Apedia

Meaning Noun Latin Verb Native Country One's Expatriate

Word expatriate
Date March 18, 2011
Type noun
Syllables ek-SPAY-tree-ut
Etymology "Patria," the Latin word for "native country," is derived from "pater," meaning "father." ("Patria" is occasionally used for "native country" in English, too.) Speakers of Medieval Latin combined "patria" with the prefix "ex-" ("out of") to form the verb "expatriare," meaning "to leave one's native country," which led to our verb "expatriate" in the 18th century and the adjective and noun "expatriate" in the 19th century. We also have "repatriate" (from Late Latin "repatriare"), which is a verb meaning "to return to one's native country" and a noun meaning "one who is repatriated."
Examples After college Joshua got a job teaching English in Prague, where he shared an apartment with several fellow expatriates.

"Carlos operated a catering business within one of the country’s large oil camps, which included a nine-hole golf course that was built for American expatriates." -- From an article by Tod Leonard in The San Diego Union-Tribune, January 21, 2011
Definition : a person who lives in a foreign country; also : a person who has renounced his or her native country

Tags: wordoftheday::noun

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