Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A person from one's own country.
  • noun A colleague.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun An inhabitant of the same country with another; a fellow-countryman.
  • Of the same country.
  • Animated by love of a common country; united in patriotism; patriotic.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun One of the same country, and having like interests and feeling.
  • adjective Of the same country; having a common sentiment of patriotism.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Somebody from one's own country; a fellow-countryman.
  • adjective Of the same country; having a common sentiment of patriotism.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a person from your own country

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French compatriote, from Late Latin compatriōta : Latin com-, com- + Late Latin patriōta, countryman; see patriot.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin cum ("with") + patria ("homeland")

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Examples

  • Cleopatra _Cleopatra_ compatriot _compatriot_ gratis _gratis_ or _grahtis_ harem _harem_ or _hahrem_ heinous _hanous_ hiatus _hiatus_ implacable _implakable_ nape _nap_ née _na_ négligé _naglezha'_ patron _patron_ protégé _protazha'_ résumé _razuma'_ tenacious _tenashus_ tomato _tomato_ or _tomahto_ valet _va'la_ or _val'et_ vase _vas, vahz_, or _vaz_ veracious _verashus_ vivacious _vivashus_

    Practical Grammar and Composition Thomas Wood

  • Li won the pair's only previous meeting at the Beijing Olympics and is aiming to join Chinese compatriot Jie Zheng in the last four.

    BBC - Ouch 2010

  • The Spaniard, who won his first title on the Swedish clay in Italian compatriot Roberta Vinci for a crushing loss in April by winning 7-5, 6-1 to reach the Palermo Open quarterfinals on

    WN.com - Articles related to 'Anti-energy' drinks promise Zen in a bottle 2009

  • Barry Windsor-Smith was born in 1949 in London’s working-class East End and studied at East Ham Technical College with Ralph Steadman, who years later became known as a compatriot of the infamous Hunter S.

    August « 2009 « Fantasy Author's Handbook 2009

  • Barry Windsor-Smith was born in 1949 in London’s working-class East End and studied at East Ham Technical College with Ralph Steadman, who years later became known as a compatriot of the infamous Hunter S.

    04 « August « 2009 « Fantasy Author's Handbook 2009

  • John W Henry, Liverpool's principal owner, is believed to have called his compatriot and opposite number at Villa Park, Randy Lerner, at the weekend to enquire about Young's availability.

    Liverpool ready to spend £50m as Fernando Torres nears Chelsea move 2011

  • Sharing the love of gardening with a compatriot is a wonderful thing.

    Cosmic Cosmos Confusion « Fairegarden 2008

  • She is the first woman to retain the title since compatriot Jackie Joyner-Kersee in 1991.

    The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed 2011

  • Button, who raced against Wheldon in karting in the 1990s, tweeted Monday that his compatriot was a "true fighter" and a "legend in our sport but also a great guy."

    The Seattle Times 2011

  • Jerzy Buzek, president of the European Parliament, called his compatriot a great Polish politician.

    ireland.com Breaking News 2010

Comments

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  • Leadership is a risky business requiring wisdom, courage, and fortitude—and as my compatriot Socrates put it, courage is the knowledge of what is not to be feared.

    —Arianna Huffington, Right is Wrong, quoted in The New Republic, found (if I've got this right) via Powell's Books Review-a-Day, found via 3 Quarks Daily

    June 10, 2009

  • This is a very interesting word, I don't think I've heard it in use very much. The word itself kind of defines itself though.

    September 28, 2011