The Five Nations
Preserved but no longer current.
Meaning · English
A description applied by Kipling to the British Empire— the Old Country, with Canada, Australia, South Africa, and India.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “The Five Nations” mean?
A description applied by Kipling to the British Empire— the Old Country, with Canada, Australia, South Africa, and India.
Is “The Five Nations” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.