Furriner

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person originating from another nation who is often regarded as unfamiliar or exotic by locals
2. An individual hailing from a foreign land, commonly viewed as an outsider in a specific community or society
3. A person coming from a different country, typically perceived as distinct or unusual by those from the local area

Etymology: "Furriner" is a spoken-dialect rendering of "foreigner," written the way the word sounds in the mouths of some English speakers, with the final syllable slurred into "-iner." It is a pronunciation spelling rather than a separate word with its own history. "Foreigner" grew out of the adjective "foreign." Medieval English had a form "forein," meaning a person from outside one's own country, and speakers later added the agent ending "-er" to make a noun for such a person. The result was a series of spellings such as "forner," "foreyner," and "forenere," all showing the same pattern. The "-er" ending may have been encouraged by the older word "stranger," which followed the same pattern, though the connection is uncertain. The word displaced an Old English term, "elþēodiġ," meaning "of another people," which had meant much the same thing. Its replacement shows how completely the Norman-French-influenced "foreign" took over the everyday vocabulary for outsiders.

Synonyms: foreigner, alien, outsider, stranger, newcomer

Antonyms: native, local, insider, resident, citizen