attested from 1706.

Old English cyningdom; see king (n.) + -dom. Cognate with Old Saxon kuningdom, Middle Dutch koninghdom, Old Norse konungdomr. The usual Old English word was cynedom; Middle English also had kingrick (for second element, see the first element in Reichstag). Meaning "one of the realms of nature" is from 1690s.

Kingdom-come (n.) "the next world, the hereafter" (1785), originally slang, is from the Lord's Prayer, where it is an archaic simple present subjunctive ("may Thy kingdom come") in reference to the spiritual reign of God or Christ.

"made into one," 1550s, past-participle adjective from unite (v.).

attested from 1617, originally with reference to Holland; the North American confederation first so called in 1776. United Provinces were the seven northern provinces of the Netherlands, allied from 1579, later developing into the kingdom of Holland.

1942, "the Allied nations at war with the Axis powers;" the international body (officially the United Nations Organization) was chartered in 1945.

Such negotiation as may occur in New York is not conducted within the walls of the tall building by the East River: it is carried out elsewhere, in accordance with those principles of courtesy, confidence and discretion which must for ever remain the only principles conducive to the peaceful settlement of disputes. [Harold Nicholson, "The Evolution of Diplomatic Method," 1954]

abbreviation of United Kingdom, attested from 1883.

"withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union," 2012, from Britain + exit.

c. 1600, "Low Germany and the Netherlands," from the Latin name of the territory occupied by the Belgæ, a Celtic or Celto-Germanic tribe that in Roman times occupied the area below the mouth of the Rhine, including modern Belgium and much of northeastern France. Adopted 1830 as the name of a new nation formed from the southern part of the former United Kingdom of the Netherlands.

"serving to prepare the way for something to follow," early 15c., preparatori, from Late Latin praeparatorius, from Latin praeparatus, past participle of praeparare "make ready beforehand" (see prepare).

Earlier in same sense was preparative (c. 1400). The word was applied by 1822 in the United Kingdom to junior schools in which pupils are "prepared" for a higher school.

also U.S., abbreviation of United States, attested from 1834. U.S.A. for "United States of America" is recorded from 1885; before that it generally meant "U.S. Army."