Abiders

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Individuals who adhere to established rules or standards
2. Persons who persevere despite challenges or hardships
3. Those who follow and uphold rules or traditions ; those who continue steadily despite difficulties

Etymology: "Abiders" is the plural of "abider", which is formed from "abide" plus the agent suffix "-er". The verb "abide" descends from Old English "ābīdan", meaning to wait for or remain, and its ancestors reach back through Proto-Germanic "bīdaną" and a Proto-Indo-European root meaning to wait or endure. The sense of enduring or persevering developed from the older idea of simply staying in place and waiting. The suffix did most of the work in forming the noun. It comes from Old English "-ere", which itself passed through Latin "-ārius" and the Proto-Germanic "-ārijaz" before reaching English. The same suffix appears in many English agent nouns, such as "reader" and "baker". Adding it to "abide" yields "one who abides", and the plural "abiders" simply names more than one such person.

Synonyms: followers, adherents, supporters, observers, members

Antonyms: rebels, dissidents, opposers, renouncers, nonconformists