Mainlander

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person residing on the principal continental part of a country distinct from its surrounding islands ; someone originating from the major landmass rather than smaller insular areas ; an individual belonging to the central or largest geographic portion of a nation rather than its outlying island regions
2. An inhabitant of the central territorial expanse of a country as opposed to island dwellers ; a native or resident of the main continental area distinct from peripheral islands ; someone identified by their presence on the dominant landmass within a nation's borders rather than on separate islands
3. One who lives or comes from the largest continuous land area of a state instead of from its islands ; a member of the dominant continental region's population distinct from island populations ; a person characterized by their residence on the main land area of a country rather than on isolated or secondary islands

Etymology: "Mainlander" is a plain English compound: "mainland" with the agent suffix "-er" added to it. "Mainland" itself combines "main," in the sense of "principal" or "great" (as in "with might and main"), with "land," so the whole word means someone from the principal landmass rather than the islands around it. The suffix is the more interesting part. The "-er" ending descends from a Latin suffix "-arius," which denoted a person associated with something, and it travelled a long route into English: Latin "-arius" became Old French "-ier" and then Middle English "-er," while a parallel line through Proto-Germanic and Old English produced the same ending. By the time English speakers were building new words, the suffix had been absorbed so thoroughly that it could be attached to almost any noun, which is why a term like "mainlander" can be coined with no special effort.

Synonyms: continental resident, continental inhabitant

Antonyms: islander