expatriate
Definitions
A person who lives outside their native country.
侨民，旅居海外者。
To leave one's native country to live elsewhere; to send into exile.
移居国外；放逐出境。
Living outside one's native country.
旅居海外的。
Root Breakdown
Root-derivedex- (out of) + patri (fatherland, from patria) + -ate = out of the fatherland. An expatriate has stepped outside the land of their fathers to live abroad. It pairs directly with repatriate (back to the fatherland).
Root patr still carries 26 more wordsWhy It Means This
The key is the buried word patria, "fatherland." expatriate isn't about a single father but about the homeland imagined as the land of one's fathers. Stress shifts by part of speech: the noun is /ˌeksˈpætriət/, the verb /eksˈpeɪtrieɪt/. In casual speech it is clipped to expat.
Usage Guide
Most often used as a noun/adjective for people working abroad, frequently clipped to "expat." The verb sense (to expatriate oneself / be expatriated) is formal and far less common.
Example Sentences
- 1.
Thousands of expatriates work in the city's financial district.
- 2.
After college she expatriated to Berlin for a decade.
- 3.
The club is popular with the expatriate community.
Easily Confused
expatriate vs immigrant — both live in a foreign country, but expatriate stresses having left the home country (often temporary, work-driven), while immigrant stresses having come into a new country to settle. Same person, opposite point of view.