Hollanders

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A term referring to the people of the Netherlands
2. used to denote inhabitants of a region known for its distinct culture and history
3. can also encompass those related to the historical province of Holland in the country

Etymology: "Hollanders" is the plural of "hollander," so its story belongs to the singular form. A hollander is a person from Holland, the region of the Netherlands, and the word follows the same pattern as other names for inhabitants built on a place name with the suffix "-er." The base is "Holland," a name whose history reaches back to the medieval county of that name in the Low Countries. The plural simply adds the usual "-s" to the singular, so "hollanders" refers to a group of such people. Like other demonyms formed from regional names, the word is used to mean the people of that region as a whole, and it carries the sense of a distinct culture and history that the definition describes.

Synonyms: Dutch people, Netherlanders