of foreign lands and peoples, often resulting in cultural and economic changes
3. The multiple forms of imperialism that arise in different contexts, highlighting how powerful countries extend their influence and authority over weaker regions

Etymology: "Colonialisms" is the plural of "colonialism," a noun built in English from "colonial" plus the suffix "-ism." The base word "colonial" descends from Latin "colonia," a settlement of farmers and settlers, which in turn came from "colonus," a tiller of the soil. So the core idea sits in the Latin root: a colony was originally a group of people who went out to cultivate land, and the agricultural sense of "colonus" is still visible beneath the political meaning of the modern word. The suffix "-ism" comes from Greek "-ismos," used to form nouns denoting a practice, system, or doctrine. Attaching it to "colonial" produced a term for the whole set of arrangements through which one territory dominates another, rather than for any single settlement. The plural form therefore refers to the distinct systems and practices of different empires and periods, since each has its own methods of settlement and governance.

Synonyms: imperialisms, colonial policies, colonial practices

Antonyms: decolonizations, independences, sovereignties