Inhabiters

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Creatures or people who make their home in a particular area, region, or environment over an extended period
2. Residents or occupants of a place, whether human, animal, or other living beings that dwell there
3. Those who dwell in or populate a given location, settling there and making it their permanent or usual abode

Etymology: "Inhabiters" is the plural of "inhabiter," a noun formed by adding the agent suffix "-er" to the verb "inhabit." That suffix, which turns a verb into a word for the one who performs its action (a "baker" bakes, a "dweller" dwells), has been productive in English since Old English, so the formation itself is entirely ordinary. The base verb "inhabit" comes from Latin "inhabitare," meaning "to dwell in," built from "in-" ("in") and "habitare" ("to dwell, live"), the frequentative of "habere" ("to have, hold"). Because "inhabiter" is simply "inhabit" plus a suffix, its meaning follows directly from the verb: a person or creature that lives in a place. Its plural, "inhabiters," is used where a writer wants to name a group of such occupants, most often of a particular region or structure.

Synonyms: inhabitants, residents, occupants, dwellers, denizens