Dependency

A territory distinct from the country in which the supreme sovereign power resides, but belonging rightfully to it and subject to the laws and regulations which the sovereign may think proper to prescribe. It differs from a colony, because it is not settled by the citizens of the sovereign or mother state; and from possession, because it is held by other title than that of mere conquest/ For example, Malta was considered a dependency of Great Britain in the year 1813.
   

This entry contains material from Bouvier's Legal Dictionary, a work published in the 1850's.