the old country
Where grandparents originated
The old country is the nation one's ancestors emigrated from, typically used by immigrants or their descendants with nostalgic affection: My grandmother still made bread the way they did in the old country.
The phrase implies emotional distance from assimilated life and reverence for ancestral traditions.
In American usage, it most often refers to European countries.
- emigrationLeaving homeland permanently
- homelandOne's native land
- native landCountry of origin
- old worldEvoking earlier times
- back homeReturned to one's residence
tradition · birthplace · ancestral village · nostalgia · folklore · folk songs · longing · homesickness · letters home · ancestry · pride · diaspora · music · storytelling · resettlement · roots · identity · province
the old countryAmerica
Western superpower nation
here · home · abroad · Ellis Island
the old countrymodernity
Being of present times
modern times · the present · the next generation · progress · assimilation
older, oldest, olden, elder, eldest, elderly, country, countries, countrified