Nation

Latin natio — birth, origin, race of people. From nasci — to be born. Originally meant a people united by birth or origin — ethnic rather than political. The idea of a nation as a political-territorial unit came much later, emerging strongly in the 19th century.

Nation and state are often conflated but were designed to solve different problems. A state is a political-legal entity; a nation is a cultural-ethnic identity. Nation-states — where the two align — are the 20th century norm but were never universal. Nationalism is the political doctrine that they should align.