▪ An abstr. formation in
‑iyyaẗ from ↗
waṭan. »The word appeared at the end of the 19th century, in the context of the extension to the field of state politics of ↗
waṭan (pl.
awṭān) ‘homeland’, hitherto applied to place of birth or of residence. The noun-adjective ↗
waṭanī refers to the same sectors of meaning (autochthonous, national, patriotic), while the noun ↗
muwāṭin denotes a compatriot or fellow-citizen.«
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