Dictionary

statelet en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈsteɪtlɪt/

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *steh₂- Proto-Indo-European *-tus Proto-Indo-European *stéh₂-tu-s ~ *sth₂-téw-s Proto-Italic *status Latin statuslbor. Old French estatbor. Middle English stat English state Proto-Indo-European *-lós Proto-Indo-European *-elós Proto-Italic *-elos Latin -lus Latin -ellus Old French -el Proto-Indo-European *-tós Proto-Italic *-tosder.? Late Latin -ittus Old French -et Old French -eletbor. Middle English -let English -let English statelet From state + -let.

Meanings

1. (derogatory, sometimes) A very small nation-state, or a region that acts like a nation-state
   • Ms McDonald’s party has long argued that Northern Ireland is not working – a “failed statelet” being their chosen description. 2021 February 2, Mike Nesbitt, “Divisive Border poll is no recipe for unity”, in The Irish Times:
   • Egypt talks to Hamas but is not eager to see the radical Islamic group succeed in running a small statelet next door. 2009 January 14, Steven Erlanger, Michael Slackman, “Israel Says Hamas Is Damaged, Not Destroyed”, in New York Times:
   • In 2014, the European statelet of Liechtenstein followed the Swiss lead and returned $227 million that had been stolen by [Sani] Abacha's son […] 2018, Oliver Bullough, chapter 12, in Moneyland, →ISBN, page 182:

Forms