colonialism

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UK/kəˈləʊ.njə.lɪ.zəm/UK/kəˈləʊ.ni.ə.lɪ.zəm/US/kəˈloʊ.njə.lɪ.zəm/US/kəˈloʊ.ni.ə.lɪ.zəm/

noun

The seizure of geographical area to extract its natural resources or exploit the labor of the indigenous peoples to remotely benefit a distant country.

Less commonScrabble 15

Meanings

nouncolonialism (countable and uncountable, plural colonialisms)

plural colonialisms

  1. countableuncountableThe seizure of geographical area to extract its natural resources or exploit the labor of the indigenous peoples to remotely benefit a distant country.

    Though most of the cases here cover European encounters with non-Europeans, it is not the intention of the book to give the impression that genocide is a function of European colonialism and imperialism alone.

    2008 June 1, A. Dirk Moses, “Preface”, in Empire, Colony, Genocide: Conquest, Occupation, and Subaltern Resistance in World History, Berghahn Books, →ISBN, page x
  2. colloquialcountablederogatoryoftenuncountableThe subjugation of a weaker country, population, or people by a dominant country, population, or people.

    It was the racist, settler colonialism that created whiteness, that created blackness, half-caste, quarter-caste, octoroon, that saw mixed-race people as a third race.

    2021 November 7, Claire [G.] Coleman, “Not quite blak enough: ‘The people who think I am too white to be Aboriginal are all white’”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 03 Dec 2021
  3. broadlycountablederogatoryuncountableAny form of foreign influence seen as undesirable.
  4. countableuncountableA colonial word, phrase, concept, or habit.

    Although the settlement seems so far to have made but slow progress, there are many things which show that, to use a colonialism, "the place was going ahead."

    1887, Harriet W. Daly, Digging, Squatting, and Pioneering Life in the Northern Territory of South Australia, page 239
  5. countableuncountableColonial life.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*kʷelh₁-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*kʷélh₁eti
  3. Proto-Italic*kʷelō
  4. Latincolō
  5. Latincolōnus
  6. Latincolōnia
  7. Middle Englishcolane
  8. Englishcolony
  9. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  10. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  11. Englishcolonial
  12. Englishcolonialism

From colonial + -ism.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Afrikaans kolonialisme
  • kolonialismepolicy of authority over people or territories
Arabic اِسْتَعْمَارِيَّة
  • اِسْتَعْمَارِيَّة (istaʕmāriyya)policy of authority over people or territories
Bengali উপনিবেশবাদ
  • উপনিবেশবাদ (uponibeśbad)policy of authority over people or territories
Bulgarian колониали́зъм
  • колониали́зъм (kolonialízăm)policy of authority over people or territories
Catalan colonialisme
  • colonialismepolicy of authority over people or territories
Chinese Cantonese 殖民主義 /殖民主义
  • 殖民主義 /殖民主义 (zik⁶ man⁴ zyu² ji⁶)policy of authority over people or territories
Chinese Mandarin 殖民主義 /殖民主义
  • 殖民主義 /殖民主义 (zhímínzhǔyì)policy of authority over people or territories
Czech kolonialismus
  • kolonialismuspolicy of authority over people or territories
Danish kolonialisme
  • kolonialismepolicy of authority over people or territories
Dutch kolonialisme
  • kolonialismepolicy of authority over people or territories
Esperanto koloniismo
  • koloniismopolicy of authority over people or territories
Estonian kolonialism
  • kolonialismpolicy of authority over people or territories
Finnish kolonialismi
  • kolonialismipolicy of authority over people or territories
French colonialisme
  • colonialismepolicy of authority over people or territories
German Kolonialismus
  • Kolonialismuspolicy of authority over people or territories
Greek αποικιοκρατία, αποικισμός
  • αποικιοκρατία (apoikiokratía)policy of authority over people or territories
  • αποικισμός (apoikismós)policy of authority over people or territories
Hebrew קוֹלוֹנְיָאלִיזְם
  • קוֹלוֹנְיָאלִיזְם (kolonyalízm)policy of authority over people or territories
Hindi उपनिवेशवाद
  • उपनिवेशवाद (upniveśvād)policy of authority over people or territories
Hungarian gyarmatosítás, kolonializmus
  • gyarmatosításpolicy of authority over people or territories
  • kolonializmuspolicy of authority over people or territories
Icelandic nýlendustefna
  • nýlendustefnapolicy of authority over people or territories
Indonesian kolonialisme
  • kolonialismepolicy of authority over people or territories
Irish coilíneachas
  • coilíneachaspolicy of authority over people or territories
Italian colonialismo
  • colonialismopolicy of authority over people or territories
Japanese 植民地主義
  • 植民地主義 (shokuminchishugi)policy of authority over people or territories
Korean 식민주의
  • 식민주의 (singminjuui)policy of authority over people or territories
Latvian koloniālisms
  • koloniālismspolicy of authority over people or territories
Lithuanian kolonializmas
  • kolonializmaspolicy of authority over people or territories
Malay kolonialisme
  • kolonialismepolicy of authority over people or territories
Norwegian Bokmål kolonialisme
  • kolonialismepolicy of authority over people or territories
Polish kolonializm, kolonializm
  • kolonializmpolicy of authority over people or territories
  • kolonializmcolonial life
  • kolonializmcolonial linguistic expression
Portuguese colonialismo
  • colonialismopolicy of authority over people or territories
Punjabi ਉਪਨਿਵੇਸ਼ਵਾਦ, ਬਸਤੀਵਾਦ
  • ਉਪਨਿਵੇਸ਼ਵਾਦ (upaniveśvād)policy of authority over people or territories
  • ਬਸਤੀਵਾਦ (bastīvād)policy of authority over people or territories
Romanian colonialism
  • colonialismpolicy of authority over people or territories
Russian колониали́зм
  • колониали́зм (kolonialízm)policy of authority over people or territories
Slovak kolonializmus
  • kolonializmuspolicy of authority over people or territories
Spanish colonialismo
  • colonialismopolicy of authority over people or territories
Swahili ukoloni, beberu
  • ukolonipolicy of authority over people or territories
  • beberupolicy of authority over people or territories
  • beberucolonial life
  • beberucolonial linguistic expression
Swedish kolonialism
  • kolonialismpolicy of authority over people or territories
Tagalog koloniyalisasyon, koloniyalismo
  • koloniyalisasyonpolicy of authority over people or territories
  • koloniyalismopolicy of authority over people or territories
  • koloniyacolonial life
  • buhay-koloniyacolonial life
  • koloniyalisasyoncolonial life
  • koloniyalismocolonial life
  • koloniyalisasyoncolonial linguistic expression
  • koloniyalismocolonial linguistic expression
Tamil குடியேற்றவியம்
  • குடியேற்றவியம் (kuṭiyēṟṟaviyam)policy of authority over people or territories
Thai ลัทธิอาณานิคม
  • ลัทธิอาณานิคม (lát-tí-aa-naa-ní-kom)policy of authority over people or territories
Turkish sömürgecilik, kolonicilik
  • sömürgecilikpolicy of authority over people or territories
  • kolonicilikpolicy of authority over people or territories
  • kolonyalizmpolicy of authority over people or territories
  • müstemlekecilikpolicy of authority over people or territories
Ukrainian колоніалі́зм
  • колоніалі́зм (kolonialízm)policy of authority over people or territories
Urdu اِسْتِعْمارِیَت, اِسْتِعْمار
  • اِسْتِعْمارِیَت (isti'māriyat)policy of authority over people or territories
  • اِسْتِعْمار (isti'mār)policy of authority over people or territories
Vietnamese chủ nghĩa thực dân
  • chủ nghĩa thực dânpolicy of authority over people or territories
Welsh gwladychiaeth
  • gwladychiaethpolicy of authority over people or territories
Yiddish קאָלאָניאַליזם
  • קאָלאָניאַליזם (kolonyalizm)policy of authority over people or territories
Cite this entry
APA

colonialism. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/colonialism

MLA

“colonialism.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/colonialism. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “colonialism,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/colonialism.

Source: colonialism on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.