Advertisement

Advertisement

View synonyms for emigrant

emigrant

[ em-i-gruhnt ]

noun

  1. a person who emigrates, such as from their native country or region:

    They welcomed the emigrants from Italy.

    Synonyms: expatriate, émigré



adjective

  1. emigrating; leaving a country or region to settle in another.

emigrant

/ ˈɛmɪɡrənt /

noun

    1. a person who leaves one place or country, esp a native country, to settle in another Compare immigrant
    2. ( as modifier )

      an emigrant worker

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Discover More

Other Words From

  • non·emi·grant noun adjective
  • un·emi·grant adjective
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of emigrant1

An Americanism dating back to 1745–55; from Latin ēmigrant- (stem of ēmigrāns ) “moving away” (present participle of ēmigrāre ), equivalent to ē- “from, out of” + migrant- ( migr-, stem of migrāre “to remove” + -ant- adjective suffix); e- 1, -ant )
Discover More

Example Sentences

Among the top destinations for American emigrants are Canada, Mexico and the United Kingdom.

About 80% of people in India are Hindu, but they form only 41% of emigrants from the country, the survey on the religious composition of the world's migrants says.

From BBC

Sheinbaum, the granddaughter of emigrants from Bulgaria and Lithuania, would be Mexico’s first president of Jewish ancestry, in addition to its first female president.

Neither will millions of other Venezuelan emigrants because of costly and time-consuming government prerequisites that are nowhere to be found in Venezuela’s election laws.

Country specific statistics for such emigrants, or reverse migrants, are not available.

From BBC

Advertisement

Discover More

More About Emigrant

What does emigrant mean?

An emigrant is a person who has emigrated or is emigrating—permanently leaving home in one country or region to settle in another.

The act or occurrence of emigrating is called emigration.

What’s the difference between emigrant, immigrant, and migrant?

A migrant is a person who moves from one place to another (and perhaps back and forth). An emigrant is someone who moves away, while an immigrant is someone who moves in. For this reason, the word emigrant is often followed by from and the home country, whereas immigrant is often followed by to and the destination country.

Of course, emigrant and immigrant often refer to the same person—people who are emigrating are also immigrating (if they leave, they have to go somewhere).

But there are good reasons to use each word in different situations. For example, one country may be a common destination for immigrants, while another may experience the frequent departure of emigrants.

The words migrant and immigrant are more likely to be used to describe such relocation in a general way (that is, a way that takes both the starting point and the destination into account), whereas emigrant is almost always used in reference to the place that has been left.

Less commonly, emigrant can be used as an adjective to mean in the process of emigrating, as in emigrant peoples. 

Another word for an emigrant is émigré, which especially refers to an emigrant who has fled their country due to political conditions.

Example: The lack of employment has caused a significant number of emigrants  to leave the country in search of jobs.

Where does emigrant come from?

The first records of the verb emigrant come from around 1750. It was first used in the United States. It comes from the Latin ēmīgrāns, meaning “moving away.” This word derives from the Latin verb ēmīgrāre, from mīgrāre, meaning “to depart” or “to move from place to place.” The e part means “out of” or “from.” (In immigrant, the im- part means “in” or “into.”)

The word emigrant typically implies movement out of one country into another (as opposed to movement out of a city or state into another one in the same country). Most countries track statistics about such movement, especially in relation to how it may affect their economies. Although emigrate implies a permanent departure, a person may be an emigrant again and again until they settle in some place.

Did you know ... ?

What are some other forms related to emigrant?

What are some synonyms for emigrant?

What are some words that share a root or word element with emigrant

What are some words that often get used in discussing emigrant?

What are some words emigrant may be commonly confused with?

How is emigrant used in real life?

Emigrants are often discussed in the context of history and economics. The word emigrant is somewhat less commonly used than immigrant and migrant, since those two can be used more generally.

 

 

Try using emigrant!

Which of the following people would be the primary subjects of a study of emigrants from Germany to France?

A. People who have left France to live in Germany
B. People who have left Germany to live in France
C. People who move back and forth between Germany and France
D. People who have left Germany to vacation in France

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


emictionemigrate