Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Colony \Col"o*ny\, n.
   1. (Bot.) A cell family or group of common origin, mostly of
      unicellular organisms, esp. among the lower alg[ae]. They
      may adhere in chains or groups, or be held together by a
      gelatinous envelope.

Colony \Col"o*ny\, n.; pl. {Colonies}. [L. colonia, fr. colonus
   farmer, fr. colere to cultivate, dwell: cf. F. colonie. Cf.
   {Culture}.]
   1. A company of people transplanted from their mother country
      to a remote province or country, and remaining subject to
      the jurisdiction of the parent state; as, the British
      colonies in America.

            The first settlers of New England were the best of
            Englishmen, well educated, devout Christians, and
            zealous lovers of liberty. There was never a colony
            formed of better materials.           --Ames.

   2. The district or country colonized; a settlement.

   3. A company of persons from the same country sojourning in a
      foreign city or land; as, the American colony in Paris.

   4. (Nat. Hist.) A number of animals or plants living or
      growing together, beyond their usual range.

Source : WordNet®

colony
     n 1: a body of people who settle far from home but maintain ties
          with their homeland; inhabitants remain nationals of
          their home state but are not literally under the home
          state's system of government [syn: {settlement}]
     2: a group of animals of the same type living together
     3: one of the 13 British colonies that formed the original
        states of the United States
     4: a geographical area politically controlled by a distant
        country [syn: {dependency}]
     5: (microbiology) a group of organisms grown from a single
        parent cell