Definition of "colony"

colony

/ˈkɒl.ə.ni/

noun
plural colonies
1. An area under the political control of another country and typically occupied by settlers (colonists) from it, or by their descendants.
  Quotations
  And be it further Enacted by the Authority aforeſaid, That in every Town in the Colony, where Bread is Baken for Sale, there ſhall be Choſen one Clerk of the Market, or more, as each Town ſhall find needful, at their Annual Election of Town Officers, who ſhall duly be Engaged, to the faithful performance of ſaid Office, as other Town Officers are ; […]
  1719, “An ACT, Stating the due Aſſize of Bread”, in The Charter Granted by His Majeſty, King Charles the Second, to the Colony of Rhode-Iſland, and Providence-plantations in America‎, John Allen, page 59
  […] money problems and refusal to supply them with British coins were two big reasons why the thirteen colonies rebelled and declared their independence.
  1939, Frederic Majer, Our Country's Money
2. A group of people who settle such an area and maintain ties to their native country, and (later) their descendants.
  Quotations
  The question of ecclesiastical jurisdiction had to be answered before the colony sailed for East Florida.
  2006, Kenneth H. Beeson Jr., Fromajadas and Indigo: The Minorcan Colony in Florida, Arcadia Publishing
3. A group of people, of one nationality, ethnic group, or language, residing in a different country, city, or area; the area such people occupy.
4. A group of people with similar interests, occupations, or characteristics, living in a particular area; the area such people occupy.
5. (biology) A group of organisms of same or different species living together in close association.
6. A group of bacteria, fungi or other cells cultured together, especially from a single cell.
7. (India) An apartment complex or neighborhood.
8. A local group of Beaver Scouts.
9. A potential new chapter of a fraternity or sorority awaiting official recognition from their headquarters.
  Quotations
  That weekend in 2013, fraternity members from Baruch, a commuter school in Manhattan whose Pi Delta Psi colony was only about three years old, gathered in a large rental house in Tunkhannock Township, Pa. Early on a frigid morning, Mr. Deng followed the other pledges in putting on a blindfold and backpack.
  2018 January 7, Rick Rojas, “A Partial Win for Prosecutors Who Targeted Fraternity After Student’s Death”, in New York Times‎