Qaum (,
Urdu: ) or
nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a
nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government (for example the inhabitants of a sovereign state) irrespective of their ethnic make-up. The
protean word
Qawm is of
Arabic origin, and is used to refer to any form of solidarity.