Other forms: nationals
National means belonging to one whole country. A national newspaper, national holiday, national team.
It contrasts with local and with international, and which contrast is meant changes the sense entirely — a national paper is not a local one, national law is not international law. As a noun it means a citizen: a foreign national. Note nationality; and that nation comes from the Latin for birth.
1adjectivenationalBelonging to one whole country.
“The national team will play its first match of the World Cup on Sunday.”
2nouncitizenA citizen of a particular country.
“The embassy advised all British nationals to leave the country.”
Too few real examples of this word to estimate which sense is commonest.
national is a quality of relating to a country.
Middle French national comes from nation, from Latin natio, a birth or people, from nasci, to be born. Native and nature come from the same birth.
Middle French
national
English, today
national
From Middle French national, corresponding to nation + al.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA