Coŭn’try1, n.
(kŭn’trÿ), n. [Fr. contrée, Pr., O. Sp., & It. contrada, from Lat. contra, over against, on the opposite side, with the suffix ata. Cf. Ger. gegend, country, from gegen, equiv. to Lat. contra, q. v.]
Sense 1. A tract of land; a region; — as distinguished from any other region, and with a personal pronoun, the region of one's birth, permanent residence, or citizenship.
I might have learned this by my last exile, That change of countries can not change my state. Stirling.
Wandering many a famous realm And country, whereof here needs no account. Milton.
I shall be well content with any choice Tends to God's glory and my country's weal. Shak.
Sense 2. Rustic or rural regions, as opposed to a city or town.
They love the country, and none else, who seek, For their own sakes, its silence and its shade. Cowper.
Only very great men were in the habit of dividing the year between town and country. Macaulay.
Sense 3. The inhabitants of a region; the populace.
All the country in a general voice Cried hate upon him. Shak.
Sense 4. (Law.) (a.) A jury, as representing the citizens of a country; (b.) One’s constituents, or the public. [Eng.]
To put one's self upon the country, to appeal to one's constituents; to refer an issue to the jury.