Bermudian

Part of speech: noun, adjective

Definitions

1. A native or inhabitant of the British overseas territory of Bermuda in the North Atlantic ; of or relating to that island territory ; knee-length shorts of a style associated with the islands
2. Someone born in or living on Bermuda ; belonging to or characteristic of the Bermuda islands ; loose knee-length shorts popularly worn there
3. A resident of the Atlantic archipelago known as Bermuda ; pertaining to the people, places or culture of that territory ; short trousers that end just above the knee

Etymology: Bermudian is a plain formation: the name of the Atlantic island group Bermuda, with the suffix "-ian" added to mean "of, or relating to, that place" and, as a noun, "a person from it." The suffix itself has a long pedigree. It descends from Latin "-ianus," which was built from "-ius" and "-anus" and was used to form adjectives from proper names, so that Romans could speak of a Caesarian or a Pompeian in the same way English speakers now speak of a Bermudian or a Canadian. Bermuda, the place name at the heart of the word, is itself a borrowing from Spanish and Portuguese navigators, though the island's name is usually traced to the Spanish explorer Juan de Bermúdez, who is credited with sighting it in the early sixteenth century. English speakers thus take the name from Iberian mariners and then attach a Latinate suffix to it.

Synonyms: bermudan