immigration

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˌɪm.ɪˈɡreɪ.ʃən/^[1]

Etymology

It is a noun of action from immigrate,^[2] which is from Latin immigrāre “to go into, move into”, from in- “into” and migrāre “to move”.^[2][3] It is related to migration and emigration.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The act of coming into a country to settle there: 1658 in the OED, the 1650s in Etymonline.^[4][2]

Semantic evolution

Immigrants collectively is by 1852, originally American.^[2][4] As short for the immigration checks or authorities at a border it is by 1966, colloquially.^[4][2]

Timeline

• 1658 – moving into a country to settle.^[4][2]
• 1852 – immigrants collectively.^[4][2]
• 1966 – the immigration authorities.^[4][2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The act of coming to live permanently in a foreign country.
2. The number of people who immigrate in a given period.
3. The checkpoint at a border where passports and visas are examined.

Word family

• immigrational
• nonimmigration
• preimmigration

Related words

• immigrate
• emigration
• emigrate
• migration
• migrate
• immigrant

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press