Noninhabitants

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Individuals who do not reside in a specified area or location
2. Persons living outside a certain region or domiciled elsewhere
3. Those who are not permanent residents of a given place

Etymology: "Noninhabitants" is the plural of "noninhabitant," which is formed from the prefix "non-," meaning "not," attached to "inhabitant." The base word traces back to the Latin "inhabitare," meaning "to dwell in," built from "in-" ("in") and "habitare" ("to live or dwell"), the frequentative of "habere" ("to have, hold"). An inhabitant is someone who lives in a particular place, so a noninhabitant is simply someone who does not live there. The prefix does most of the work here. English has long attached "non-" to nouns to create a negated term, and "noninhabitant" follows that pattern, giving a precise label for people outside a given place, such as visitors, travelers, or those who live elsewhere.

Synonyms: visitors, transients

Antonyms: inhabitants