charter colony: Meaning and Definition of

char'ter col"ony

Pronunciation: [key]
— Amer. Hist. Amer. Hist.
  1. a colony, as Virginia, Massachusetts, Connecticut, or Rhode Island, chartered to an individual, trading company, etc., by the British crown. Cf. royal colony (def. 2).
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.