Outbackers

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A term for individuals who live or work in remote, rural areas of Australia, often characterized by self-sufficiency and ruggedness
2. Describing people who thrive in the Australian wilderness, adapted to its harsh conditions and isolated lifestyle
3. Referring to those who embrace life in the vast, open regions of Australia, typically engaging in agricultural or adventurous pursuits

Etymology: "Outbackers" is the plural of "outbacker," a noun formed from "outback" and the suffix "-er," which turns a place into a person who belongs to it or lives there. The base word comes from "out" and "back," and the older sense of "outback" was simply the remote interior of Australia, away from the coastal settlements. Adding "-er" to such a place name gives a person associated with that region, much as a "Londoner" comes from London. The word is therefore a plural of the noun for someone shaped by that remote country. Its meaning rests on the place rather than on any separate sense of toughness, so the sense of thriving in harsh conditions is a description the word has picked up over time from its association with the outback's hard environment.