migrant English · revision 39840

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=borrowing|attested=1672|origins=la migrō}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * /ˈmaɪɡɹənt/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[bor|la|migrāns|t=moving, changing one's home]], the present participle of [[m|la|migrō|t=to move from one place to another]],^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(AHD 2024)^(MWU 2024) with the ending that became [[-ant]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(SOED 2002) The same verb gave [[migrate]] and [[migration]], [[emigrant]] and [[immigrant]].^(Klein 1966)^(Partridge 1966)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Of animals, that migrates: 1672 in Barnhart and Merriam-Webster,^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) the 1670s in Etymonline,^(Etymonline) and before 1682 in the OED, in Sir Thomas Browne.^(OED 2026) Dictionary.com dates the word to 1665–75.^(Dictionary.com 2016)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The adjective was used of birds and other animals first, and of people, peoples and organizations by 1807.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) As a noun it is recorded from 1760 for a person who moves from place to place,^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline) from 1768 for a migratory bird or animal,^(OED 2026) and in 1795 also for a person who settles in a new country or town, an immigrant.^(OED 2026) In Australia it has meant a new immigrant since 1922,^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) and in South Africa, since 1948, a migrant labourer working away from home.^(OED 2026) Botanists used it from 1874 for a plant whose range has spread into a new area.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1672 – of animals, migrating.^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1760 – a person who moves from place to place.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1768 – a migratory bird or animal.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1795 – a person settling in a new country, an immigrant.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1807 – of people, migrating.^(OED 2026)^(Etymonline)

+ * 1874 – a plant spreading into a new area.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1922 – (Australia) a new immigrant.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1948 – (South Africa) a migrant labourer.^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A person who moves from one place or country to another, especially to find [[work]]: ''Seasonal migrants pick most of the region's fruit.''^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+ # An animal, especially a [[bird]], that [[migrate|alt=migrates]] with the seasons.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+ # ''(Australia)'' A recent [[immigrant]].^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Moving from one region or country to another; [[migratory]].^(Collins 2023)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[nonmigrant]]

+ * [[remigrant]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[migrate]]

+ * [[migration]]

+ * [[emigrant]]

+ * [[immigrant]]

+ * [[transmigration]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}