mother country
[noun]
Synonyms: country, fatherland, home, homeland, land, motherland, soil

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

ˈmother ˌcountry noun [countable usually singular]

1. someone’s mother country is the country where they or their family were born and to which they feel a very strong emotional connection, even if they are no longer living there Synonym : motherland

2. a powerful country that controls or used to control a less powerful country:
The bond between the mother country and her former colonies grew stronger.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲